Following the 2nd XIs league win, we sat down with the skipper Jack Stirling to dissect the season.
How are you feeling now the dust has settled on the promotion?
I’m still feeling extremely proud. Obviously the way things panned out we’ve known we were on the way up for a while, but it was nice to get over the line & celebrating winning the title on the last day against Bradninch was one of my favourite days in cricket. It’s no less than we deserved.
And how were those celebrations?
Joyous, as you could tell that there’s still definitely that competitive element further down the leagues, I think people who haven’t been involved much in the 2s underestimate what it means, but it meant a great deal to the group. Benny Coe couldn’t get his hands on the bubbly quick enough! It would’ve been great to have the whole squad there with us, but you can’t have it all.
As for the evening of celebrations, let’s just say I woke up on Jake Choules’ floor with no wallet & a gashed shin from falling over in the road.
You mentioned it looked like we were up for a while, was that expected or did the season go better than you imagined?
To get promotion was a goal we set at the start of the season & wrote into the club development plan, as the 2nd XI needed to be playing at a higher level to help sustain A Division cricket for the 1st XI. I always thought it was a realistic aim, but I wouldn’t have envisaged winning 16 games & being 85 points clear of third at the start of this season. It’s a testament to the skill and attitude of the squad that we exceeded expectations to that extent. A lot of that has to be put down to the availability we have had this year, it’s been great to see competition for places every week as it ensures players raise their game accordingly.
Who were the stand out performers in the squad?
It’s easy to cop out on this question & say everyone, but there certainly is an element of truth to that. Andy Daldorph dominated attacks for the whole season & finished leading run scorer in the league; you can’t ask for much more than that. Bobby Heard bowling offies was like signing a new player and to take 20 wickets in 8 games is daft. Imogen Daldorph was definitely the standout in the second half of the season for her consistency.
And did any matches in particular stand out?
The first one that pops into my head is Bradninch away, in which we very much found a way to win, despite being off the pace for most of the game & those are the situations in which Champions are made, squeezing results out of situations when your back are against the wall. I think that fixture showed our character more than any other.
The other standouts are Kentisbeare away for the batting display and the team performance at Topsham, which essentially won us the league.
Any stand out individual displays or comical moments you’d like to mention?
Andy Daldorph features in both of them, his two hundreds were incredible. However, he did manage to fall over fielding at Ottery St Mary and reminiscent of Paulo Di Canio, use both of his flailing legs to boot the ball over the boundary for 4.
Paul Stirling getting out off a no ball & then hit in his box during his first two balls at the crease just after his new girlfriend had turned up was hilarious. There were so many great individual displays with the bat across the season.
What are the targets for next year & long term aims for the 2s?
I think our squad is better than one you would expect to be involved in a relegation scrap in the D Division, so middle table is a realistic goal to set ourselves. In order to do that we need a similar level of availability & performance. If we can do that whilst continuing to offer as much cricket to younger players then I’d be more than happy.
Sustaining D Division cricket has to be the long-term goal as a lot of 2nd XIs have crashed & burned in the higher divisions.
If we can keep the unit together & offer more league cricket to more people via the reintroduction of a 3rd XI when the time is right, I’d deem that a successful few years.
Thorverton Cricket Club 