As we begun the 2nd half of the season, the 1s were focused on getting back to winning ways following a couple of defeats.
The line up: A.Pitt, D.Robbins, A.Chilcott, J.Geraghty, H.Choules+, L.Vukusic, B.Wakeley, G.Daldorph, A.Jopling, B.Slaviero, J.Choules*.
Choules held his nerve at the toss and elected to bat despite some rain circling Station Ground. There was a heavier downpour after the toss but the game started on time.
After the opening pair of Pitt & Robbins took 6 off the first Siddiqui over, Pitt snicked off in the second allowing him to assist Alice with a monumental tea effort with Vice Presidents starting to filter in.
Chilcott joined Robbins, the latter putting away the bad ball expertly, striking four 4s on his way to 25 before he was snaffled down the leg side.
Chilcott and Geraghty showed no signs of slowing things down as Jack took Siddiqui for three 4s in a row on the way to 59-2 after the first ten.
The visitors introduced some spin after the powerplay which appeared slightly harder to get away but Thors rotated the strike well. After 14 overs another shower hit and the players came off with the score on 71-2.
By the time the players returned to the field, 5 overs had been lost so we now had a 45 over game. Thors slick scoring rate meant the loss of overs wasn’t significantly damaging for the batting side.
Geraghty and Chilcott got themselves back in and took the score past 100 until Jack was unlucky to get one that kept low as he was bowled by Reddy for 45.
H.Choules joined Chilcott and the pair sought to make the most of the left hand/right hand partnership by turning the strike over. Sticking with spin, ex-captain Golby-West was introduced for the city side and he had Chilcott caught behind for 35 as the total reached 127-4.
Vukusic was next man in and coming off some impressive performances in the 2nd XI looked solid from the off. He and H.Choules took the score past 130 going into the last 15 overs.
Plymouth fought back well in the closing stages of the innings and the pair could only add another 11 runs before Vukusic was caught at mid wicket. Wakeley was next to go, caught at mid on, with H.Choules (19) going soon after following a running mix up. Thors wobbling at 157-7.
The tail couldn’t hang around for long before Daldorph was last out for 10 and Thors were 170AO with 10 balls unused.
After a generous tea, Thors started the defence with a good intensity. Slaviero and Daldorph beat the bat on numerous occasions from their usual ends but it was a phenomenal caught and bowled from George that was the breakthrough, removing Siddiqui for 8.
The opening pair continued to toil and continued to beat the outside edge regularly with the score reaching 28-1 after 6 overs apiece.
A double bowling change of J.Choules and Jopling tried to make the most of the turning wicket and Thors would have still felt in the game as half chances kept coming in the form of some aerial strokes and LBW appeals.
It wasn’t until the 18th over that we finally struck again though, Vukusic doing extremely well to get into position and steady himself at mid off to take the grab off of a Jopling leggy.
Just before drinks Choules removed opposite number Haffenden LBW following a brave sweep shot and the total reached 62-3. Opener Stephenson was next to go 1 run later for a patient 29 from 71 balls, caught at short mid wicket off of Choules.
Due to the tight start, the city side now had to consider run rate as well as keeping wickets intact as Thors kept applying pressure. Jopling had a second after drinks and with the score at 71-5, Thors looked favourites on paper. However with 2 ex captains in Golby-West and Varcoe in, Plymouth would have also fancied their chances.
A mistake from the latter, however, gifted Choules his 3rd with help from a smart catch on the rope from Daldorph. Pitt was introduced from the River End and struck in his 2nd over, the visitors now reeling at 89-7.
West was still there though and with the runs likely to have to come from him, he increased his scoring rate finding the boundary on a few occasions, taking the score past 100 with just over 5 an over needed.
With Choules (3-21) bowled out at the Pavilion End, Jopling was introduced. He got one to keep low, striking West’s pads and the umpire had no choice. Plymouth 111-8.
The final 2 wickets went down with little resistance as Slaviero was too quick for Rahmanzai and Pitt had a second when Rogers skied one to mid on.
Thors 53 run winners and move back into the top half of the A Division.
Huge thanks to Jimmy in the score box and Alice in the ktichen for their hard work throughout the day.
Thorverton Cricket Club 