SCHOOLBOY cricketer Fynn Murphy stole the limelight with a five-wicket show in Tuesday night’s testimonial game between South Devon CC and Somerset’s stars.

Somerset were in Newton Abbot as part of Lewis Gregory’s testimonial season schedule and there was a sizeable crowd waiting, eager to see some crash-bang-wallop batting from the professionals.

The only thing crashing while Murphy was bowling were Somerset wickets!

Murphy, who is 15 and a pupil at Coombeshead Academy, shocked Somerset by reducing them to 61 for five single-handed in the Twenty20 game on the Newton Abbot Recreational Trust ground.

Openers Jordan Herrman and Migael Pretorius, a South African double-act, were clean bowled four balls apart in the young seam bowler’s first over. Archie Vaughan – dad Michael is an Ashes-winning, ex-England captain ­ went in the next to a low caught-and-bowled.

And when England Test player Jack Leach and Alfie Ogborne were dismissed in Murphy’s third over, he had taken five wickets for 28 runs conceded. A later over added 10 more runs to his analysis.

Murphy, whose dad is South Devon’s second-team skipper Kevin Murphy, said dismissing Pretorius with the second ball he bowled at him calmed jangling nerves.

“I was so nervous about bowling the first over and so happy after taking the first wicket,” said Murphy.

“I was only supposed to bowl two overs, but because I had taken three wickets they said I could bowl another one.

“After taking five wickets I was buzzing. I couldn't believe I had got out the top five Somerset players.

“It was a day I won't forget.”

Somerset recovered to reach 234 for eight thanks to some big hitting down the order from England all-rounder Craig Overton (45) and an undefeated 103 off just 37 balls from Josh Shaw.

A high-scoring game ended in a one-run win for Somerset which, ordinarily, would have been the dramatic highlight of the evening. But it was Murphy’s and the three-over battering he inflicted on Somerset almost everyone was talking about.

Jonny Martin, the South Devon captain, summed it up when he said: “Didn’t he bowl well!

“Any club cricketer would be pleased with a wicket or two against opposition like Somerset … never mind five!

“It is a night he will never forget-and one a few batsmen will be desperate not to remember.

“The noisy ovation he got from the crowd when he led the team off clutching the match ball said what they thought.”