TEIGNMOUTH & Shaldon collected a big win in their fight for B Division survival when they defeated Chudleigh by two wickets.

Chudleigh are already condemned to relegation and one of Teignmouth & Shaldon (181pts), Clyst St George (183) or, potentially, Bovey Tracey 2nd (191) will be joining them in the C Division West.

Teignmouth & Shaldon were nine points away from safety going into the penultimate round of fixtures. This win, linked to defeats for Clyst and Bovey, cut the leeway to just three points.

Clyst are away to third-placed Bideford – arguably the form side of the second half of the season – while Bovey make the short trip to Chudleigh.

Winning at Cullompton will be a big ask, but skipper Carl Woolnough believes the team is ready for the challenge.

“To stay in this division we have got to beat the best and won't need much more motivation than that,” said Woolnough.

Opener Matt Heather top-scored for Chudleigh with 51 in a 45-over tally of 193 for seven. He was fourth out on 111. Rob Clarke (39) and Mark Solway (23) were next best in the run-getting business.

Ryan Bougourd’s impeccable figures of thee for 22 off nine stood out in T&S’s bowling stats.

Losing opener Seamus McKenna in the first over was a blow T&S could have done without, but Todd Ballman (42) and Josh Couch (35) did a good job making up for it.

Losing three wickets in the 80s – all to Rob Clarke (4-53) – was another setback T&S had to recover from.

Step forward the Blackburn duo – dad Karl (49) and lad Tyler (17) – who between them got the target down to 34 to win with four wickets left. Jawad Shirzad’s unbeaten 27 did the trick!

Woolnough said the step-up from C Division cricket, which T&S were promoted from last year, has been testing on a number of levels.

“The quality in the bowling units is a lot higher as there have not been many games where it's been two or three bowlers then you can get after the rest, like you can in the C Division,” said the captain.

“You've had to earn every run, which is rewarding but a lot tougher.

“Unfortunately, when you have inconsistency in availability you get found out. We've shown that we can beat the best in the division but also that it's a heavy fall when you don't get things right.”