Axminster beaten at home by Shobrooke Park

Axminster suffered a six wicket defeat when they entertained Shobrooke Park.

After losing the toss, Axminster were invited to bat on a damp wicket – this despite the covers being on throughout the Thursday and Friday rain. However, some had seeped under the covers and it certainly made batting difficult as was shown with the score board showing five runs for four wickets after four overs!

Skipper Paul Miller and Gary Larcombe set about rebuilding the home innings, something they did with aplomb. Larcombe was first to go, dismissed for a battling 27, but Miller continued to lead from the front before he too was returned to the pavilion, but not before he had scored an excellent 59. Danny Larcombe (27) and Dan Fuzzard (23) both chipped in as the innings closed on 171-8.

At tea, Miller was relatively content, knowing that the score his team had posted was competitive and that as long as his bowlers could find the spot after tea, they might just be able to take something from the game.

Sadly that was not to be the case for the visitors’ lost only four wickets as they eased their way to another success.

Miller was clear as to what went wrong. He said: “We simply did not bowl in the way we have been doing lately. It was ‘one of those days’ for us with the ball and a performance we can quickly forget about.”

The defeat leaves Axminster joint second bottom of the table, but in a close section they are also just 13 points shy of the fifth paced team! On Saturday they travel to a Plymstock side that side three places and seven points better off than them.

Miller says: “It’s a game we need to look to win. Then bottom line is that if we bowl as we did against Shobrooke park, then we’ll get what we deserve, However, if we can apply ourselves in the correct manner, then there is no reason why we can’t come back with a good haul of points.”