It was a spell of some twenty deliveries that saw Bradninch claim six wickets for just 16 runs as Bovey Tracey slipped from 120-1 after 15.4 overs to 136-6 after 19.1 overs that really ended any threat to Ninch in their Sunbelt Rentals Devon T20 Finals Day semi-final meeting at Plymstock.
Bradninch skipper Gary Chappell won the toss and chose to bat first and he and Tim Piper ensured the side got the ideal start as they racked up eight runs off the first over, 14 off both the second and third and then had another 13 runs added before, to the final ball of the fourth over, Chappell was caught by Ashley Causley off Elliott Adams for a 13-ball 20.
That left Ninch 49-1 at the start of the fifth overwhich ended up being a 10-ball over from which new bat Ross Acton got five runs and Piper added another 11 to leave Ninch 68-1 after five overs!
Just five runs came from the sixth and there were eight from the seventh before, having scored 49 from 23 balls, Piper was caught by Munir Kakar off Ollie Clifford-Bourne to leave Ninch 94-2 after eight overs.
Mitch Pugh joined Ross Acton and they scored eight runs off the ninth, seven off the tenth and four off the 11th before, with the score on 119, Acton was caught by Ashley Causley off Clifford-Bourne and trooped back with a 22-ball 26 to his name.
Eliot Acton joined Pugh and the pair took the total to 148 when Acton became the fourth wicket to fall, in his case caught by Kakar off Will Christophers and out for a 14-basll 19.
Dan Hardy joined the action and he and Pugh took the total to 189 when, to the sixth delivery of the 19th over, Hardy was trapped leg before by Kakar and out for an 8-ball 11.
Chad Classen joined Pugh for the final over and the pair added another nine runs to see Ninch to a closing total of 198-5.
With almost 10 runs an over recorded, all the Bovey bowlers shipped runs, but the best of the returns was the 2-34 from four overs sent down by Ollie Clifford-Bourne.
Will Christophers was the most economic with his return of 1-29 from four.
Chad Classen and Ross Acton were given the new ball duties when the Bovey run chase began. Classen conceded just three runs off the first over while the first sent down by Acton saw no runs off the bat with just three leg byes and a wide added to the score.
Classen went for 12 in his second and Acton went for 11 in his second to leave Bovey on 30-0 after four.
Mitch Pugh sent down the fifth which yielded just five runs and the sixth, a third from Ross Acton, went for nine.
Fifteen runs came from the seventh sent down by Pugh and so, after seven overs, Bovey were 59 without loss and had made a competent start.
Ninch skipper Chappell decided on a double change with Josh Farley and himself bowling in tandem.
Indeed, with just his second delivery, Farley made the initial break through having Abraham Kopparambil caught by Chad Classen and out for a 25-ball 35.
Five more runs came from the eighth over and, as Chappell began to bowl the ninth, Bovey were 65-1.
That first over from Chappell went for just five runs, Farley conceded only six with his second – the 10th and, with only four coming from Chappell’s second, Bovey were 80-1 after 11 and the required run rate was beginning to rise!
Farley sent down the 12th over from which just five runs were scored and that was also how many runs came off the 13th – sent down by the skipper.
Munir Kakar hit a couple of sixes in the 14th over which was bowled by Farley. Seventeen runs came from the over and, at the start of the 15th over, Bovey were 107-1 and now needing 92 from 36 deliveries.
The 15th over was sent down by Chappell and again it was a tight one, yielding just seven runs.
Ross Acton returned to bowled the 16th and he got the important wicket of Kakar, caught by Mitchell Pugh and out for a 28-ball 37.
It was to be the beginning of that 20-ball sequence that saw no fewer than six wickets.
Chad Classen returned to bowl the 17th over and, with the final delivery of the over he dismissed Will Christophers for a 45-ball 43 – Will Squire holding the catch to give Classen the wicket.
Mitch Pugh returned to sent down the 18th and after a one, a dot and a two, he claimed two wickets in as many balls, first having Daniel Green caught by Will Squire for a run-a-ball seven and then, with the very next ball, he knocked over the stumps to send Ashley Causley packing for a two-ball one.
With the first ball of the 19th over, Classen struck again, clean bowling Lewis Hammett for a two-ball one. The wicket came from the first delivery of the over and just five runs came from the remaining five balls to leave the Bovey run chase in a hopeless position of 136-6.
Dan Hardy had the ball for the final over and he struck with the very first delivery, having Clifford-Bourne caught by Thom Bunker and out for a four-ball five.
With the game well and truly over, the final five deliveries saw another seven runs added as Bovey closed on 143-7 to leave Bradninch winners by a margin of 55 runs and into a final confrontation with Sandford.