ASHBURTON crushed Plymstock 2nd XI by eight wickets to stay hard on the heels of Cornwood 2nd XI in the C West promotion race.

Plymstock, who have not won a game all season in the league, were bowled out for 102 with more than 11 overs unused.

Chris Hall made 38, daughter Beth Hall was next best on 18 and Harvey Hall (no relation) was not far behind on 15.

Ashburton pinners Chris Yeo (3-24) and Aditya More (2-2 off 7) posed most of the problems with the ball.

Plymstock might have had a glimmer of hope when Ashburton were 19 for two. Harry Bannister (60no) and Matt Churchill (21no) soon put a stop to that.

Plymstock are now 72 points adrift at the foot of the table. If they lose at South Devon this Saturday, they could be mathematically relegated.

Brixham ran out of puff on the chase against Ipplepen 2nd XI, who closed out a 19-run win defending a total of 230 for six.

Tom Hopper (51) and Mo Shaikh (41) put on 93 for the third wicket as Brixham got to 122 for three at the end of the 26th over.

Matt Adams (47) and the middle order ensured Brixham were never that far below the asking rate, but double-digit overs to get ahead of it were few and far between. Only Steve Bowden and Harry Lewis (3-34) obliged with one each in the last 10.

Brixham reached the final five overs needing 51 to win with Adams one of their three wickets in hand. There were no ‘big overs’ on the last lap as Brixham only got as far as 211 for eight.

Sam deFriend, appearing in an Ipplepen team for the first time since 2021, top-scored with 80 not out when the home side batted.

Bowden (32) made early runs, Adam Peters (45) kept the board ticking over then deFriend and veteran Marcus Green (26) added 80 for the sixth wicket.

Lee Upham (2-39) and Ayden Fisher (2-44) were Brixham’s most successful bowlers. Fergus Rees (0-30) gave little away.

Chudleigh made Cornwood 2nd XI work every step of the way for the three-wicket win at Kate Brook that keeps them top of the table.

It looked like Cornwood had done the hard work before tea by bowling out Chudleigh for 142.

And when Cornwood were 92 for two in reply, the result appeared to be a formality. A batting collapse to 119 for six changed the complexion of the game.

Josh Goodliffe and Will Sharp repaired the damage with a modest stand of 21 that left three to win and 10 overs to get them. It was mission accomplished.

The Wood retain a four-point lead over Ashburton at the top of the division with just one promotion place.

A patient 42 from Rob Clarke off 78 balls was Chudleigh’s top score. Next best were 23 extras.

Sharp (2-17) removed the threat of Will Heather cheaply. In an innings with no stand above 40, wickets fell regularly to Matt Puttock (3-20) and the Caunter brothers with two each.

Dart (32), Harry Woolway (26) and Alex Robinson (20) featured prominently getting Cornwood to 95 for two.

Mike Brown, bowling left-arm spin for Chudleigh, re-set the game by copping five wickets (5-40) one after the other. And with Rob Clarke (9-2-22-0) pressuring from the other end, Cornwood faltered.