Sidmouth duo help land title

SIDMOUTH players Neil Hancock and Scott Barlow played key roles as Devon triumphed in the Minor Counties Knock-out Trophy final at the home of cricket on Wednesday.

It is believed to be the first time that two representatives of the club have played at Lord's in a competitive match.

A number of Sidmouth club members went up as supporters and their cries of 'Come on Deidre' as Barlow bowled had those unaquainted with Coronation Street puzzled.

Hancock, whose fitness had been in doubt following an injury in a Devon Senior Cup game for his club against Exmouth 10 days earlier, launched Devon to a formidable 290-4 after they had been inserted by Berkshire.

On winning the toss, the Home Counties' side, who had beaten Devon in the earlier group stages of the competition, inserted their opponents and had early success when Sandy Allen, of Budleigh Salterton, departed with the score on 14.

Allen's Budleigh team-mate, Bobby Dawson, then played a skipper's innings of 96 off 99 balls to bolster matters with Chris Mole, who made a solid 67.

Dawson, dismissed just short of a century on the most mercurial of grounds, made way for Hancock who bludgeoned an unbeaten 53 to boost the Devon total.

The all-rounder hit three sixes and five fours in a 26-ball stay at the crease. One of the sixes cleared the grandstand and went out of the ground to be lost for ever. Another went into one of the hospitality boxes on the second tier.

In the first over of Berkshire's reply, bowled by Ian Bishop, Sidmouth's Scott Barlow took a catch off a firmly struck pull shot at mid-on.

Bishop, the third Budleigh player in the side, went on to take four key wickets, two of them in consecutive balls, to halt an early Berkshire charge at the formidable target.

Barlow turned in one of the day's most economical spells of bowling, with 1-36 in 10 overs, and Hancock grabbed three wickets to hasten Berkshire's demise for 250.