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.

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.