ASHBURTON’s B Division campaign hit rock bottom when lost by nine wickets to Plymstock on the Varwell Field.

Defeat leaves Ashburton anchored to the foot of the table, where they need to find 24 points to get out of the bottom two. That situation will only worsen if they lose at Braunton this Saturday, who are the first team they need to get ahead of.

Ashburton, who have only won once since gaining promotion from the C Division West at the end of last season, were hustled out for a meagre 34 in the 23rd of the 50 overs available.

Lloyd White, the Ashburton captain, made 11 and Jack Warren went one better with 12. There were no further double-digit scores. Six Ashburton batters did not manage a run between them!

Plymstock seamer Rob Cunningham initiated the carnage when he dismissed Ashburton opener Steve Edmonds for a duck. He went on to claim five for 18.

Adam Frost (4-11) had four more wickets to tumble. The odd one left was taken by Ben Whalley.

Plymstock didn’t start well as opener Max Castledine was bowled second ball by Chris McKee. Tom Mitch (22no) and Chester Oldfield (12no) knocked-off the rest. Mitch won it by hoisting Marcus West for six over mid-wicket in the seventh over.

Losing captain White said Frost and Cunningham were a handful with the new ball, but there were other issues as well.

“Once again we made life hard for ourselves with some questionable shot selections,” said White. “We are all working hard on putting things right.”

BOVEY Tracey 2nd XI put some distance between themselves and the B Division bottom two with a 19-run win over visiting Braunton.

A five-wicket haul for teenage seamer Luan Matthews de Menezes, the first of his adult career, helped Braunton limit Bovey to 161 all out.

Despite a dogged half-century from opener and captain Sam Reddick, Braunton came up short on 142 all out.

Back-to-back wins over Plymstock and now Braunton have pushed Bovey 25 points clear of the relegation red line.

Matthews de Menezes gave Braunton a dream start with two wickets in his first over. One each for Theo Valeri (2-46) and Dan Brierley reduced Bovey to 37 for four.

Sam Veal and Ben Steer rescued Bovey with a fifth-wicket partnership of 56, which proved pivotal to the eventual outcome. Twenty-nine more with Ben Green in for Steer also had a bearing.

Veal, in at two for two in the second over, went on to make 71 off 127 balls. He was involved in stands that added 135. Matthews de Menezes, back for a second spell, knocked over Veal and with two more wickets finished with match figures of five for 27.

Reddick (57) was the only one of Braunton’s top six to get into double figures as Bovey’s bowlers tied them down. He was fifth out caught behind off Steer (3-25).

Jason Raynor (14) and Dan Brierley (10) came out bristling with aggression, but didn’t stay long enough to make a massive impact.

At 122 for nine it looked all over, but tail-ender Herbie Townsend and Matthews de Menezes saw it differently. Their last-wicket stand shaved 20 off the target and Bovey were relieved when the former was snared lbw by Green (2-39).

Looking back on the game, winning captain Green said: “The stand between Sam Veal and Ben Steer was crucial, but I feel we bowled in the right areas as a unit and made it hard for them.”