Ashburton first team hosted Babbacombe first team on Saturday.

Skipper Ash Berry won his third toss in a row and asked the visitors to have a bat. Arun Karthick (9 overs, 3 for 40) bowled a lively opening spell and was rewarded with an early wicket. Babbacombe made steady progress after that with Andrew McVeigh (40) and Tom Wood (31) getting them to 90 for 3 as Matt Churchill (9 overs, 3 for 21) and Will Coon (9 overs, 3 for 24) both bowled with great control. In the final 15 overs a brutal innings from Steve Bowman (44) along with support from Rob Redding (26) threatened a large total but once both were dismissed, Bowman to a spectacular diving catch by Karthick, the lower order struggled as 156 for 3 turned into 170 for 9 after 45 overs.

The Ashes reply started badly as both openers were back in the pavilion with only 28 on the board. Berry (48) and Dan Coles (39) both batted sensibly and rebuilt with a fine partnership of 78 and, once both fell within the space of a couple of overs, there were 55 runs required from the final 9 overs. Karthick (34no) and Chris Pascoe (16no) ensured there were no further scares as the target was passed for the loss of 4 wickets with 18 balls remaining.

Skipper Berry said "Another solid, all round performance against a competitive side. We managed to restrict them with some periods of good bowling and fielding. We've still got a few areas to work on, but if we continue like this we won't go far wrong.".

Ashburton second team's match away to Bridestowe seconds was unfortunately cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch

Arun Karthick (3 for 40 and 34 not out) picking up an early wicket against Babbacombe.