After Fridays heatwave, the 2nd XI entertained Kentisbeare 1st XI at a refreshingly cooler Station Ground. Stirling again lost the toss and Kentisbeare put the hosts in.
Thors lined up with:- Farley, A.Daldorph, L.Vukusic, Baldock, Jefferson, G.Squire, Porter+, E.Vukusic, Baker, J.Stirling*, O.Coe.
Farley and Daldorph once again took on opening duties and got the hosts off to a flier, both taking advantage of the hardness of the new ball & the rapid outfield to consistently find the fence, taking Thors to an impressive 83-0 from the first ten. The hundred partnership was brought up in the 15th over, and Daldorph’s 50 was reached off 53 balls in just 45 minutes of play.
Kentisbeare finally got Farley for 38 in the 18th over, ran out after Busch missed the stumps with a direct throw, the ball was kicked back onto the non-strikers stumps by bowler Peter Kittow.
The eagerly anticipated returning of Luke Vukusic at 3 got off to a solid start with Daldorph, taking the hosts to 147-1 at drinks.
Daldorph brought up his second league 100 of the season from just 96 balls before falling to Kittow, chopping on for 105. A great innings that included 16 fours. Thors 179-2 after 29 overs.
Baldock joined Vukusic and was swiftly removed for 5, bowled by Sanders. Debutant Sam Jefferson joined Vukusic and the pair continued to accumulate with some lovely shots and good running. Vukusic brought up a well earned 50 from 48 balls before being caught and bowled by Sanders for 59, with the score 257-4 with 5 left. Jefferson followed shortly after for 23.
Grant Squire & Jay Porter saw us through the remaining 5 overs with some kamikaze running which they both managed to survive. Squire finished with 13*, Porter 10* and the total 283-5 from our overs.
After one of the annual highlights for the 2nd XI, a Carol Farley tea, Thors took to the field with the light and threatening clouds looking less than ideal.
Erin Vukusic bowled Sanders with the first ball of the innings with a great inswinger that the Kentisbeare skipper took a while to process what had just happened. Brother Luke opened from the other end and the pair kept things below the required run rate, Luke then bowling Norman for 4 and the visitors were 30-2 after 8.
With the light fading sharply and the clouds looking even more threatening, a double spin change of Baker & Stirling came into the attack to try and get through as many overs before the impending rain came in. Baker removed Kittow LBW for 8 and Stirling also hit the pads of Bendall for 15, the visitors 63-4 from 19.1 overs when the rain hammered down, just 5 balls short of making a game under the league’s rules.
The heavy rain continued for 40 minutes and play resumed at 6:05pm. The visitors recalculated target 214 from 34 overs.
Baker (2-14) and Stirling (2-28) continued their spells until they were bowled out , both picking up another in the process, the visitors 72-6 after 23 overs as Coe and E.Vukusic came back into the attack.
Vukusic struck straight away, getting Busch caught by Baker for 5. Erin finished her 7 overs with impressive figures of 2-15. Luke replaced his sister from the River End.
Coe got in on the act, removing Scott Chappell, the only act of resistance for the visitors for a well made 50, bowled top of off.
In the final over, Coe had P.Chappell caught by A.Daldorph for 2 and struck with the very final ball to remove McQueenie for 0 and claimed all 20 points for the hosts, Kentisbeare 137ao and 76 runs short of the revised target.
Skipper Jack Stirling “Another impressive win with the ever dependable Andy Daldorph doing the business yet again. Great performances from Luke and Sam considering they’ve been away for a few months. To nearly bowl 20 overs in an hour after the innings break to try and ensure we got a result is testament to our attitude as a unit. Great stuff from the ball from Erin, Jonny and Olly to see things home. Everyone now knows their roles in this side and we need to continue to perform them well to get to where we need to be”.
The win keeps the 2nd XI 15 points clear at the top of the E East, as we host North Devon 3rd XI next Saturday.
Thorverton Cricket Club 