THE draw for the semi-finals of the Tony Pryce Sports Devon Senior Cup was being eagerly awaited at the Fort Field this week after Sidmouth negotiated a potential banana skin in the quarter final tie at Barton on Sunday.

THE draw for the semi-finals of the Tony Pryce Sports Devon Senior Cup was being eagerly awaited at the Fort Field this week after Sidmouth negotiated a potential banana skin in the quarter final tie at Barton on Sunday.

The Torbay side's pitch is not known for high scores, so Sidmouth were content to be chasing less than 100 after a workmanlike effort in the field.

Had it not been for a stubborn eighth wicket partnership between Jack Porter and Alex Ali, which rescued the home innings from the depths of 37-7, Sidmouth could have been chasing many fewer.

Ali earned a first ball reprieve when John Goodwin could not hang on to an inside edge behind the stumps and went on to make 18 before the wicketkeeper eventually got his man, stumped off Chris Williams in his first and only over.

Two balls later the same combination and method accounted for Barton's last man with the total on 98. Sidmouth used eight bowlers and five of them took wickets. The first went to Scott Barlow in the third over when Sam Richardson ran forward and dived forward to catch a spooned up defensive shot at mid on.

Neil Hancock was soon in on the action, inducing a catch behind, and the opening bowlers both had two victims to their name at the end of their spells. Skipper Will Murray swept away the middle order with three wickets in the space of eight balls, finishing with 3-12, and Matt Cooke removed Porter after he had made 39.

In the reply, Josh Bess clubbed the third ball he received for six, but was out for that score next over. Anthony Griffiths followed, with the score on 25 but any worries were calmed by Williams and Hancock, who completed the win without further alarm.

Hancock passed 50 with his second six to go with five fours and Williams finished the game with a sweet boundary to reach 33.

Opponents for Sidmouth in their semi-final will come from Bovey Tracey, Plymouth and Exeter or Tavistock.

The game at the Fort Field this Sunday sees Sidmouth playing Warwickshire Imps in a friendly.

l WITH rain in the air, Sidmouth Cricket Club skipper Will Murray wanted his opposite number, Ian Bishop, to call wrongly when the coin went up at the Fort Field for the derby game against Budleigh Salterton.

Bishop called correctly and was soon continuing his winning ways by having Josh Bess caught behind off the first ball of the game.

He was to strike again with the score on 23 when Anthony Griffiths deflected the ball on to his stumps with a combination of glove and pad.

The visiting team saved their biggest celebration for the removal of Neil Hancock, for two, his leg stump uprooted by former Sidmouth seamer Matt Webb.

A player who went the other way, Sam Richardson, failed to put one over his former club, tamely poking a short ball to backward square leg, to leave Sidmouth in some degree of distress at 40-4 after 19 overs.

During all this Chris Williams had been defending stoutly and occasionally launching counter attacks. Nick Gingell had joined him and the pair seemed to be mounting a regrouping exercise.

For a while there had been news in the air that the cavalry, in the form of heavily rain-laden clouds, were only just over the hill. Their arrival, and the ensuing retreat of the players into the pavilion, prompted a worry in the Sidmouth camp that, should they recede and further play be possible, Budleigh would have a minimal total to make in a shortened match.

It soon became clear that such fears were unfounded as the puddles deepened and play was eventually abandoned.

Groundsman Colin Whitehall scotched the players' idea that a game of football should be played on the outfield to establish bragging rights.

Just 23 overs of this keenly awaited contest had been possible, during which time Williams had made a confident 34 not out.

It was six points each from an abandoned game, but Budleigh had an additional two bonus points courtesy of the four wickets they had taken to edge them further away from the danger end of the Francis Clark Devon League premier division.

Sidmouth's nearest rivals at the top, Bovey Tracey, were unable to make any inroads, rain halting their innings at 98-2, just before they were to enter bonus point territory against Exeter.

Sidmouth's lead remains at 44 points as they prepare for a visit to Torquay, battling for points to stay clear of the relegation zone.

DEFLECTION REFLECTION: Anthony Griffiths on his way back to the pavilion as Budleigh Salterton celebrate taking his wicket.

Pic: Terry Ife. ref. 5452-29-08TI.