The 1st XI made the short trip to the County Ground to complete the Devon League season against already-crowned A Division champions, Exeter.

Stand-in captain Andy Pitt won the toss on an unusually soft Exeter wicket and elected to bowl. Thors line up:- A.Pitt*, L.Vukusic, S.Jefferson, J.Geraghty, G.Greed. G.Daldorph, B.Heard, P.Stirling+, H.Squire, J.Stirling, J.Broom.

Daldorph & Broom opened the bowling, with the damp pitch offering a pitchmap of the early deliveries. Broom, playing his first 1st XI game since promotion, took just three balls to open his A Division account, Clist edging a drive straight into the hands of Pitt at second slip.

The start got even better for Thors as Linnitt hit an aerial on drive off Daldorph to J.Stirling at mid-on, who juggled the ball until it came to rest in his left hand. Exeter 17-2.

Ben Abrahams stuck around with overseas Cameron Edwards without much intent, taking the score to 41 before Heard bowled the former for 6. Geraghty then removed former Thorvertonian Jamie Khan for 9, caught in the covers by George Daldorph. Exeter 47-4 from 15 overs.

Buckingham was the next to go, trying to turn a poor delivery from Stirling around the corner, only to find the hands of Broom at short fine-leg. 66-5.

Skipper Joe Gore joined Edwards as Exeter tried to rebuild. A slow start to the partnership ensued with Pitt rotating his bowlers, including the introduction of himself. Henry Squire was called upon for the first time in the 1st XI & sent down 5 controlled overs for 11 runs. Squire was unlucky to be wicket-less after the visitors were convinced Gore was caught behind.

Edwards passed 50 as the run rate went up in the last ten overs. Exeter finishing on 158-5, Edwards 80* & Gore 35*.

Pitt & Vukusic opened the chase on the drying pitch as the County Ground was awash with warm sunshine. Pitt was the first man to go for 1, caught at fine leg on the pull with the score on 20.

Jefferson was next to go for 8, caught by Edwards off Morgan. Morgan then trapped Vukusic in front for 25 before Jarman bowled Geraghty with a grubber for 4. Thors 47-4.

Greed & Daldorph patiently went about the rebuild as Exeter introduced the spinners. Scoring was difficult with pace off the ball, but the pair push past 100 & a second batting point.

Daldorph departed for 31 from 76 balls when he was stumped by a good piece of work from Robin Fern. Incoming Heard was run out in the next over & Thors were 121-6, needing 38 from 36 balls.

Edwards ended a good knock by Greed by bowling him around his legs for 42 from 92. Squire was bowled without scoring with the score on 124, before Paul Stirling was caught for 2 at long off & Broom was bowled to complete the collapse, Exeter winning by 34 runs.

Scorecard

League Table

The 1st XI end the season in 5th place in the A Division, the clubs second highest finish in the Devon League & best since 1987.

The 1st XI took on relegation candidates Abbotskerswell in their final home game of the season on Saturday. With skipper Choules & Ben Slaviero absent for the vice-captain’s wedding in Australia, former skipper Andy Pitt took the helm for the first time since 2019.

The showers had so far missed Station Ground. Pitt won the toss & elected to bat. Thors line up:- L.Vukusic, A.Pitt*, S.Jefferson, J.Geraghty, H.Choules+, A.Chilcott, H.Squire, B.Heard, G.Daldorph, A.Jopling, J.Stirling.

Vukusic & Pitt got proceedings off to a steady start for Thors, the score reaching 40 after ten overs when Pitt was trapped infront by Tobias for 22. 40-0 was soon 48-3 as Watkin wrapped the pads of Jefferson for 1 & comprehensively bowled Geraghty for 2.

With the score on 49-3 after 13 overs, the heavens not only opened but poured. Play was delayed, tea taken & the affair was reduced to 37 overs per side.

Unfortunately as play resumed, so did the host’s collapse. The visitor’s skipper Watkin removed Vukusic LBW for 22 before Choules was adjudged caught behind for 5.Then Watkins knocked back Squire’s off-peg without scoring. Thors had lost 6 wickets for 17 runs and suddenly found themselves 57-6.

That soon became 70-7 as Chilcott was given out caught behind for 5 to give the Abbots skipper his 5fa.

Daldorph & Heard offered some resistance for Thors, taking the score past a second batting point before Heard was caught & bowled by Carpenter for 24. Jopling suffered the same fate for 1 & Thors were 110-9.

Stirlings hung around with Daldorph until the close of the innings with the hosts posting 125-9.

DLS revised the total to leave Abbotskerswell needing 124 to win from their 37 overs.

After a quick turnaround, Abbots got off to an even quicker start. Overseas Jack Neylon dispatched the skipper’s first two balls over the rope. Another maximum follow in Daldorph’s second over before he made the breakthrough, bowling Hill for 4. Neylon had added 34 from just 14 balls before hacking Heard to Daldorph at backward point. Skipper Watkin was castled by Daldorph & somehow Abbots were 49-3 after just five overs.

Daldorph continued to beat the outside edge, finishing his 8 over allocation with 2-26.

Stirling & Jopling offered some control and stemmed the scoring, the former striking in his first over to remove E.Smout-Cooper caught by the skipper for 13.

Carpenter was next to go, bowled by Stirling & the game was back in the balance at 74-5. Stirling finished his 8 with 2-18 & Heard was reintroduced. This paid dividends immediately as Tyler was caught by a diving back Chilcott at mid-off. 91-6.

Niall McCarthy continued to hang around whilst Charlie Smout-Cooper batted with intent, hitting a couple of boundaries before being bowled by Heard (3-31). 107-7 with 17 needed.

The equation soon became 13 needed with two wickets remaining as Geraghty bowled Tobias for 2.

Hard joined McCarthy with the DLS target score within touching distance of the total & the pressure on. He hung around for 13 balls, letting McCarthy do the scoring, the latter hitting the winning runs with a 4 down the ground off Geraghty with 8 balls to spare and to all but guarantee Abbotskerswell A Division cricket for 2024.

Scorecard

League Table

The 1s remain 4th in the A Division, now unable to catch Kilmington in 2nd & Torquay in 3rd. Last up is a trip to the County Ground on Saturday as the 1s will attempt secure 4th at already-crowned champions Exeter.

After 3 wins in a row, the sun threatened to come out at Station Ground as the 1s sought to make it 4 from 4.

The team consisted of only 2 players over 30 years old:
A.Pitt, L.Vukusic, S.Jefferson, J.Geraghty, H.Choules+, A.Chilcott, G.Daldorph, B.Heard, B.Slaviero, A.Jopling, J.Choules*.

Kilmington won the toss and elected to field as Vukusic and the returning Pitt opened up. The opening overs were quiet but the score ticked along thanks to some well run singles and extras. The first boundary came via Vukusic in the 6th over.

The Kilmington attack consisted of one medium pacer in Josh Cann and numerous spinners which were rotated from the outset. A steady start brought the total to 34-0 from the opening 10 overs.

The openers brought up their 50 partnership just before the first drinks break at 17 overs with Vukusic falling for a solid 23 just after the break. Pitt was next to go in the 20th over for 25 and at 60-2 the game remained in the balance.

Jefferson and Geraghty continued to tick things along as Station Ground filled with spectators ranging from ex captains to former overseas players to the chairman himself.

Geraghty went LBW for 12 just after the halfway mark as H. Choules joined Jefferson at 82-3. The latter fell for 19 in the 31st over as the total reached there figures.

Chilcott, in an unfamiliar number 6 position, ran well with Choules while his scones were creamed for him in the kitchen. Going into the last 10, the pair looked to increase the scoring rate, taking a liking to Cann in particular with a couple of comprehensive boundaries in the 41st over.

Kilmington showed why they are 2nd in the league though and loose balls were hard to come by, especially from the spinners. Going into the final 5 Thors were 146-5.

Chilly sweetly timed a straight drive for 6 into the sightscreen at the River End before Choules drove Seaward for 4 more. Chilcott (34) was caught thanks to an athletic grab by Crabb as Daldorph joined Choules for the final 2.

The pair took 9 and 13 runs from the last 2 overs respectively – Choules 46, Daldorph 10.

During the eating of a stupendous Chilcott tea it felt like a Thors had the momentum and their was an air confidence about defending 185.

Kilmington, as they have become known for, went hard from the off and put the pressure on the Thorvy openers. Slaviero had the most control with the wind and removed Rockett in the 5th over who picked out the skipper at mid wicket with a powerful pull shot.

This seemed to spur Gooding on to go even harder and with Aussie overseas Cucontis at the other end Kilmington reached 43-1 from 10.

The end of the powerplay brought about a double bowling change as Jopling and Choules were introduced. Jopling had dangerman Gooding in his 2nd over for 39 with assistance from Geraghty’s reliable bucket hands.

At the first drinks Kilmington had a solid base at 64-2 but the scoring rate had showed signs of slowing. When Reed took a liking to sweeping Choules, there was a change of ends for Jopling which allowed Daldorph to be re-introduced with the wind.

The batters struggled to score freely but did tick things over and would’ve had Thors worried at 102-2 at halfway. Jopling bowled Reed just after halfway, however, as Slaviero replaced Daldorph.

Cann and Cucontis set about the rebuild for the visitors but boundaries were hard to come by. With Jopling bowled out, Heard was introduced from the River End and Choules from the Pavilion. The pair continued to stem the flow but with the total at 131-3 with 20 to go, Killy remained strong favourites.

Heard, however, had other ideas. He had Cucontis caught behind for 39 in the 35th which triggered an almighty collapse for the visitors.

Seaward was next to go, bowled for 0 by Heard and at 146-5 Thors had a sniff. With pressure doing funny things, a phenomenal direct hit run out for Chilcott followed which brought about the biggest celebration of the day.

Choules was now bowled out but Heard had enough in the tank to finish from the River End whilst Slaviero and Daldorph could share the overs with the wind. Cann was still there for the hosts but the pressure was beginning to tell with more mix ups in the middle.

Heard was relentless in his areas and had his 3rd in the 44th over – then 4th and 5th in the 46th. His first 1st XI 5fa. Jopling’s catch out of the sun worthy of mention for the 4th.

Kilmington were all of a sudden 9 down with the total on 164. A boundary from Cann gave Thors a brief worry but it was only fitting that Heard removed him stumped next ball for his 6th. Kilmington all out for 171 and Thors win by 14.

Scorecard

League Table

Thors climb to 4th in the A Division going into the the final 2. Huge thanks to Jimmy and Isaac in the scorebox and all of our volunteers and supporters across the day. Another memorable day at Station Ground.

It was another grey day in the Devon Cricket League as the 1s made the relatively short trip to Clyst St George.

There were 2 changes to the side:
L.Vukusic, G.Greed, A.Chilcott, J.Geraghty, H.Choules+, B.Coe, B.Heard, G.Daldorph, A.Jopling, B.Slaviero, J.Choules.

The rain stayed away for the most part as the hosts won the toss and somewhat surprisingly elected to bat. Slaviero and Daldorph got to work and with Slavs opting to bowl down the slope it gave George a rare opportunity to bowl with the wind.

The pair picked up where they left off in recent weeks bowling disciplined areas and making batters work hard for any runs. It wasn’t long before Daldorph had his first as a loose shot from Bunker met the outside edge.

Freddie Creer was next to go as George cleaned him up. In his next over some quick reactions from Daldorph met the end of the host’s skipper Kendall who was caught and bowled after a couple of attempts. George had 4 when he bowled Wells first ball and an aggressive field was set for the hat trick/potential 5th wicket ball. It wasn’t to be as opposition overseas, Ronaldo Callender, defended well but significant damage had already been done at 10-4.

Slaviero got in on the act when he snicked off left handed opener Donovan for 13 – the 2nd of what would be 4 catches from Harry Choules.

With Clyst at 29-5, the skipper replaced Slaviero at the Pavillion End fancying his chances against the aggressive Ronaldo. He was proved correct first ball as Greed took a simple catch at backward point.

George continued to toil in search of his 5fa and it wasn’t until his final over that he could find Ferro’s outside edge. H. Choules with another diving grab and George had 5-20 from his 10. Clyst in trouble at 33-7.

The 8th wicket partnership proved to be a frustrating one for the visitors as Par Singh and Ewan Cragg shut up shop for the hosts. Choules and Jopling toiled – bowling 7 maidens between them but not able to find the wicket. Jop came the closest when a chance went down at short mid wicket.

After 7 overs from the skipper Heard was introduced down the slope and showed encouraging turn and bounce for no reward. By the time Jops was bowled out he had only gone for 16 runs from his 10.

Going into closing stages Cragg found some shots, particularly through mid wicket, and for the first time in the game there was some pressure on the visitors. Geraghty replaced Heard and Thors finally had the breakthrough with help from a one handed diver by H. Choules. Clyst 91-8 – Singh dismissed for 20 from 91 deliveries.

Bertie Creer came to the crease at number 10 and showed the most intent of all the home batters striking the first 6 of the day. The scoring rate increased in the closing stages albeit Heard was able to keep it tight in the final over. It was to be an odd over where Cragg poked a single into the offside to reach his 50 on the penultimate ball and Creer defended the final ball of the innings. Would Clyst regret not taking some more risks at the last?

The target was 127 to win as Vukusic and the returning Greed got to work. Ronaldo and Donovan kept it tight for the hosts but the pair looked comfortable until Vukusic was caught in the gully looking to drive Donovan. The seamer had Chilcott LBW next as he looked to flick off his legs.

At 12-2 Thors were under no illusions it was to be a tough chase in tricky conditions. Geraghty and Greed calmed the nerves though, pouncing on any width and Geraghty taking the game to Ronaldo, resulting in the field being pushed back and singles subsequently easier to come by.

In Ronaldo’s final over of off spin he went round the wicket to the right handed Greed who was adjudged LBW for a well made 18. Thors 42-3.

H. Choules and Geraghty added another 15 before the former was bowled by Singh which brought Coe to the crease. Coe showed his usual patience as Geraghty, after coming through some early LBW appeals, now looked like he was batting on a different wicket to anybody else.

With Thors into the 80s, Bertie Creer was introduced with the wind and the seamer bowled with a decent pace and got the ball to nibble off of the pitch. This was the undoing for Coe and at 82-5 nerves in the hutch started to creep back in.

Heard and Geraghty had other ideas though and despite some good bowling from Clyst, the pair looked comfortable. Creer learnt the hard way not to bowl short to an Australian as anything back of a length was pummelled to the rope by Jack.

As the total passed 100 and Jack passed 50 Thors were back on track. However it wouldn’t be Thorverton without another twist and after doing all of the hard work Heard walked past one and was stumped for 4 from 30 balls.

Next over saw another boundary for Jack followed by a single but Daldorph then fell first ball and it was 113-7.

With 14 needed to win Jopling was solid in defence against the short ball of Creer and spin of Singh. Another boundary for Jack relieved any final lingering doubts and the Aussie eventually got us over the line in style with a crucial 80 not out.

Scorecard

League Table

17 points for Thors as we make it 3 wins in a row. With 3 games to go we sit 31 points behind the promotion places and 46 clear of the drop zone.

After three washouts in four weeks, the 2nd XI were fearful when they arrived at Station Ground to the increasingly familiar sight of covers on the pitch. Thankfully proceedings were not delayed & Thors would bowl first after winning the toss.

The hosts lineup:- J.Farley, B.Wakeley, S.Jefferson, D.Baldock, S.Yelverton, J.Baker, J.Meredith+, A.Gibbons, J.Stirling*, I.Daldorph, J.Broom.

Broom struck just four balls into the game, a back of a length ball finding some extra bounce & the glove of opener James Poole & through to Meredith behind the stumps. With an impressive 80 in the return fixture, Thors were delighted to see Poole’s departure just two minutes after the start.

Whilst Gibbons plugged away from the River End, Broom picked up his and Thors’ second with the first ball of his second over, knocking back Newton’s middle peg for 2. Barnstaple 8-2.

Barnstaple had reached 26-2 from 8 overs when the heavens opened & both teams sought refuge in the dressing rooms. Play was interrupted for half an hour & the match was reduced to a 41 over a side affair.

Holm & Roe loitered after the restart despite a couple of close shouts from Gibbons wrapping the latter on the pads. Both were put down with hard chances for Baldock and Yelverton.

Stirling & Daldorph were introduced in a double bowling change & the former made the breakthrough, a rank full toss smashed straight in the air to the grateful Jefferson at midwicket, much to the skipper’s embarrassment; B&P 53-3 after 17.

Jimmer Thomas came to the wicket with more intent than his team mates, he & Rowe taking the score to 70-3 at drinks. Stirling then bowled Rowe for a well-made 40 with the score on 89.

Wakeley replaced Daldorph from the River End & despite being struck for 6 by keeper-batter Fewings, removed him next ball, bowled for his maiden Thorverton wicket. He doubled his account the next ball, bowling the incoming Poole first up & was on a hat-trick. Hastie saw out the hat-trick with a brave leave close to the off-stump. B&P 100-6.

That soon became 101-7 as Stirling had Hastie caught by Broom at mid-off in his last over, finishing with 3-15 from his 9. Broom was reintroduced as Wakeley picked up his third courtesy of an Imogen Daldorph catch; 112-8.

Thomas stuck around with the incoming Bashford to frustrate Thors & the run-rate increased, Thomas passing 50 in the process. The paid put on 49 before Bashford was run out trying to run a single to Broom at mid-off. Number 11 Elnaugh went in the exactly same fashion much to Broom’s delight & B+P were all out for 166 one over short of their allocated overs. Wakeley finishing with 3-40.

After a plentiful Stirling tea, Farley & Wakeley opened the reply which soon got off to a horrendous start, Wakeley caught behind on the pull, courtesy of a great Fewings catch. Jefferson was adjudged LBW to his first legitimate ball & Thors were 7-2 after two.

Elnaugh had his third wicket in his second over, castling Baldock. 17-3.

Shane Yelverton joined a comfortable looking Farley for the rebuild. The pair were patient but found the boundary at regular intervals, taking the score to 45-3 & Thors ahead of the rate after ten, as drizzle persisted & the ground was plunged into a gloomy light for some time.

Despite the darkness, they continued to look comfortable and chanceless as the score was 86-3 at drinks. Yelverton brought up his 50 as Thors looked comfortable at 123-3 after 27, needing 44 from the last 14 overs.

However easy the equation looked, it wasn’t going to be. Farley caught & bowled by Hastie for a well-made 47 that was deserving of a 50.

The incoming Baker was caught at cover for 1 off a leading edge, the Meredith was bowled first ball. Gibbons fell without scoring in the next over & Thors had stumbled from 127-3 to 133-7.

Stirling hung around with Yelverton for a few overs, taking Thors to within 13 required before being adjudged LBW for 5.

A solid looking Daldorph joined Yelverton, the latter finding the boundary in consecutive balls to take the required total to within 5.

A single from Daldorph and a crunched cut shot from Yelverton saw Thors over the line with 5 overs & two wickets to spare, much to the delight of the 2s & the 1st XI, back early from their win at Clyst St George. Yelverton finishing on a fantastic match-winning 80 not out from 83 balls.

Scorecard

League Table

The 20 point win sees the 2nd XI leapfrog Budleigh Salterton 2nd XI into the promotion places with three games to play. Next up in the run in is Whimple away, followed by a trip to Exeter & a home fixture against Topsham St James on the final day.

65 miles, 90,700 steps & 1,246 minutes of walking whilst fully padded up. That’s what Dan Robbins managed to push through across 3rd & 4th August, raising vital funds for Thorverton Cricket Club.

Dan’s sponsored challenge was for the 65 miles between North Devon CC & Exmouth CC to be walked in 24 hours. He did it with 13 minutes & 6 seconds to spare.

We caught up with Dan today, a week on after his monumental trek.

First things first, how are the legs?

Legs pretty much recovered, shins have calmed right down. The only issue I still have is my feet, they’re getting better each day but my toes and the balls of my feet are still sore and my numerous blisters are still healing.

Now you’ve had a week to look back at it, did you enjoy it or was the pain too much?

My overarching feeling is that it was all worth it and there were periods that were enjoyable. Inevitably there were some hard moments during the early hours and particularly the last 5 miles where I really suffered. I think the pain of those last 5 miles is still too fresh to say I completely enjoyed it but with time those memories will fade and the good parts will stand out.

Which was the hardest part? Those last 5 miles or the overnight stint?

They were different in terms of difficulty. The overnight bit is a bit of a blur but it wasn’t so much pain at that point, more the inconvenience and bleakness of the dark. I struggled to fuel properly during the early hours as I didn’t have an appetite but as soon I got to Sandford/Shobrooke and was able to have some breakfast and refresh I felt OK. The last 5 miles was definitely the worst. Everything was hurting by that point and I’d reached physical and mental exhaustion. The lads will tell you I was grumpy and struggled to push through at times.

Was there anything that helped get you through the 65 miles?

The main thing was having friends with me particularly at the end just to distract tou from the task at hand. When you’re chatting away you often realise you’ve done a fair chunk without realising it. Outside of that is the fear of failure. I didn’t want to let down all the people who had sponsored me and that’s what kept me going through the real low points.

What was the best thing you saw in the 24 hours?

In all honesty the finishing line. That felt good and seeing friends and family there was class. Other than I saw 2 lizards which I didn’t even know existed in England.

Any funny moments?

Nothing that stands out. We did crap ourselves a bit when at night Adam shined a torch into a field and it reflected off about 300 pairs of eyes which turned out to be sheep. It just made us jump as we had no idea they were there.

Any ambitions to do any future challenges?

Erm never say never, that’s 2 big ones I’ve done now and I do have a weird fascination with pushing myself beyond what is normal. I think I’d like to do something over a week or something like that so we’ll see. For now I’ve got some personal challenges to get fitter and spend some time adventuring outdoors.

So far, Dan has raised over £2,500 for Thorverton CC for the challenge. The fundraiser will be closing on Saturday 19th August, so it’s not too late to reward his fantastic efforts. You can donate on the GoFundMe page HERE.

Everyone at TCC is incredibly grateful to Dan for his fundraising & also incredibly proud that he succeeded, well done Dan!

Last night saw the Energy Systems SW Ltd Player of the Month award for July 2023 awarded to Ben Slaviero for his 5-11 in the Wombat Devon T20 Quarter Final at Plympton & his 4-21 in the league win at Torquay.

Slaviero has impressive stats with the ball this season, taking 25 wickets in league & cup matches, at an average of just 10.56.

On a blustery and showery day at Station Ground the first XI made 3 changes for the visit of promotion chasing Hatherleigh.

Team:
L.Vukusic, B.Coe, A.Chilcott, J.Geraghty, H.Choules+, G.Daldorph, S.Jefferson, B.Heard, B.Slaviero, J.Stirling, J.Choules*.

After a delayed start due to the weather, full credit must go to the umpires for their pragmatism in getting a game on. Tea was taken at 2.30 and play began just after 3pm for a 29 over game.

Thors lost the toss and with the visitors unsurprisingly electing to field, Vukusic and Coe opened up. The pair got us off to a flier as Hatherleigh got to grips with bowling in the breeze. After just 2 overs the score was 16 without loss.

Supporters and 2nd XI players filtered into Station Ground as the openers continued to tick things over, assisted by a flurry of extras. After the 6 over PowerPlay the score was 35-0 which increased to 52-0 by the time 10 had been bowled.

Vukusic went for a well made 29 a couple of overs into the final 20 before Coe slapped another boundary and Chilcott came and went for 5. 74-2 from 15.

Coe was next out after a running mix up, falling for a valuable 27. Geraghty went soon after as Hatherleigh were swinging things back into their favour and going into the last 8 Thors were 89-4.

H.Choules and Daldorph looked to increase the rate, both utilising the wind to blast 6s into the wheat field before the latter was bowled for 11.

By the time H. Choules was caught for 17 the situation had reached 130-6 with 4 to go. Hatherleigh continued to fight back, however, with Forrester taking 3 in an over leaving Thors 132-9.

Heard and J.Choules managed 5 from the final over, setting Hatherleigh 138 to win.

Hot off of their heroics from last week, Slaviero & Daldorph opened up – the senior man bowling with the wind. They were typically hard to score off and when Slaviero struck in the 3rd it was 3-1. After 4 overs apiece from the pacers, Hatherleigh could only amass 9 more runs.

J.Stirling was introduced from the Pavilion End whilst Heard was tasked with darting some in against the wind. Heard’s first overs brought about a real collectors item as J.Choules swooped in at mid wicket to run out Presswell for 7, Hatherleigh 21-2 from 10.

Thanks to the disciplined start from Thors, the visitors needed to score at over a run a ball in the last 20. Fishleigh and Tidball could mainly only manage 1s and 2s against the spin duo before Stirs struck in the 17th over with thanks to a well judge catch by Vukusic at point.

The Stirling/Vukusic partnership paid off again a couple of overs later and with Presswell gone for 28, the visitors were in some bother at 58-4 and only 10 to go.

Geraghty was introduced for Heard and continued to keep things tight, with the occasional ball carrying through at a more than handy pace. When Stirling was bowled out the skipper came on and struck twice in his first 2 overs leaving Hatherleigh reeling at 69-6.

The visitors showed why they are there or thereabouts in the table though and kept battling, bringing the total to 106-8 with 3 to go. Geraghty picking up a wicket and there was another run out thanks to some top work on the rope by Slaviero.

With the trump cards of Slaviero & Daldorph up their sleeve, Thors closed the game out comfortably, the pair picking up a wicket apiece as Hatherleigh were bowled out 113.

Scorecard

League Table

A huge thanks to everybody involved in getting the game on and their patience shown throughout the day. Thanks also to the supporters for keeping bar takings ticking over.

Thors remain in the top half of the division and are now mathematically closer to the promotion places than the danger zone.

The 2nd XI would be glad to see the back of July after three consecutive rain affected games; the last two matches had been completely washed out. Before Thors could say good riddance to July’s weather, it finally gave some respite at the 2s welcomed bottom-placed Feniton to Station Ground.

Stirling in a traditional manner, lost the toss & Feniton elected to bowl on a wicket that had a tinge of green. The hosts XI:- J.Farley, A.Daldorph, B.Wakeley, D.Baldock, H.Squire, B.Heard, J.Baker, P.Stirling+, A.Gibbons, J.Stirling*, J.Broom.

Farley & Daldorph set about their opening partnership which didn’t last long; Farley chopping Davies onto his leg stump in the second over & trudging back with more than ample time to assist his mother with teas. 3–1.

Billy Wakeley, making his first appearance for the twos was soon back with Farley, an expansive drive finding the edge & flying into Salter’s hands for a great snaffle at first slip. 20-2 after just four overs bowled.

Baldock & Daldorph continued the good scoring rate, the latter the beneficiary of three dropped catches to take the host’s recovery to 71-2 after 15 overs. Daldorph brought up yet another fifty with a single in the 19th over, before Pyle knocked him over for 58. Baldock followed the over after, also bowled by Perryman for 45. 119-4 at the drinks break.

Squire was the victim of the fourth bowled in the innings, departing for 4. Bobby Heard hung around with Jack Baker with the youngsters running well. A partnership of 36 was brought to a close when Heard was bowled by Lilley for 17. 160-6.

Paul Stirling was bowled for one & with Alex Gibbons being castled to his first legitimate ball, Thors had collapsed from 113-2 to 169-8.

Stirling loitered with a comfortable looking Baker for his 10 before a leading edge to cover. Broom was last man out without troubling the scorers, Baker 24*. Thors 187ao & spent the tea break ruing missing out on full batting points whilst tucking into a traditionally fantastic Farley tea.

Broom took the new ball from his favoured pavilion end & didn’t set the tone the hosts were looking for when the first ball was short & wide and ended up in the extras column. The second ball was also short & wide and cut hard by opener Stone in the gap behind gully, or so it appeared, until a leaping Billy Wakeley plucked the ball one handed with his left mitt, reminiscent of Joe Root’s stunner in the ongoing Ashes test. 0-1.

Broom & the accompanying Gibbons kept things tight & Broom was rewarded with another, bowling Bright for 4. 12-2.

Davies hung around for 4 overs but suffered the same fate at the hands of Broom & Thors had take the ascendancy with Feniton 33-3.

Heard replaced the tiring Broom from the pavilion end, whilst Gibbons continued & finally got his reward for his tight line & length, bowling Phillips for ten. He made it two in his following over, Salter finding the hands of Wakeley in the gully & the visitors were in trouble at 49-5 after 14.

Stirling replaced Gibbons (2-23) from the river end & Heard was replaced by Henry Squire. Stirling bowled Pyle for 15 just before drinks; Feniton 78-6.

Squire sent Kingdon’s middle peg cartwheeling halfway back to Paul Stirling behind the stumps two balls after drinks. Stirling then had Lilley caught behind by brother Paul without scoring & Feniton were on the brink at 78-8.

Broom was reintroduced in search of his 5fa but the nearest he got was a dropped catch at point & he finished his 9 overs with 3-25. Stirling took himself off after figures of 2-23, with Baker replacing him.

A quiet spell of play saw Mortimer & Perryman hang around for the visitors with a slow scoring rate. The ten over partnership of 26 was finally broken by Squire, bowling Mortimer for 3 from 24. Squire finishing with impressive figures of 2-6 from 5 overs. Baker finally finished things off with the score on 118, Perryman the last man to go after snicking him to Baldock at first slip.

Scorecard

League Table

The 19 point win & results elsewhere sees Thors rise into the promotion places with 5 games to play in a tight D Division East. Next up for the 2s is a trip to 7th placed Clyst Hydon.

The 1st XI arrived at an overcast English Riviera itching to put in a good performance following a frustrating 2 weeks.

The line up:
A.Pitt, D.Robbins, A.Chilcott, J.Geraghty, H.Choules+, L.Vukusic, S.Jefferson, G.Daldorph, B.Slaviero, A.Jopling, J.Choules*.

Whilst the outfield looked to have been impacted by the recent wet weather, the Torquay pitch and square looked in good condition as Choules elected to bat at the toss.

The hosts started with a defensive field which allowed for some early singles but Robbins soon fell into the trap being caught at deep square leg for 5 in the 3rd over.

Pitt and Chilcott looked to be rebuilding well by rotating the strike and finding the boundary on occasion. Torquay assisted with a sprinkling of wides as the score reached 42-1 from 14.

The 15th over brought about 2 wickets as the change bowlers tightened things up for the seasiders. Pitt holed out to mid off for 18 and Geraghty went LBW a couple of balls later in what was to be the first of 6 LBWs in the innings.

It was down to H. Choules and Chilcott to rebuild who did exactly that brining the score to 56-3 at the first drinks (17 overs). The pair continued to rotate well and despite Choules being put down a couple of times they looked comfortable. Thors had amassed 84-3 at the halfway point.

Chilcott went soon after halfway, however, falling LBW for 37. Vukusic joined Choules as the pair brought the visitors to the 2nd drinks at 109-4.

Vukusic went straight after, bowled through the gate as the pitch was starting to show signs of turn and inconsistent bounce.

What followed was a monumental collapse, the strangest of the dismissals perhaps being Sam Jefferson’s who was unlucky to be given out after running one down to short fine leg.

Thors 127 all out from 43 overs. Chilcott and H. Choules with 36 runs apiece.

The visitors were fired up and after the innings break Slaviero and Daldorph got to work. In the second over Daldorph had dangerman Ternblanche bowled for 1 – a key wicket given the South African’s 180 not out at Station Ground earlier in the season. It was a jaffer from George that shaped away and nipped back, comprehensively dislodging the stumps.

Next over, Slaviero got in on the act striking 2 in 2 thanks to a stunning grab low at 2nd slip from Robbins and the 7th LBW of the afternoon.

Torquay found themselves 6-3 and with the villager’s tails up it was game on. Colegate was next to go, snicking Slaviero behind for 1. Not wanting to be outdone, it was Daldorph’s turn again next, too good for Harry Passenger who was also comprehensively cleaned up.

Torquay would have been feeling blue at 12-5 which soon became 12-6 when Slaviero had his 4th. Another exemplary catch behind, this time by Geraghty at first slip.

It could’ve got even worse for the hosts but Hearn survived a couple of big appeals and a catch going down in the gully. He and opposition skipper Baxendale frustrated Thors for 4 overs before Daldorph found a way through again – bowling the left handed skipper and then removing the opposition keeper, Ebrahim, a couple of balls later. George and Slavs now with 4 apiece.

After a surreal but high class period of cricket from the visitors, Premier Division chasing Torquay found themselves 19-8.

As the opening pair understandably started to tire, there was a counter attack from the hosts with the number 10, Nott, finding the boundary on a couple of occasions.

At the 17 over drinks break the score had reached 46-8 and it was time for Jopling and Choules to be introduced.

Jops struck immediately, Nott playing on for 15 and at 49-9 Torquay were now on the brink. Jop struck again in his 2nd over when Hearn (21) picked out Jefferson on the edge of the ring.

Torquay 50AO. 4 wickets each for Slaviero and Daldorph and 2 for Jopling.

Scorecard

League Table

On a day that is likely to be remembered for years to come, other results went in our favour as Thors climbed to 5th in the A Division. We sit very much mid table – 27 points clear of the relegation places and 28 behind the top 2.

The skipper’s thoughts:
“A crazy game and a much needed win for us. It wasn’t an easy pitch but thought we were 50 short. It was simply down to incredible spells by George and Slavs as well as some very good slip catching.”

Hoping the display can kickstart some more consistent form, the 1s host 3rd place Hatherleigh next week.