The unbeaten 1st XI travelled to promotion favourites Torquay in what was probably the highlight A Division fixture of the afternoon.
With a couple of changes from last week’s win, the line up was: A.Pitt, D.Robbins, B.Coe, B.Coetzee, H.Choules+, A.Chilcott, G.Daldorph, H.Squire, B.Slaviero, J.Broom, J.Choules*.
In his 175th 1s league game for the club, the skipper won the toss and elected to bat. It was a nightmare start for Thors when Pitt was unlucky to be given caught behind down the leg side and Robbins holed out to mid off. 3-2. Dabhade with both wickets.
Somerset staffer Blaise Baker kept things tight at the other end as Coe and Coetzee set about the rebuild. A couple of boundaries apiece took some early pressure off and Thors were grateful to receive 5 penalty runs when the ball struck the keeper’s unused helmet. The pressure was further reduced in the 10th Over when Dabhade bowled a no ball to Coe who clattered the free hit for a maximum. 30-2 at the end of the first powerplay.
The change bowling for the hosts stemmed the flow of boundaries but the more defensive field allowed the batters to rotate the strike as Thors reached 61-2 at the 17 over drinks break.
Coe was caught a couple of overs later for a well made 27. Harry Choules joined Coetzee but the duo could only add 5 more runs before Choules was adjudged LBW with the wicket keeper moving down the leg side.
Another rebuild was in order as Chilcott joined Coetzee, the pair both looking solid on a relatively true wicket. At the halfway stage the score was 85-4 and things seemed to be in the balance.
Just as Thors started to relax and the 2nd batting point had been reached, Coetzee was bowled for a solid 40. Daldorph added 6 runs but was caught in the ring and Thorverton were in bother again at 115-6.
Squire joined the ever present Chilcott and dug deep to survive some early nervous moments. It was when Baker was introduced that Squire got going, crunching him through the covers and rotating the strike well with Chilcott who was now finding some joy with a selection of sweep shots.
The pair took the score past 150 with 10 overs to go and for the first time in the afternoon, 200 looked like a feasible target for the visitors. Both batters were looking more than solid now and things were on track as we reached 175-6 in the 46th over.
Dabhade was reintroduced for a 2nd spell and had his 3rd wicket when he removed Chilly for a more than useful 42. Slaviero and Squire followed with a boundary each and some hard run singles as we reached 192-7 going into the final over.
With Henry falling for 41 trying to force the next batting point, Thors finished up on 196-8. A solid total given the scores at 3-2 and 115-6 but probably under par.
With no teas on offer on the English Riveria, there was a short break to watch United’s 2nd goal in the FA Cup final before the 2nd innings commenced.
With rain now threatening, it was clear Torquay had a plan to get on with things with Kelmere in particular using his feet to put the pressure on Daldorph and Slaviero. Thors aided the cause with a few extras but Kelmere’s striking had us under real pressure at 40-0 from 5.
The skipper stuck with the reliable opening pair who started to find some rhythm in the Torquay drizzle. In the end it was a full toss that was the undoing of Kelmere when a leading edge was claimed by Harry Choules. Torquay 57-1 in the 10th and with the DLS Par score shooting up by 15 runs due to the wicket, Thors had a glimmer of hope.
Slaviero and Daldorph closed out their opening spells tightly but left handed Western and South African professional Roux stayed solid.
Robbins replaced Slaviero and Broom replaced Daldorph, the latter picking up the wicket of Western first ball with another claim behind by Harry Choules. Torquay 76-2 after 16 but still comfortably ahead of the required rate.
The rain continued to threaten and Thors were aware that if less than 20 overs were bowled, there would be no result and a useful amount of bonus points would’ve been amassed for both sides. The ball was becoming damp and difficult to grip for the bowlers which made bowling to the positive Torquay batting challenging. However, the rain was never hard enough to leave the field and after 20 overs, Torquay only required another 90 runs to win.
The skipper rotated his bowlers from here, knowing wickets were the only hope now and at the very least would add some bonus points. He went close himself when an LBW appeal was turned down off his first ball only to see the next sail over his head via the impressive Roux.
Torquay skipper Passenger was also going after it and finished the job with a couple of boundaries in the 29th over just as Chilcott was getting loose.
Thors well beaten by 8 wickets by a strong Torquay outfit with another tough test on the horizon as we travel to last season’s runners up Kilmington next week.
Thorverton Cricket Club 