Matches between Yarcombe and Stockland and Tipton St John are normally quite high scoring affairs, but not so this one.

Tipton’s new captain, Dave Alford, won the toss and elected to bat. Alford was out caught in the gulley by Ollie Smith for four, but David Thayre and Phil Tolley took the score to 37 before Tolley departed caught also by Smith for 22.

Al Matthews survived a dropped catch first ball, but added just two runs before he was bowled by Jonathon Triner.

Jem Gillham went first ball. Thayre survived the hat-trick ball, but young Triner got him two overs later with Smith bagging his third catch in the gulley. He could have claimed another, but Dickie Dawson escaped!

However, the Tipton batsmen continued their exit losing seven wickets, adding just 29 runs and so, at 66-8, were in real trouble when Phil Wright joined David Birch with still 16 overs to bat.

They duly occupied the crease and edged the score to 99 in the penultimate over when Wright edged a ball from Pete Barker to keeper Stan Fuller for 12.

Last man David O’Higgins was run-out for a duck, but not before the score had crept to 101.

Jonathon Triner with 3-9. Pete Barker, 2-17 and Sean Morris, 2-2, were the pick of the bowlers.

In reply, the home side soon lost S Triner, well caught by Tom Birch off Alford

The long grass in the outfield made scoring difficult but Ollie Fuller found new bowler, octogerian David O’Higgins first ball to his liking and found the boundary. Two singles later, the wily O’Higgins tempted him again and Dickey Dawson made a good stumping.

Stan Fuller was run out before O’Higgins removed the middle order finishing with 5-20 off eight overs. Tom Birch chipped in with a wicket thanks to a sharp catch by Matthews.

Yarcombe had plummeted to 69-9, but a gallant last wicket stand of 24 by Jonathon Triner and Pete Barker nearly took them to victory.

Some sloppy fielding, with three dropped catches off Wright’s bowling, did not help Tipton’s cause, but tight bowling at the end ensured Tipton won by eight runs.