Ottery St Mary 1sts start Devon League campaign well

It comes after Strawberry Lane was submerged by the horrendous weather last week.

But after travelling to Knightshayes, captain Sam O’Nyons called incorrectly and was invited to bat first.

Last year’s run machine Keith Moody was replaced at the top of the order by Dan Flower, who started in ominous fashion as he cut the second ball of the day past point to race away for the first 4 of the season.

Runs flowed early on as Flower and Alex Clements settled in early as Fountain struggled to find his line.

The former was the first casualty however, trapped leg before to Aligh for 23.

Clements and Rhys Norman bore the brunt of a consistent attack who gave very little to work with and kept the two batters tied down for long periods.

Veteran Elliott with the miserly figures of 9 overs, 1-19.

The score ticked along and after Clements played a nothing shot to be caught at mid-on for 22, Harsha Liyanage walked out to bat with the score at 80-2.

Momentum began to shift as the batters shifted gears and runs came more easily, both men targeting and being brutal on the leg side boundary.

Even after Norman departed for a well made 43, the introduction of Aussie import Sam Rose meant the total continued to accelerate as Liyanage reached the first 50 of the league season.

He finally departed for 58, but the man from Adelaide was not to be outdone and reached his maiden league fifty in his first league outing, and even finishing the innings with a bizarre 7 thanks to some overthrows.

Ottery finished on 247-6, with Sam 60 not out.

A respectable total on a wicket that showed early signs of being two paced.

Ben Major and Sam Rose took the new ball and immediately got the ball talking as numerous plays and misses from the batters encouraged the Ottery attack.

Rose was the first to strike, enticing Pugsley (2) to edge behind where Clements took a diving catch.

Runs were hard to come by, Harding (1) took on O’Nyons arm and was out to a direct hit from the Ottery skipper and opposition captain Hough (4) guided a Will Harrison delivery straight into Liyanage’s hands at second slip to leave the hosts 29-3.

A couple partnerships built between Bucknell and Hill and then Elliott as the opener reached a well made 50.

But truth be told, the home side were never in the contest as tight bowling meant the run rate kept climbing.

A wicket for Max Mayor and a double strike by the captain were both overshadowed by a superb all round performance from Rose, who returned to bowl Bucknell, Venn and Fountain to return figures of 4-29 from his 9 overs.

The last wicket proved elusive as the bowlers were guilty of missing their length as Ottery were made to wait.

Eventually, it was the low full toss that claimed the last wicket, as a ball that spooned in the air was claimed by the keeper to give the Otters a win by 74 runs.

A comfortable win in the end and a full 20 points meant the job was done.

Definitely some things to work on going forward, but plenty of positives.

Next week the 1s are on the road again, this time against Exeter 2s.

A spokesperson for Ottery St Mary 1st XI said: "A big thank you to Chris Startup and Ian Jeacock for umpiring and scoring".