CORNWALL skipper Paul Smith hailed his side’s turnaround despite not quite being able to secure top spot in Group Four of the NCCA Dojo T20 competition on Sunday.

They hosted neighbours Devon at Werrington knowing they had to prevail both fixtures to secure a home finals day in August, but had to settle for second in front of a large crowd.

The Duchy had won both double-headers against Dorset and Hereforshire to get back into contention after collecting just a point from their outings against Wiltshire on matchday one, and Cornwall named a similar squad to a fortnight before as the Kent-based trio of Alex Blake, Will MacVicar and Elliot Hooper were once again named.

Devon chose to field after winning the toss in the first game, and soon dismissed Alfie Macdonald and John Moon.

Opener Blake raced to 35 before falling in the seventh over, and although Smith made 45 from 35 balls, the hosts were in a spot of bother at 123-7 with just 24 deliveries remaining.

But Hooper (31no off 17) and wicketkeeper Billy Taylor (14no off 11) had other ideas they put on an unbroken 43 to give them a chance.

On a small ground that was probably below par, however the Duchy’s bowlers delivered in style to restrict Devon to 153-9.

Wickets fell at regular intervals, including dangerman Seb Linnitt to make it 49-3 in the seventh over, and they reached halfway at 70-3.

That became 75-5, before they added 29 from just 16 balls to get themselves back in the game.

However, Rhys Davies (14) and the dangerous Matt Whalley (23 off 13) both fell quickly, and although Lawrence Walker (25) and James Horler (14no) got in, they couldn’t quite accelerate enough.

MacVicar (2-24), Ben Ellis (2-17) and Ryan Tonkin (1-24) all went for less for a run-a-ball or less.

It meant the second fixture was effectively a tie for home advantage, but after deciding to change tack and bowl first, Cornwall’s bowlers started superbly as Devon stumbled to 70-4 in the 10th over with braces for Ben Ellis and Elliot Hooper.

But Linnitt found fine support from skipper Lawrence Walker (32no off 30), allowing the Exeter number three to make 79 from 55 deliveries as they reached 163-5.

Cornwall soon slipped to 21-3, all of the top three bowled going down the ground.

MacVicar and Smith went in the fifth over to the rampant Privett (4-25), and although Hooper (23) and Taylor (22) took Cornwall to 70-5 in the 11th over to raise hopes of a comeback, once they were separated the final four wickets went for just 17 with braces for Whalley (2-9) and Harry Passenger (2-6).

Reflecting on the day, Smith said: “It was fantastic to win the first game which meant we gave ourselves a chance of a home Super 12s and secured second place in the group barring a monumental shift in net run-rate.

“Unfortunately, we just ran out of steam and fell short. T20 is a format that when you go hard you do run the risk of a scorecard like ours. We know it didn’t look great and we know we are better than that as we proved in game one. However, to go five wins from our last six against very good opposition and qualify in second, shouldn’t be forgotten.”