Back Row L-R: Keeley Wells (scorer), Juliette Lea, Lisa May, Gemma Pollard, Lucy Wells, Charli Harlow, Ben Slaviero (umpire).
Front row L-R: Vanessa Wilson, Lucy Harget, Sophie Whiteley, Sureka Khan, Tash Carbines
On Sunday the Station Ground saw Thorverton Womens team play their first ever home game in the Devon Women’s Softball League. Cullompton were the visitors on a sunny afternoon and having won the toss they put Thorverton into bat.
The Thorverton side lined up as: Sophie Whiteley, Natasha Carbines, Vanessa Wilson, Lucy Harget, Lisa May, SurekaKhan, Lucy Wells, Charli Harlow, Juliette Lea and Gemma Pollard.
Harlow and Harget were the first pair to bat and after a tight couple of overs they managed to get the scoreboard moving, with a number of quick 2s and a well struck 4 by Harget. They returned after their 4 overs with the score on 20 for no loss.
Whiteley and Pollard continued the flow of runs with Whiteley striking 2 boundaries and the pair running well. Cullompton struck back though with 2 wickets in the 8th over from the bowling of Diggle, adding 10 to the visitors score.
The momentum continued with Cully as they took another wicket in the 9th over. Smart field placings prevented the pair of Khan and Lea finding the boundary on numerous occasions and after the 12th over the score was 68 for the loss of 3 wickets.
Carbines and Wilson were the final pair in with Cullys bowlers now in a good rhythm. The scoreboard did keep ticking over though with Wilson in particular playing some confident shots through the off-side.
After 16 overs the score finished on 83 for the loss of 3 wickets, meaning Cullompton would start on 15.
Cully got off to a good start in the chase with 22 runs coming from the first 3 overs. Harget took a much needed wicket in the 5th over whilst only going for 1 run. The next overs from Carbines and Wilson only went for 3 in total and Thors looked like they were back in the game with the score at 45 now chasing 88.
The momentum was soon back with the visitors though with a couple of well struck boundaries and the help of a few wides!
After 12 overs the score was up to 80 with no sign of letting up. A catch just went a miss and the final Cully pair finished with a flourish to come out deserving winners with a total of 107 to Thorvertons 88.
Thorverton – 83 runs scored + 1 wicket taken = 88
Cullompton – 92 runs scored + 3 wickets taken = 107
An encouraging game for the Womens side in their first league fixture, with good performances all round with the bat and in the field. Plenty to work on too, particularly the adaption to match bowling with new balls, no cones and a bit of wind!
Training resumes on Tuesday from 6:30pm with the return fixture vs Cullompton next Sunday at 10am.
A big thank you to Paul Jordan for preparing the pitch, Ben Slaviero for umpiring, Jason Van Der Meulen, Keeley Wells and Alex Jopling for scoring, Dom Carbines for running the bar and all those who came down to support!
Thorverton Cricket Club 