BOVEY Tracey 2nd XI continued their domination of the Aaron Printers Cup competition with an 11-run win over Torquay in a pulsating final at Netherton Park.

Sam Russell blazed away for a top score of 46 not out from 33 balls as Bovey posted 158 for five in the 20-over final.

Despite a typically forthright 71 from Chris Kelmere – eight fours, three sixes, 47balls – Torquay came up short on 147 for six.

It was Bovey Tracey’s fourth win in a row in the final, which is a record for the 75-year-old competition. No one else has won it more than two years running.

Bovey Tracey were 68 for three at the halfway stage – Tom Andrew (30) and Sam Robbins (19) largely responsible – and seemed to slow for the next five overs against spinner Kelmere (2-16) and Atharva Jadhav.

Russell and Braydon Pink raised the tempo in the last five overs with some brutal hitting that ruined the bowling figures of Aaron Hearn and Harry Passenger.

Bovey Tracey batsman Sam Russell goes after the Torquay bowling in the Aaron Printers Cup final. Russell 46 runs from 33 balls later earned him the man-of-the-match award in his side's 11-run win
Bovey Tracey batsman Sam Russell goes after the Torquay bowling in the Aaron Printers Cup final. Russell 46 runs from 33 balls later earned him the man-of-the-match award in his side's 11-run win (Contributed)

66 runs were added towards an unbroken stand of 82 between Russell and Pink (29no) that had fielders and spectators looking for lost balls in the next field at times.

Passenger bowled the final over – an eight-baller due to a couple of wides – which cost Torquay 25 runs. Russell launched three of the legal balls for six over mid-wicket.

Torquay lost opener Harry Baxendale early to a sprawling catch by Russell off Pink.

Runs came in trickles for a while – Harry Pitman (2-12 off four) and Bovey skipper Dan Green (1-25) made sure of that – but Passenger (13) and Bobby Western (21) kept the board ticking over.

Kelmere put his foot down with 71 off 47 balls – eight fours, three sixes – as Torquay played catch-up. Pitman persuaded Kelmere to hit a delivery up in the air, which Russell got underneath to send him back.

Torquay were already in the 10-an-over territory when they lost Kelmere – and tried making up lost ground.

Sumukh Bharadway (27) gave it a go and with two overs left the target was down to 31 to win. Stiff but doable.

The miserly Pitman limited Torquay to just five runs from the penultimate over, which left 26 to win from the last one bowled by Chris Yabsley. It was a few too many and at the end of it, Torquay were short on 147 for six.

The final was played for the first time at Stokeinteignhead CC, who stepped in at short notice.

Conrad Sutcliffe, the competition organiser, said: “I cannot praise Stokeinteignhead highly enough, and in particular groundsman Tim Treeby, for getting the game on at short notice. He went on to label it as “a memorable final.”

Bovey Tracey have now won nine finals since 2007 and been defeated finalists in two more with Barton leading the way on 12 wins.