The 1st XI leaving sunny Thorverton for a grey looking Dartmoor to take on Tavistock were: A.Pitt, D.Robbins, B.Coe, S.Yelverton, H.Choules+, G.Daldorph, B.Heard, F.Fenner, B.Slaviero, A.Jopling, J.Choules*.
There was a heavy downpour on arrival resulting in a delayed start. Eventually a 32 over game was agreed which would kick off at 2.30. Robbins and Pitt started positively for Thors but at 11-0 from 2, the rain came back. We lost a further 2 overs per side now making the game 30 overs per innings.
The openers picked up where they left off, capitalising on any bad balls before Pitt played on for 10 as the score reached 25-1 in the 4th. Coe supported Robbins as the pair turned the strike over and ran well to keep the pressure on the hosts. Robbins was patient in putting away the bad balls until one flicked his pad, went down the leg side and veteran wicket keeper Dave Manning took a sublime stumping to remove Robbins for 28.
Yelverton joined Coe to negotiate the opening 10 overs as the total reached a solid 51-2. However, it was Shane’s turn to play on a couple of overs later. After 2 more relatively high scoring overs as Choules joined Coe, the latter was given LBW for 16. Wickets stemming the flow of runs somewhat as we reached 75-4 around halfway.
The windy conditions caused a few running mix ups between Choules and Daldorph before Harry was eventually run out for 15. Heard and Daldorph had more success rotating the strike with George also finding the boundary on occasion to up the rate again. Three figures and the second batting bonus point were passed with 7 overs to bowl.
An attempted flick gone wrong was the end of Daldorph for 21 which brought a steady stream of wickets in the closing stages as Thors limped to 125-9.
There was a quick turnaround at halfway with no teas as Slaviero and Daldorph set about keeping the league leaders under the required 4 an over. They did just that, wrapping the pads and beating the bat regularly with no reward. There was the occasional big drive attempted by the home openers but Thors felt comfortable at 17-0 from the 6 over powerplay.
The skipper replaced Slaviero and was nearly rewarded instantly but palmed a caught and bowled chance. Then halfway through Yelverton’s first over, the rain came back with the total 26-0 from 9.2 overs.
The rain didn’t clear and both sides had to settle for an abandonment, Thors picking up a useful 10 points at the league leader’s.
We slip to a still-respectable 5th in the tight league table with a tough trip to English Riviera on the horizon next week.
Thorverton Cricket Club 