One point separated the sides as the 1st XI travelled to fellow high fliers Kilmington. The team included a debut for Mickey Wilkinson and Henry Squire was presented with his 1st XI cap as he made his 5th appearance.
The team: A. Pitt, L. Vukusic, B. Coe, B. Coetzee, H. Choules+, H. Squire, M. Wilkinson, G. Daldorph, B. Slaviero, A. Jopling, J. Choules.
The game would be played on a previously used pitch which was already showing signs of wear so the skipper elected to bat when he won the toss. Andy Pitt opened up with Luke Vukusic who had made the trip down from Nottingham for the game. Ollie Reed bowled good areas at a decent pace from the off although Pitt did find the boundary in the opening over. At the other end, Josh Cann got the ball to swing and kept things tight despite a couple of extras.
Vukusic went back to one that skidded through and was bowled by Reed in the 5th over. Coe and Pitt then rotated the strike as Thors reached 31-1 after the opening powerplay.
The spin of Seaward and overseas import Whelan was immediately introduced with Pitt getting some joy when he hit both to the boundary. He went once too often though when he skied one on 29 in the 16th over. Coetzee joined Coe and the pair ensured there wouldn’t be quick wickets with Coe finding the boundary twice in the 20th over as the total reached 62-2.
Coe eventually fell for 18 right at the halfway mark allowing H. Choules to enter with intent to up the scoring rate. He was off the mark with a 6 when Short was hit out of the ground but Short had his man when Choules tried to go again a few overs later. Thors lost 2 more quick wickets when Coetzee (21) joined Choules in the hutch and Squire was bowled for 1. The total reaching 86-6 and Thors in trouble.
Daldorph and new signing Wilkinson set about the rebuild maturely, bringing the total to 106-6 with 15 to go. They continued to steadily accumulate before going harder as we reached the final 10 overs. Daldorph eventually fell for a patient 22 as the score reached 129-7 going into the final 8.
Wilkinson took on the mantle of being the aggressor from here and slapped Short to the boundary twice in the 44th over. He went bigger again in the 46th when he hit Aussie Whelan for two 6s in as many balls shortly before passing his half century.
Whelan took 2 wickets in his following over, however, which somewhat stemmed the late Thorverton momentum. Jake Choules and Willkinson could only add another 6 runs before the skipper was caught on the penultimate ball. Thors finishing on a below par 174.
Kilmington set about the chase in their usual positive fashion, Gooding finding the boundary in the opening over. Rockett took 10 off the second over as Slaviero and Daldorph got to grips with conditions. George had his revenge when Rockett was caught behind for 11 and the flow of runs slowed when Whelan acted more defensively for the hosts who reached 40-1 after the opening powerplay.
The skipper went to Pitt and Jopling as the first change bowlers with the former’s opening over going for 16 as the pressure piled onto Thorverton. The duo eventually found their rhythm and Jops had his reward when Gooding was caught behind for a well made 37. Kilmington 70-2 from 15.
Thors we’re convinced they had another when Jopling struck Seaward on the toe the very next ball but the umpire’s finger stayed in his pocket. Undeterred, Jopling removed Whelan for 20 on the final ball before the drinks break to give Thors a sniff.
Seaward and Cann rebuilt for the hosts by taking very few risks as Thors kept things extremely tight in the middle overs. There was a change of ends for Jopling when the skipper came on who was unlucky not to have Cann who skied one that landed in a gap. Seaward gave another chance he was dropped at backward square leg and with 20 overs to go, the score reached 113-3, so, despite some good cricket by the visitors, Kilmington retained their advantage.
With wickets required, Daldorph replaced Jopling after a tight 10 over spell and struck instantly when Seaward was finally out – a 3rd catch for Harry Choules. 127-4 with 15 to go.
Incoming Josh Short was more aggressive and ensured things stayed in the host’s favour as Slaviero was now also reintroduced. He also had an instant impact when he removed Cann LBW. Slavs and George continued to apply pressure for Thorverton and some excellent fielding in the ring by Vukusic and Coe in particular also aided the cause. With 10 to go, Kilmington were 5 down requiring 29 more to win.
Short and Garner rotated the strike well and the writing appeared to be on the wall for Thors. With 7 to go, Daldorph was now bowled out and Killy only required 18 more. Thors weren’t for giving up though as the skipper snuck through a maiden. Slaviero put some panic into the home ranks when he took 2 wickets in the 45th, 162-7.
However, Kilmington amassed 10 from the next 2 overs and were in touching distance. With the skipper bowled out, Squire was somewhat cruelly introduced at the death but was unbothered as he picked up his first 1st XI wicket with help from Coetzee’s safe hands. Short was still there for the hosts however and despite a wicket maiden, they needed just 3 runs from the final 2 overs.
The winning runs came 4 balls later when Short hit Pitt to the mid on boundary much to the relief of Kilmington who finally had a win over Thorverton and replaced their opponents at the top of the league. A useful 7 bonus points meant we didn’t slip any lower than 4th in the ladder.
Thanks to Bob Rice for making another long trip to score.
Next week the 1s host bottom side and bogey side Abbotskerswell at Station Ground ahead of the iPod shuffle night. Contact Jake ASAP to get your songs on the playlist.
Thorverton Cricket Club 