BOVEY Tracey fanned the flames of a Premier Division revival with a five-wicket win over fellow strugglers Plympton in the basement battle at Harewood House.

Although Bovey Tracey (86pts) are still in the bottom two, they have closed the gap on Paignton immediately ahead of them to 19 points.

Pete Bradley, the Bovey captain, felt there were encouraging signs in what was only the second win of the season for a side largely shy when it comes to run scoring.

“Obviously it was great to get the win with some good individual performances,” said Bradley.

“Musa Twala and Sam Taylor stood up to get us over the line – and there were good signs from the early order where batters got starts.

“Hopefully, this win may give us a kick-start and try to climb the table.”

Plympton totalled a respectable 200 for eight in a full 50-overs-each game that avoided the bad weather disruption in other parts of the county.

Runs came in bits and pieces from opener Shahbaz Javed (29), Harry Kandampully, who made 31 batting second wicket down, and Chris Dunstan, who was 27 not at the end.

Bovey gave away 42 in extras – 36 of them wides – which boosted the total.

Seb Ansley (3-39) was Bovey’s leading wicket taker. Musa Twala had two for 32. Spinner Ollie Clifford-Bourne (10-3-22-1) offered few scoring opportunities.

Twala opened-up for Bovey and had the target down to seven to win when he was last out for 83.

Significant stands involving Twala were 40 for the first wicket with Jake Pascoe (17), and 85 with Sam Taylor (47) that made the result academic. Seb Ansley (17no) won it in a hurry by bashing Jamie Bailey for a four then a six.

Plympton bowlers Callum Williams, Craig Donohue and Surya Suresh all wheeled away below four an over to make Bovey work for their runs.

Skipper Elliot Hamilton (3-54) came back for a second spell late in the game and took some punishment prising out Twala and Taylor.

Bradley only had one moan after the game: Bovey’s fielding.

“It was one of our poorest performances in the field: five dropped catches and nearly 50 extras,” said Bradley.

Next up is an equally huge game for Bovey Tracey as they face eighth-placed Heathcoat, a side with a 30-point advantage on them in the current standings. Nearest rivals Paignton travel to second-place Sandford so another BTCC win would likely have major ramifications.

On the flipside, Plympton face fifth-placed Cornwood and it would seem that the former require a miracle to avoid relegation after the defeat to Bovey.