STOKEINTEIGNHEAD made it six wins on the trot in the F Division West when they trounced Stoke Gabriel by seven wickets.

Off-spinner Joe Liyo, a recent arrival at Netherton, was the man of the moment for the Villagers with a seven-wicket haul that helped skittle Stoke Gabriel for 151.

Jon Robertson led the Stokeinteignhead chase with 65 as the runs were knocked off with nearly 12 overs to spare.

Six wins on the spin have lifted Stokeinteignhead to third in the table, where they are contesting the promotion battle with Cornwood 3rd XI and Bovey Tracey 3rd XI.

Tom Hawkins, the Stokeinteignhead skipper, is reluctant to speculate too much on promotion prospects. He is just pleased to see the side he has captained for four seasons improving all the time.

“A few new players have joined – like Joe, who is new to the area – and what we have now is depth in our batting and bowling,” said Hawkins.

“Most Saturday’s we have six or seven seamers to bowl – that’s what you need – and our top seven can all bat.

“There was a time not that long ago when if Hugo Longrigg got out cheaply it was a disaster! Now we have some depth.”

Another thing that has helped Stokeinteignhead’s progress is continuity of selection.

“We have a good squad that has gelled through playing together regularly,” said Hawkins.

As far as promotion is concerned, Hawkins is a realist. He sees it as a contest between Stokeinteignhead and Bovey Tracey for the runners-up spot behind Cornwood.

“Cornwood keep on winning and are flying at the top,” said Hawkins.

“To get promoted we probably need another six wins.

“We play Bovey three games from the end of the season, which could be an interesting one…”

Stoke Gabriel made steady progress to 102 for two with runs in the book for Chris Reeves (40) and a fair sprinkling of 31 extras.

Liyo’s first act was to clear out Reeves and from then on Stoke Gabriel declined.

Robertson accounted for veteran batter Doug Ansley and from then on it was the Joe Liyo show. He took six in a row – two on 117, two more on 133 – and finished the innings by removing Kai Horsborough for 27.

There was only going to be one outcome once Stokeinteignhead openers Robertson and Oliver Hastie (47no) got into their stride.

Hastie was still there at the end… and with him on 21 not out was Liyo.