Plymouth failed the first test of their Devon Cricket League title credentials when they lost by 80 runs to visiting Sidmouth.
The city side had negotiated the first five games of the season undefeated to sit third in the table behind Exmouth and Sidmouth going into the Mount Wise clash.
Plymouth remain third, but are now 22 points behind new leaders Sidmouth, who took advantage of Exmouth losing to Exeter to snatch top spot for themselves.
Sidmouth totaled 240 for nine in their 50 overs with Will Sobczak top scoring on 60.
It wasn’t Sobczak who hurt Plymouth though, but Scott Barlow with a rapidfire 58 coming in at number eight.
Plymouth’s bowlers had done a decent containing job on Sidmouth, led by Dave Burke (1-32), Matt Hooper (2-36) and Gionne Kopman (3-37).
Josh Bess made a steady 30 at the top of the order, and Sobczak 60 off 118 balls, but when Barlow went in with 10 overs to go Sidmouth were 154 for six.
Barlow’s 58 off 29 balls – which included six sixes and two fours – really got Sidmouth motoring. He signaled his intent by hitting the first ball from Sam Stein over the pavilion!
Sobczak finally went on 202 – caught at mid-on off Koopman – but Barlow carried on flogging the bowling until he was last man out in the penultimate over.
Plymouth were solid rather than spectacular as they set off in pursuit, reaching 70 for two in 18 overs with James Toms and Koopman the men out.
Toms went lbw to Bess for nine while Koopman chanced his arm against Liam Lewis’ on Ben Stein’s call and was run out for 29.
The game got away from Plymouth in the time it took them to slip from 93 for four, when Stein went, to 99 for six.
Will Murray got Stein and Dan Babula followed up with Jake Luffman and Harry Stephenson in the space of six balls.
Steve Luffman hung around until Bess had him caught behind, then Hooper (24) and Rob Bennett (12) did what they could to salvage a batting bonus point at 150.
Lewis broke the stand by bouncing out Hooper, who was caught behind as the last three wickets fell for just nine runs.
Cornwood hit rock bottom in the Premier Division after going down by 54 runs to Bovey Tracey.
Bovey haven’t been having a great time themselves and Corns’ skipper Jason Hall had hoped the game would offer a leg-up out of the bottom two.
Instead, Cornwood went in the opposite direction as Torquay won at Sandford to go past them.
Bovey posted 176 for six in a rain-reduced allocation of 43 overs.
Cornwood’s bowlers worked hard to keep the Bovey batters in check with Byron Langley (2-27), Matt Skeemer (1-21) and Adam Goodliffe (1-21) hard to get away.
When Devon batsman Matt Golding was sent back by Goodliffe, Bovey were an unimpressive 72 for four in the 21st over.
A stand of 31 between skipper Andy Fairbairn and Malcolm Lake (26) got Bovey moving before Hall ended their fun in the space of seven balls.
Cornwood couldn’t finish Bovey off through and ended up paying the price for letting former Devon captain Chris Bradley and Nathan Roberts hang around.
Bradley kept his end intact to make 19 while Roberts chiseled out 45 off 54 balls towards their unbroken stand of 68.
Cornwood didn’t get the start they wanted as Bovey’s bowlers coshed them from the start.
Seamers Roberts and Ryan Bougourd offered little to hit and the spinners offered no relief either.
Lake got the prized wicket of Jackson Thompson for one, then Sam Hickenbottom (2-13) and Golding (3-25) got into the middle order.
When Hall was sixth out on 87 the writing was on the wall but opener Chris Parker soldiered on until the 35th over when Golding spun him out for 46 off 103 balls before Bougourd (2-9) and Roberts (1-24) returned to knock over the tail.