Durant Cricket Counties Championship Western  Division 1  Table       Scorecard

Truro -  Devon 120 (MW Thompson 36; WA MacVicar 8-46)

& 335 (LS Walker 116, MW Thompson 115; WA MacVicar 4-85, EAF Whiteford 4-88);

Cornwall 171 (AJ Blake 48, WA MacVicar 27, PS Smith 27; SO Read 4-38, KB Szymanski 4-59)

& 290-5 (AJ Blake 160no. KN Leathley 31. WJJ Rowe 31no; SO Read 4-76).

Cornwall (20) beat Devon (4) by five wickets.

Cornwall CCC  YouTube Match Videos & Interview 

Match Stats - Cornwall v Devon 28/30 July at Truro CC

A Cornwall Championship win for the 26th consecutive season beginning in 1998.

Will MacVicar's 8-46 are the 21st best on record and the best since Chris Ellison took 9-80 on debut in 1998 against Cheshire at Werrington.

MacVicar's match figures of 12-131 are the 20th-best on record.

The last 12 wickets or more in a match in chronological order have been:

Will MacVicar 12-131 in 2024 against Devon at Truro.

Justin Stephens 12-89 in 2001 against Wiltshire at Salisbury.

Chris Ellison 14-154 in 1998 against Cheshire at Werrington.

Mike Trenwith 12-80 in 1979 against Wiltshire at Camborne.

Dave Halfyard 16-85 in 1974 against Devon at Camborne.

Dave Halfyard 16-78 in 1974 against Dorset at Penzance.

Brian Read 12-71 in 1964 against Somerset II at Wadebridge.

Archie Smith 12-92 in 1953 against Oxfordshire at Penzance.

There were 13 other occasions between 1906 & 1938 including the record:

Frank Whiting 17-111 against Dorset at Camborne in 1913

Alex Blake's 160no is the 13th Highest Score on Record

194 by George Rogers at Camborne against Dorset in 1938 is the best.

Day 1

Lunch 13:22 -  Devon 98/6 (33)

Inns Closed 14:38 Devon 120 (42.1)

Tea 16:23 - Cornwall 88/4 (21)

Inns Closed 18:20 Cornwall 171 (47.3)

Close 19:21 Devon 29/2 (13)

Day 2

Lunch 13:21 Devon 108/4 (48)

Tea 16:20  Devon 237/4 (87)

Inns Closed 18:46 Devon 335 (115.4)

Close 19:14  Cornwall 0/1 (4)

Day 3

Lunch 13:22 Cornwall 120/3 (43) Blake 63*

Close 16:12 Cornwall 290-5 (72.5)

Match Reports courtesy Conrad Sutcliffe (Devon CCC)

Day 1

WILL MacVicar’s eight-wicket bowling show for Cornwall against Devon was the main talking point at the end of the first day’s play at Truro.

Cornwall skipper Paul Smith chucked MacVicar the new ball and was rewarded with an eight-for-46 return that bowled out Devon for 120 after captain James Horler elected to bat first.

It was the best bowling performance by any Cornwall player since the introduction of three-day cricket on the National Counties circuit more than 20 years ago. The previous best was the eight for 48 taken by Tom Dinnis, also against Devon, at Exeter in 2019.

Paul Smith, the Cornwall captain, heaped praise on the MacVicar, saying: “Will bowled magnificently.

“It makes a captain’s job very easy when you can throw a bowl to a bowler and he's picking up wickets consistently for a session.

“Hopefully, with the bat, we can make it a match-winning spell.”

Dave Tall, the Devon team manager, said: “Sometimes you just have to say ‘well bowled’

“Perhaps we were guilty of one or two average shots, maybe a decision went against us, but when you have six caught behind you are doing something right.”

Cornwall did not find runs that much easier to obtain as they were bowled out for 171. Men of the moment for Devon with four wickets each were paceman Kazi Szymanski and spinner Sam Read.

MacVicar, who bowled unchanged for throughout the Devon innings, took six consecutive wickets as Devon stumbled to 111 for eight. His haul included top scorer Matt Thompson (36) and Sam Read for 20.

Harry Southgate, Devon’s schoolboy debutant, showed his mettle by dogging it out for 23 not-out off 55 balls. As 20 of those runs came in boundaries, that is a lot of dots.

“Considering it was Harry’s first game at this level, and the conditions were difficult, he did exceptionally well,” said Tall.

Devon’s bowlers also found something to their liking in the Boscawen Park pitch as they returned the compliment by dismissing Cornwall midway through the 48^th over.

Alex Blake, in at 15 for two after a double strike by Szymanski (4-59), top-scored with 48. MacVicar and Smith contributed a brace of 27s in the middle order.

Read opened his account (4-38) by removing Blake then worked his way through the bottom half of the order.

Devon, 51 runs behind on first innings, were 29 for two at last night’s close. Both wickets were claimed by MacVicar, who has match figures of 10 for 55… with the power to add on day two!

Spare a thought please for Devon openers Ben Privet and James Horler, who have been dismissed twice on the same day of the same match.

If there is another talking point apart from MacVicar magnificence, it could be the number of wickets that fell on the first day. Perhaps umpires Callicott and Smith will have something to note in their post-match report on the subject?

Day 2

MATT Thompson and Lawrence Walker both struck centuries as Devon seized the initiative from Cornwall on day two of the National Counties Championship game at Truro.

Will MacVicar ensured day one belonged to Cornwall with 10 wickets in total – eight in Devon’s first innings, two more in their second – to help his side into a 22-run lead overnight.

Devon were all out for 120 first time around. Cornwall made it as far as 171 to lead by 51 on the first innings,

Devon, who resumed on 29 for two, were bowled in the final throes of the day for 335. Cornwall had to bat out the final four overs and were none for one when stumps were pulled. The man out to, a diving catch in front of the wicket by James Horler off Sam Read, was Max Tryfonos.

The arithmetic of Cornwall’s overnight position is they have to reach 285 to win on day three.

The men of the moment for Devon were fifth-wicket pair Thompson and Walker, who put on 175 during a marathon stint that began when lunch was being laid out and finished while the tea plates were being cleared away.

Cornwall, who ran through Devon’s batting with ease on day one, found wicket-taking a far more tricky business the second time around.

Will Christophers, Devon’s night watchman, batted on and for 14 off 73 balls as part of the grinding-out-runs process.

Cornwall’s Ellis Whiteford obtained two breakthroughs before lunch – he had Christophers caught behind then bowled Sam Elstone – and at the break Devon were 108 for four.

Thompson, one of the overnight not-outers, and Walker were well dug in by then and frustrated Cornwall for over after over while quietly compiling runs.

Devon had advanced to 237 for four by tea, which arrived with Thompson on 106 not out. He reached the sixth century of his Devon career with a snicked four through the slips off Adam Snowdon. His end came on 115 when Whiteford took a sprawling catch in the covers to compensate Snowdon for the earlier snick

Walker, 88 not out at the interval, got bogged down in the 90s and there was relief all round when he thumped MacVicar through cover-point complete a century in only his second Championship game.

Bits and pieces – notably Calum Haggett’s bright and breezy 25 – helped Devon to 300 and beyond.

MacVicar picked-up two more wickets in the final session to finish with four for 85 in the innings and 12 for 131 in the match. Having bowled almost 55 overs in the game, he has earned his corn as the Cornwall professional

Cornwall’s other significant wicket-taker was off-spinner Whiteford, who claimed four for 88 from 32 overs bowled.

Day 3

ALEX Blake chiselled out an unbeaten 160 during nearly four hours at the crease to steer Cornwall to a five-wicket win over Devon at Truro.

Cornwall went into the third and final day of the National Counties Championship clash on none for one overnight and facing a target of 285 to win.

Blake, in at 46 for two during the run-up to lunch, batted for the rest of the day to earn Cornwall a win that lifted them away from the bottom of the Division One table.

Devon, last season’s Division One champions, are propping-up the table and have a pressure game coming up against second-bottom Cheshire at Sidmouth. Loose that and they will be odds-on for relegation.

There was no shortage of absorbing cricket from both sides on the first two days at Boscawen Park.

Will MacVicar, took eight wickets for 46 runs – a three-day format record for Cornwall – as Devon were dismissed for 120 first-time around.

“Will's efforts on the first day were fantastic,” said Cornwall captain Paul Smith. “He really put us on the front foot after we lost the toss.”

Devon bowled out Cornwall for 171 – four wickets each for Kazi Szymanski and Sam Read – which left them 51 runs behind on first innings. They were 29 for two overnight.

A stand of 175 between former captain Matt Thompson (115) and Lawrence Walker (116) helped Devon post a second-innings total of 330 all out.

MacVicar (4-85) picked-up four more wickets for figures of 12 for 131 in the match – and there were four more for spinner Ellis Whiteford (4-88).

Devon’s lead of 284 was more than enough to make the game interesting. Cornwall were in no rush and used nearly 68 overs knocking-off the runs. Devon spinner Read (4-76) toiled away for 30 overs to take four more wickets and book impressive match figures of 43.3-9-114-8.

Blake, formerly with Kent before dropping into National Counties cricket, chipped away at Devon’s lead during stands of 71 with Karl Leathley (31) and 60 with MacVicar (22).

Captain Smith came and went for 11, which brought Jake Rowe out to join Blake on 185 for five. That was the last wicket to fall.

Rowe (31no) sauntered along in support of Blake, who started to show off his collection of big hits as the tea interval approached.

Blake finished the game with three sixes in four balls from Szymanski, who had been brought back after Max Shepherd had been larruped for 18 from the previous over at that end!

Smith said although the target set by Devon was a challenging one, he was always confident of chasing it.

“Devon showed great grit and determination to bat for a day, however, we felt we could chase anything with our batting line-up,” said Smith.

“Alex Blake really showed his class and his innings allowed the rest to just bat around him and make a fairly tricky run chase look relatively easy.”

“We always love to get one over the local rivals and hopefully we can take this momentum on to Cheshire at Boughton Hall in a few weeks.

Alex Blake goes to 150 in style.