IN sport the difference between winning and losing can very often be down to very fine margins as has been the case over the past two weeks for Sandford First Eleven.

Unfortunately defeats against Hatherleigh and North Devon have left them bottom of the table but if that extra 10 per cent can be found to turn a close defeat into a victory then the season could still see them keeping their place in the top division.

Against Hatherleigh they were put in to bat and scored 219. Faisal Iqbal top scored with 75 (still looking for that elusive first-century with the Kingfishers!) and Adrian Small chipped in with 45 but from 174 for four, the last six wickets only managed another 45.

Hatherleigh always seemed to be behind the asking rate but managed to keep wickets in-hand and when the accelerator button was needed then it proved very effective.

There was a last minute wobble but the home side came out victorious by one wicket with two balls to spare.

There were three wickets for Chris Simpson and two each for Pete Steer and Faisal Iqbal.

Against North Devon there was a great start with the visitors being reduced to 79 for seven.

However the Premier Division sides have batting and bowling options throughout the side and so it proved for North Devon as their last three wickets put on 92 to finish with a total of 171.

There were three wickets for Jamie Palmer and two each for Matt Theedom, Pete Steer and Richard Foan.

Sandford kept losing wickets and couldn’t put together any decent partnership throughout their innings.

Skipper Richard Foan top scored with 44 but 22 from Ryan Glass and Chris Jelley was as good as it got from the rest, as Sandford fell short of their target by eight runs.

The Second Eleven have had mixed fortunes over the past two weeks. After being soundly beaten by North Devon they bounced back to win a very close game against Countess Wear.

Apart from acting skipper Chris Blake (42) no-one managed to stay in very long as Sandford were dismissed for a very disappointing 123 against North Devon.

The visitors cruised to victory by seven wickets with nearly 20 overs to spare. It was a different story against Countess Wear where the last three wickets put on a crucial 58 runs.

Chris Blake continued his impressive form with 46 and lower down the order there were important runs made by Alex Stevens (23), Greg Lewis (16) and Phin Semenya (15) as Sandford posted a respectable total of 171.

It was a fairly subdue start to the Countess Wear innings until skipper Shaun Hawkins (making a welcome return to the side) joined forces with Simon Saunders to chip away at the wickets.

Shaun finished with four for 27 and Simon three for 32 as Countess Wear were dismissed for 163 and Sandford came home victorious by eight runs.

The season will start to become much clearer for the side as they play four of the top six sides over the next four weekends.

Fixtures this weekend at Creedy Park: Saturday, June 16 at 1.30pm – Sandford Seconds Eleven v Exmouth Second Eleven.

Sunday, June 17 at 1.30pm – Sandford First Eleven v Hatherleigh First Eleven.

Mike Canning