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.

Thors arrived at Kensham Park knowing a win over Bradninch & Kentisbeare would see them build an unassailable lead over second placed Exeter in the Covid Cup & ensure the retainment of the trophy following the victories in 2020 & 2022.

Captain for the evening, Andy Pitt, won the toss & elected to bat. The visitors line-up:- A.Pitt*, L.Vukusic, B.Wakeley, H.Choules+, S.Jefferson, G.Daldorph, B.Heard, S.Yelverton, E.Heard, J.Stirling, S.Tait.

After a slightly delayed start as the final players filtered into the ground, Pitt & Vukusic opened proceedings. A tight over from Bradninch’s Delhi import Yuvraj Singh saw Thors 2-0 after the first. Tom Kittow took the new pink ball from the other end & removed the skipper with a back of a length ball outside off stump which Pitt tried to pull into neighbouring Hele & a feather through to Darren Paul behind the stumps saw Thors 11-1 after 2 overs.

Billy Wakeley came to the crease in his first game back at his former club, taking an impressive 18 off Kittow’s second over, courtesy of a couple of lovely cuts & a couple of flicks off his legs. Singh continued to stem the flow of runs before the spin of Holding saw 15 conceded off his first, taking the visitors to 57-1 at the end of the powerplay.

Vukusic found the boundary a couple of times before falling leg before to Holding for 24 (23). Holding then struck again to remove Wakeley LBW for a well made 43 from 26. Incoming Jefferson followed caught behind without troubling the scorers & Thors were 90-4 after 11.

That soon became 91-5 as Choules coughed one up to Piper off new bowler Findlay to depart for 6. Daldorph, in at 6, hit a couple of boundaries before slapping Josh Farley to mid off; 102-6 with still 7 overs to go.

Bobby Heard & Shane Yelverton set about the rebuild, rotating the strike well and finding regular boundaries. 129-6 with 4 to go.

An onslaught from Yelverton in particular saw 17 come off Peter Kittow’s second over & 20 off his third to see Thors into a more comfortable position. 13 off the last over from Chris Acton saw the visitors recover to a more than respectable 188-6. Yelverton 45* from 24 & Heard 29* from 23.

Tim Piper & Darren Paul opened up against the new ball pairing of Daldorph & E.Heard, reaching 15-0 after two. A couple of boundaries off Daldorph’s second over & two sixes and three fours from Piper off Heard brought the 50 up for the hosts with just 23 balls bowled, before Piper cut the last ball of Heard’s second over straight to a kneeling down Wakeley at cover. Piper with an aggressive 31 from 14.

Tait came into the attack & kept things tight, leading to Ross Acton being run out without facing a ball, thanks to a smart bit of fielding by Bobby Heard at backward point. Paul & Pugh kept things moving as Ninch reached 62-2 at the end of the powerplay.

A double of Yelverton & Stirling was introduced and immediately paid dividends as they both struck in their first overs. Pugh caught Pitt, bowled Yelverton for 9 & Choules stumping Paul off Stirling for 37. 84-4 after 9.

Yuvraj Singh & Josh Farley rotated the strike nicely and found the boundary at decent intervals to take the score up to 134-5 with 5 to go. 55 needed from 30 balls.

Daldorph replaced Yelverton & removed Farley with the second ball of his return, Farley timing a flick off his legs backward off Jefferson at square leg. Jefferson dived full stretch to grab the ball one handed, merely an inch off the ground to complete one of the best catches you will see in amateur cricket. Farley gone for 14. Heard replaced Stirling & conceded 7 off his first; 144-5. 45 needed from 24.

That soon became 32 required from 22 as following a wide from Pitt’s first ball, Yuvraj Singh planted Pitt twice into the car park to pass his 50 off 32 balls. It was third time unlucky for Singh who smashed the ball down Vukusic’s throat at deep mid-wicket. 162-6 with two to go & 27 needed.

Heard took a deserved wicket, Choules stumping the charging Findlay for 6 & only conceded one from the penultimate over to all but see the game out. Tait tied things up for Thors, only conceding two off the last; Holding run out by Daldorph in the process. Thors winners by 23 runs and retained the Covid Cup for the third edition in a row (2021 was curtailed due to the pandemic).

Scorecard

Other players to have featured in the Cup Winning squad but not photographed – Jake Choules, Ben Slaviero, Jack Geraghty, Jason Van Der Meulen, Dan Robbins, George Greed, Alex Jopling, Jacob Broom, Alistair Chilcott, Ben Coe, Jay Porter, Alex Gibbons, Chris Winzer.

Thank you to Alan for umpiring & any supporters who have watched our Covid Cup games at home.

Thanks must also go to Eliot Acton to once again arranging the competition. We look forward to trying to keep hold of the trophy next season.

Thors welcomed Exeter to Station Ground on Wednesday night, needing a win to keep any hopes of retaining the Covid Cup alive following a defeat in the return fixture.

Slaviero won the toss & elected to bat. Thors line up:- A.Pitt, J.Van Der Meulen, J.Geraghty, H.Choules+, S.Jefferson, J.Porter, B.Heard, S.Yelverton, B.Slaviero*, S.Tait, J.Stirling

Pitt & Van Der Meulen, the latter making his first appearance for the hosts since last season, opened things up. A tight first over from the off-spin of Sam Read & a couple of Van Der Meulen fours off Dube opened Thors account before Pitt mistimed one to Unni at mid on to give Dube & Exeter their first wicket.

Van Der Meulen followed immediately after, a smart stumping by Tojy off Read to depart for 11. Thors 13-2.

Geraghty & Choules set about the rebuild, with Exeter’s first change bowlers of Buckingham & Unni keeping the scoring down. The Australian was the next to go, unable to clear long off & departing for 13 from 16. 30-3 at the end of the powerplay.

Jefferson joined Choules and the pair ran well & found the boundary at regular intervals. The pairing hung around for 8 overs, taking the score to a more respectable 99 from 14 overs when Choules was bowled by Lewis-Oliver for a run-a-ball 34.

Porter the next man in, found the boundary a couple of times before feathering Buckingham behind for 10 from 9. 112-5 with four left.

Jefferson departed for 35 from 31, bowled Dube, with 15 balls remaining in the innings & the score on 134. Heard & Yelverton saw things through to the end of the innings, Heard providing a reverse scoop for four during his 13 from 12. The hosts finishing on 150-6.

Cockram & Joseph opened the response for the County Grounders, up against the Southern Hemisphere pairing of Slaviero & Yelverton. the former was unlucky to have Cockram put down by Heard in his third over as the hosts got to 30-0 in the first 5 overs.

Stirling was the first bowling change & struck immediately to bowl Cockram for 18. Tait was introduced from the pavilion end and kept things tight.

Felix was next to go, trying to sweep Stirling & getting struck on the back leg in front for 17. Exeter 46-2 after 8. The incoming Fradgley came & went after his leg stump was knocked back by Tait for 1.

The visitors had reached 60-3 at the halfway mark, needing 91 from the last ten overs. Yelverton then plucked an unbelievable diving catch off Tait to remove Lawrence for 12. Stirling finished his allocation with 2-24 & was replaced by Heard.

Tait had a third wicket in the twelfth over, Unni cutting him straight to Pitt at backward point to leave the visitors struggling at 71-5 with eight to go, Tait finishing his four overs with 3-17. Yelverton replaced him & had his first Thorverton wicket since his last appearance in 2019, Tojy flashing at a wide one and through to Choules behind the stumps.

Read smashed Heard down the throat of Van Der Meulen at long on to leave the score on 89-7 with 26 balls left. A carbon copy wicket from the same pair removed Dube for 4, before Heard trapped Buckingham in front without scoring to leave Exeter on the brink at 100-9.

Lewis-Oliver & Neary stuck around before rbe former was stumped off the last ball of the innings. Exeter 112ao and Heard finishing with 4-18.

Scorecard

Thanks to Alan Birmingham for umpiring & Bob Rice for scoring. The next T20 sees Thors visit Bradninch & Kentisbeare on Tuesday.

Sunday saw the Triangular Tournament take place at the club with a great turnout of players, supporters, friends, and families at the Station Ground. 

This year it was a pleasure to be able to play for the ‘Denise Lesniak Trophy’ which was kindly donated in memory of Denny, a devoted Thorverton and Exeter Chiefs supporter. Thank you to Heather Braund and the Vickerys for sourcing the trophy and attending on the day. 

Two Jack Yeandle teams, a Villagers XI and a Club XI competed in three matches using the 100-ball format which ensured scorer Bob Rice was kept on his toes in the scorebox! 

Club vs Yeandle XI

After a quick warm up in the nets the first Yeandle XI stuck the Club into bat. Boundaries were found on regular occasions as were wickets as the Chiefs players and coaching staff held their catches well. Porter made 28 before Wakeley and returning overseas Van De Meulen both retired with 30s. Broom, Denford and Chillcott all chipped in before the towering figure of J. Vermeulen bounced out Chilly and dotted up Heard. 

The Yeandle XI gave the chasing of 158 a good go with a couple of players making 20s but a ruthless captain Heard ensured the club came out winners by 40 runs.

Villagers vs Yeandle XI

The Villagers XI turned up well lubricated after a pub breakfast and took to the field against a Yeandle XI who now had their eye in and were bolstered by some replacements. This, along with the largely friendly village bowling attack, meant the rugby lads notched up 145 with 3 retirements. In reply the Villagers top order never really got going against the accurate bowling. Current club overseas Geraghty retired in quick time but his fellow Australian Slaviero could not match his clean striking and the chase fizzled out 40 short.

Club vs Villagers

In the final game of the day a Pimms fuelled Club side took on the Morretti charged Villagers. Batting first, regular 1st XI skipper and tailender Choules made a steady 7 before controversially being ‘run out’ by a Carbines ‘Mankad’. TCC number one fan Carbines was in the action again shortly after,bowling Pitt – the club reeling at 20-3. The returning Van De Meulen and Denford calmed proceedings making quick runs with the latter retiring. Heard and Jopling then did the same and DJ Cal Griffin stuck around to help take the score to a sizeable 190. Slaviero and captain Fice made early runs for the Villagers but a couple of stumpings slowed proceedings. Geraghty once again retired and returned but his 65 was not enough and the Club finished winners by 25 runs to claim the ‘Denise Lesniak Trophy.’

A big thank you to Alan Birmingham for umpiring all three games and Bob Rice in the scorebox. 

Thanks to Jack Yeandle, Sam Fice and Andy Pitt for assembling the teams and to all for playing in a great spirit and persisting through the showers!

A huge thanks must also go to Keeley Wells for coordinating the day, Henry Weekes on the BBQ, Keith Cudby on car park, James May for bar/presentation, Freddie and Isaac on raffle tickets, Matt Godfrey on photos and Cal Griffin on the music – as well as all of the willing volunteers on the bar, pimms and bbq. 

The raffle on the day raised £350 with a donation of £200 going to the Exeter Chiefs Foundation.

Thank you to the following for prize donations:

Jack Yeandle/Exeter Chiefs

The Thorverton Arms 

Darts Farm

Wombat Cricket 

George Greed

James May

Billy Wakeley

Alex Jopling

We look forward to seeing everyone at the Station Ground again soon.

The 1st XI arrived at a damp and very windy Tavistock as it looked like even the Dartmoor ponies and sheep were taking cover from the elements.

With usual openers Pitt and Robbins away, the line up was:
Vukusic, Greed, Chilcott, Geraghty, H. Choules, Jefferson, Coe, Daldorph, Slaviero, Jopling, J. Choules.

Given the conditions it was the worst time for Choules’ toss record to come to an end as the visitors were put into bat.

Opposition overseas player Yeki caused problems from the outset bowling the perfect line and and after a couple of maidens Yemi had Vukusic caught behind without troubling the scores.

The first loose ball of the innings brought about a wicket as Chilcott was caught at backward square off a full toss.

Greed and Geraghty seemed to have steadied the ship until the former was caught at slip for 11. By the time Geraghty joined Greed in the hutch after being trapped LBW, Thors were in serious trouble at 28-4.

The batting pair of H. Choules and Jefferson displayed the most resistance of the innings, turning the strike over and being more positive against the change bowlers as we approached the halfway point in the innings. Yeki was introduced before drinks to look for the breakthrough and by now everything Tavistock were doing was paying off as Jeffers was caught behind for 7 from 30 balls.

Choules (26) went soon after when he picked out square leg trying to capitalise on a rare loose ball. Thors were back under the cosh at 60-6.

Daldorph came and went just 2 runs later thanks to a stunning catch at short mid wicket. The tail attempted to hang around with Coe who looked comfortable for his 12* but by the time J. Choules was last out Thors were 84 all out.

The players went straight back out rather than taking tea with Slaviero bowling with the wind and Daldroph against it. Despite a few early singles, Slaviero struck twice and Thors had a sniff at 11-2.

Dave Manning turned the tide for the hosts, however, taking the attach to Thors knowing a few big overs would sway the game again.

After 6 overs from Slaviero (2-19), Geraghty was brought on with the wind and struck in his first over – 52-3.

Davies joined Manning at the crease but despite rotating the bowling options Thors were unable to remove Tavi’s top run scorers this season.

The target was reached in the 17 overs and Thorverton stumbled to a 2 point loss.

Scorecard

League Table

We only move one place down in the table but the chasing pack have closed the gap somewhat.

The skipper concluded:
“May well have been a different result if I won the toss but the lack of partnerships with the bat was concerning. Hoping the rest of the team are as motivated as me to put things right next week.”

After a defeat to Exeter last time out, Thors were looking to get back to winning ways in the Covid Cup as we hosted fellow A Division outfit Clyst St George.

On a cloudy but dry Station Ground, the side was:- L.Vukusic, B.Wakeley, H.Choules, J.Porter, C.Winzer, J.Geraghty, B.Heard, B.Slaviero, A.Gibbons, S.Tait, J.Choules.

After negotiating the toss Slaviero elected to bowl and opened up with himself and Gibbons. Aggressive left-hander, Donovan, sought to make the most of the Powerplay finding the boundary on a couple of occasions in the opening exchanges.

Gibbons removed Kendall but Clyst had a solid start at 33-1 from 5.

Clyst were unable to build on this as the change bowlers of Geraghty (3-6) and Tait (1-5) kept things extremely tight for the hosts. The latter, fresh off a hat trick for Devon Dumplings the day before, continuing his wicket taking form.

Following 3 overs apiece from the seamers, Choules and Heard were brought into the attack. With Thors very much in the ascendancy, the pair could work on their variations including the infamous Choules leggie.

The hosts continued to pick up wickets at a steady rate and by the time Choules (3-12) was bowled out the score was 62-8.

Heard and Chris Winzer were tasked with bowling the final overs from each end. Both picking up a wicket apiece in the closing exchanges. This included Winzer removing Eliza Heard on the last ball of the innings.

CSG 70 AO from 20 overs.

Vukusic and Wakeley began the chase with the swinging ball from Donovan and spin of Callander making things difficult for Thors in the initial overs.

A good nut from Donovan had Vukusic caught behind but Wakeley and Choules turned the strike over to avoid Thors becoming bogged down.

Callender’s final over saw the end of Wakeley who skied on 13 as the total reached 30-2 after 6.

With the field now spread, Choules and Porter could rotate the strike with ease including some well run 2s. Clyst rotated their bowlers but Choules in particular didn’t allow them to settle, finding the boundary regularly with some well timed drives.

After the halfway point Thors were already closing in on the win and with 8 overs to go Porter struck a 4 through mid wicket to win the game.

Choules finishing with a run a ball 33 and Porter with a well made 14 from 10 balls.

Scorecard

Thank you to Rich Lloyd and Paul Jordan for umpiring and Bob Rice for his work in the scorebox.

Next week we host Exeter in what is likely to be a crucial game in the Covid Cup.

Buoyant after last week’s win which sent Thors top of the D Division East, the 2nd XI arrived at Upottery to start the second half of the season.

With wet weather around, the toss was delayed & the match reduced to a 42 over affair. Stirling lost the toss & Upottery elected to bat. The visitors line-up:- J.Farley, A.Daldorph, D.Baldock, S.Jefferson, B.Coe, P.Stirling+, H.Squire, B.Heard, J.Broom, J.Stirling*, E.Vukusic.

Broom & Vukusic took the new ball for the visitors & despite a couple of free-scoring overs by Upottery openers Broom & Pulman, managed to keep it reasonable tight until the heavens opened after 7.1 overs with the score on 26-0 & the players left to seek solace in the dressing rooms.

A lengthy rainbreak ensued & the match was reduced to 33 overs per side. The players retook to the field which had withstood a great deal of rain, not before headshots were taken by DCL celebrity Conrad Sutcliffe.

Pulman & Broom resumed & came out swinging. Jacob Broom, bemused by the chorus of “keeping going Broomy” whilst bowling to his namesake, finished his 7 overs with 0-33 after several plays & misses. Stirling immediately introduced himself from the other end after the completion of Vukusic’s 4th over.

Heard replaced Broom & was the first to strike, removing Broom on his third life after a couple of drops, caught & bowled for 42 & the hosts hurried to 90-1.

Pulman was the next man to go, bowled by Stirling for 47. There was a switch of ends for Heard after Stirling had bowled his 7 for 1-40, with Henry Squire introduced from the pavilion end.

A second deserved wicket for Heard came courtesy of an Andy Daldorph catch after an uncharacteristic drop with Mitcham back in the hutch for 20.

Squire bowled good areas but consistently good running from Upottery saw the score rising to 172 before the 4th wicket fell, Squire knocking back Adam Pulman’s off stump. Erin Vukusic returned and removed Kidson for 39, before P.Stirling stumped the third Pulman, Andrew, to fall with the last ball of the innings from Heard (3-46). Upottery had raced to 185-6 from their 33 overs.

Farley & Daldorph opened the reply for the visitors, with the former the first to go for 2, LBW to Kidson with the score on 7.

D I F Baldock, promoted up the order after a rendezvous with his former South Devon colleague & the DCL correspondent, was next in. On a pitch which was quickly looking harder to bat on than the first innings, accompanied by some tight bowling from the hosts, Baldock soon fell for 4 after skying on back to bowler R.Pulman with the score on 18.

With the score on 33, Daldorph fell to the same dismissal, although a better grab by Pulman on this occasion after the Thorverton opener had smashed the ball back at him with real venom.

Sam Jefferson & Ben Coe patiently set about the rebuild from 33-3 & the game meandered along with Thors falling behind the rate despite the best efforts of the 4th wicket pair’s attritional scoring.

Coe was highly unfortunate to depart for 22 after a ricochet from bowler Frost’s hand found it’s way into the non-striker’s stumps following a straight drive from Jefferson. 91-4.

Jefferson, knowing the the rate was climbing soon followed Coe, caught by Broom in the gully off of Andrew Pulman for a well-made 40.

With overs running out, P.Stirling & Heard came & went for 4 & 1 respectively, whilst Henry Squire looked more at ease striking at over a run a ball for his 25 before Kaal struck to leave the visitors hopes in tatters at 138-8.

Broom wafted his way to 9 before being caught to leave Thors on the brink at 139-9 with two and a bit overs left. Stirling struck a couple of fours before he was last batter out for 10 & the hosts were winners by 34 runs.

Scorecard

League Table

Thanks to Rich for umpiring & Bob for scoring.

The congestion continues in the top half of the division as the 2s slide down to 4th. Next up is a home game against Budleigh Salterton, with Thors aiming to complete the game with more players than they did at the tied return fixture in May.

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.

Scorecard

League Table

Huge thanks to Jimmy in the score box and Alice in the ktichen for their hard work throughout the day.

As the first half of the Devon Cricket League drew to a close with the 2nd XI winning at Topsham to go top of the D Division East, we sat down with captain Jack Stirling to digest the season so far.

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You must be pleased with the first half of the season particularly after last year’s promotion?

Absolutely. I think I’d mentally braced myself for a transitional season of consolidation but to be top of the table at halfway is fantastic, especially considering some patchy availability at the start of the year.

Availability is a lot stronger now, are there plans to make sure people are getting as much cricket as possible? Is a 3rd team on the cards?

It’s something we definitely need to look at. My job has become significantly harder & the worst part of it is telling someone they haven’t got a game of cricket on a Saturday. It’s obviously part of the 5 year development plan & from our last committee meeting I can say we have some irons in the fire in that regard.

What are the stand out performances that have got us top of the league?

Obviously the 100s from Andy Daldorph & Sam Jefferson were worthy of winning any matches. 5fas from Bobby Heard & Luke Vukusic did wonders for us too. Jay Porter’s 77* when we were under the cosh against Heathcoat is definitely worthy of a mention, but there have been some great team performances too.

You mention team performances, which has been the highlight?

I think coming back from Budleigh with a tie despite having 8 players left at the ground has to be the standout, especially as we fielded with ten for over half of the overs.

What are the goals for the 2’s half of the season?

I don’t want to get carried away; it’s a really tight league at this point with 5 points separating top and 5th. I think a top half finish would be a great achievement all things considered. There are some good sides in this league & availability will be lacking on some occasions, so I’d be content finishing in the top 5.

Is it a case of more of the same to achieve that?

I think so. The competition for places should spur people on in the second half. I do believe we can beat anyone in this league on our day, we’ve just got to make sure that it’s our day consistently.

And any areas for improvement?

I think in a couple of the defeats we’ve let our heads drop after a reasonable opposition partnership & it’s cost us. I think we just need to remain positive regardless of the situation we find ourselves in.

Finally, if a tree falls in a forest and there is nobody to hear it, is there a sound?

It wood make a sound, woodn’t it?

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2nd XI Stats at the halfway mark

Batting (min 100 runs)

A.Daldorph – 341 runs @ 48.71

D.Baldock – 202 runs @ 40.40

S.Jefferson – 127 runs @ 127.00

J.Farley – 127 runs @ 31.75

L.Vukusic – 102 runs @ 51.00

J.Porter – 101 runs @ 25.25

Bowling (min 7 wkts)

B.Heard – 9 wickets @ 17.56

J.Stirling – 9 wickets @ 18.67

L.Vukusic – 8 wickets @ 14.38

E.Heard – 7 wickets @ 28.57