Wiltshire CCC's Men finish season with defeat against Devon CCC
Wiltshire CCC v Devon CCC @ South Wilts CC
NCCA Cluberly Championship - Western Division 1
23rd – 24th August 2026
Day 1
Devon won the toss and chose to bat first on yet another pleasant summer’s day. Warm, but not uncomfortably hot as it has been in recent weeks. Elliott Hamilton 66 and Sam Elstone 63 took control and moved the score forward steadily reaching one hundred in the 28th over. It was not until the introduction of spin that wickets began to tumble. Sam Elstone was the first to go – LBW to Joe King, 3 for 92. Wadworth Man of the Match Jake Lintott then took the first of his 5 wickets ( 5 for 89) by removing James Horler. Joe and Jake between them took 8 wickets, but Ben Privett 95 offered stubborn resistance and took a liking to their bowling with a flurry of boundaries ( 10 fours and 5 sixes). He enjoyed support from Callum Harvey, 26 and Sam Read 30. At this point captain Ed Young entered the scene and promptly removed Harvey LBW and then saw Ben Privett splendidly caught on the boundary by Jack Mynott . Ed then closed the Devon innings by contributing to Jake Lintott’s 5 wicket haul by catching Sam Read. There were also well-taken catches by Tom Cheater and Jake Lintott with 5 LBW decisions going Wiltshire’s way and Joe King bowling Seb Linnitt. Devon reached 310 all out but had only used 70.2 overs which meant that Wiltshire had a substantial time in order to build an innings and Devon had the opportunity to force inroads into the Wiltshire batting. Unfortunately, Devon took complete control as they demolished Wiltshire for just 92 with Daldorph taking 4 for 32, Harvey 3 for 56 and Read 3 for 54 as Wiltshire slipped from 75 for 4 to 92 all out. Only Will Naish stood firm as he accumulated 45 while watching partners fall around him. Devon then had to face three overs of their second innings which they survived without loss and scored 14 runs,
Day 2
The second day began with Devon building their second innings in the hope of giving Wiltshire an unassailable target with a lead already of 232 runs. Seven men moved their score into double figures, but without dominating the bowling. Spin was once again the key for Wiltshire with Jake Lintott adding 3 for 48 to his impressive first innings tally and Joe King with a hardworking 24 overs taking 6 for 94. Despite no batter scoring more than 30 Devon saw their lead increase steadily. The free-scoring Ben Privett was unable to repeat his first innings heroics as he was the only victim of pace caught by Jake Lintott from an Archie Pascoe delivery. That was one of two catches for Jake Lintott with others being well held by Tom Cheater, Cyrus Shafi, Archie Pascoe and Jake Goodwin behind the stumps who also took a sharp stumping. When Harvey became one of two LBW decisions Devon were 120 for 7 a challenging lead of 338. Daunting maybe, but not insurmountable. The 8th wicket fell at 134 which brought Cameron Kidd 25 and Matthew Whalley 28 not out together which frustrated Wiltshire and pushed the score on to 188. When George Daldorph was trapped LBW by Joe King only 1 more run had been added as Devon closed on 189 and a lead of 407. The Wiltshire reply began confidently with Jack Mynott and Cyrus Shafi, but with the score on just 39 both were dismissed by George Daldorph 4 for 27, the most successful Devon bowler. Daldorph compounded Wiltshire’s misery when he also dismissed Will Naish and Ed Young without either troubling the scorers. Jake Goodwin 45 and Wadworth Man of the Match Jake Lintott 62 then dug in and progressed the score to 182 for 8 before Jake Lintott was caught behind by Matt Thompson. Harvey 3 for 56 and Read 3 for 54 complemented Daldorph and completed the task, but not before Sam Freestone demonstrated that he can bat as well as bowl with a cameo 32 from just 38 balls before Wiltshire’s dream was ended on 213 all out and a comfortable victory for Devon by 194 runs.
And so another season comes to a close for Wiltshire CCC. Two splendid victories at Eastnor and Henley, but with disappointing defeats at Corsham and Bemerton. The team showed what they are capable of by reaching the quarter finals of both the T20 and 50 over competitions. They were also just the one game away from making the finals of the Championship too. They are a competent team with good team spirit led by an excellent captain in Ed Young. Everyone in the squad has contributed to the successes with runs aplenty coming from all sources and all bowlers capable of taking decisive wickets. It is time to accentuate the positive and look ambitiously towards the future. They won more than they lost this summer and 2027 will surely bring more successes.
Roy Honeybone, August 2026
