As the first half of the Devon Cricket League drew to a close with the 1st XI beaten by Exeter, we digest the season so far with Jake Choules.

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So, the 1s currently sit in 6th, 21 points off second & 17 above the relegation zone. What’s the goal from the halfway point?

The goal is to continue to consolidate in this league. We won 4 in the first half so if we can go one better and win 5 in the 2nd that would be great.

What has been the high point of the season so far?

Budleigh away is sticking out, a great game on a sunny day at their impressive new ground. Brilliant to post 250 with Jack getting a ton then getting over the line by one runs thanks to an amazing last over by Slavs.

And the low point?

The batting collapse at Abbots was a tough one to take. I’m hopeful lessons can be learned though.

It must’ve been nice to receive essentially two byes in the Wombat Devon T20 as we play in the quarter final on Friday, how do you rate our chances of progressing in the competition?

To be honest, it feels a bit odd being in a quarter final without playing a game. I would’ve much preferred to have done it the hard way like we did with the Corinthian Cup. Excited to test ourselves against a good Plympton side though, we will go down there with a positive attitude and nothing to lose.

Jack Geraghty leads the runscoring charts with 335 runs, how impressed have you been with the overseas signing?

Really happy with Jack, he’s clearly a seriously talented batter. I think there is more to come though and hope he can kick on in the second half with bat and ball.

Stats aside, who have you been most impressed with so far this season?

There’s been some great team performances, especially in the field. But aside from Jack, Dan and Andy have shown some form at the top of the order so I hope to see that continue. Harry has shown real maturity in the middle order and I doubt many teams would say no to an opening bowling pair of George and Slavs.

What’s been the funniest moment of the first half of the season?

Jack being introduced to the Great British stinging nettle.

You’ve used 18 players so far including debuts for Billy Wakeley & Henry Squire. Can we expect that number to exceed the 20 players used last season?

Availability has actually been pretty good in general, we named an unchanged side for 3 weeks in a row at one stage. I think the high number is more a testament to the strength of the squad – also demonstrated by how well the 2s are doing.

Luke is deservedly back in on Saturday and I’m sure there will be opportunities for others throughout the season too.

Have you identified any areas for improvement?

The batting collapses in the last 2 weeks can’t be ignored and we need to nip that habit in the bud quickly. If we bat then overs we will win more than we lose. We’re bowling and fielding pretty well but always room for improvement. Hopefully we’ve already hit our quota for dropped catches this season!

How’s the dressing room atmosphere compared to previous years?

The atmosphere is always good at Thorvy but Billy and Jack have been really positive additions and are great guys to have around the dressing room.

Finally, cricket has been in the headlines for all the wrong reason again recently, do you have any thoughts on the state of the game generally?

Personally I think the report was overdue and it seems that the ECB are going to respond positively so it will be interesting to see how it filters down to village cricket.

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1st XI Stats at the halfway mark:-

Batting (min 100 runs)

J.Geraghty – 335 runs @ 67.00

A.Pitt – 163 runs @ 23.39

D.Robbins – 161 runs @ 20.13

A.Chilcott – 116 runs @ 38.67

Bowling (Min 10 wickets)

J.Choules – 13 wickets @ 19.08

B.Slaviero – 11 wickets @ 16.82

A.Jopling – 11 wickets @ 17.91

G.Daldorph – 10 wickets @ 27.80

Fielding (min 5 dismissals)

H.Choules – 9 dismissals

J.Geraghty – 6 dismissals

At the halfway point in the Devon League season the 1s hosted top of the table Exeter.

The team:
A.Pitt, D.Robbins, G.Greed, J.Geraghty, H.Choules, G.Daldroph, B.Coe, S.Jefferson, B.Slaviero, A.Jopling, J.Choules.

With a bit of cloud cover and last week still fresh in the mind the skipper elected to bowl at the toss.

Slaviero and Daldorph kept things extremely tight from their usual ends with the score only reaching 21-1 after 6 overs a piece. Daldorph with the wicket of Abrahams caught in the gully for 0. The pair were unfortunate not to have more when a couple of chances behind went down.

Jopling and Choules were the change bowlers and Exeter’s overseas player Edwards & Devon’s Sam Read looked to increase the scoring rate.

Jopling removed Read LBW for 20 right on the stroke of the first drinks break – 45-2.

Charles Clist came in with a clear instruction to increase the rate and gave a number of chances before finally being caught on the rope by Andy Pitt off of Jopling for 25.

After 6 overs from Choules who had struggled with the breeze, Pitt then replaced him at the river end and at the halfway point the total was 100-3.

A jaffer from Pitt in the 30th over dislodged Mcabe’s off stump which brought Buckingham to the crease. He batted sensibly with opener Edwards who passed his 50 with relative ease.

Once a good Jopling spell was over (2-32), Choules was reintroduced, this time from the Pavilion End. With 15 to go another drink was taken as the score reached 131-4. Thorverton restricting Exeter will but the table toppers with set batters and wickets in hand.

Thors sought to disrupt Exeter’s plans the period after drinks with some 1 and 2 over spells. Pitt removed Buckingham for 23 as the score was 157-5 going into the final 10.

The new man Felix Joseph showed some aggression using his feet against Pitt and Slaviero in particular before a mix up had Edwards run out for a very well made 95. Daldorph (3-30) bowled Joseph the very next ball before cleaning up opposition captain Joe Gore to secure the ‘team hat trick’.

There were no boundaries in the final couple of overs but some good running gave Exeter a decent score of 226-8.

The talk at tea was that the score was around par or just under but either way Thors would need to bat well. It started promisingly when 11 was taken off of Gore’s opening over with the help from some extras.

Robbins left a straight one off of Royal Navy colleague Pete Hensor the very next over, however, and Thors were 16-1 after 2.

George Greed looked in fine touch, getting off the mark with a boundary and going on to strike a 4 for 4 overs in a row. He and Pitt rotated as well while Exeter continued to serve up some extras giving us 42-1 from 6.

Despite it still being the first powerplay, Exeter turned to the spin of Buckingham and Read who despite leaking some boundaries early, did pose more of a threat to Thors.

Greed was unlucky to play on in the 10th over for 34 with the total now on 68-2. Pitt survived a couple of big appeals shortly after before eventually being given LBW off of Buckingham for 20 in the 14th.

Geraghty and H. Choules calmly kept the score ticking over as we reached 116-3 at halfway. Slightly ahead of Exeter at the same stage.

With Buckingham and Read bowled out Exeter stuck with spin which continued to stifle free flowing run scoring, albeit Choules did take Mcabe for 10 in an over including a 6 into the road.

With 20 to go Thors required 92 to win which felt like a good position against the city side. However with Joe Gore back into the attack for the visitors, disaster struck with Choules being adjudged LBW on 34 and Geraghty (48) getting one that misbehaved the very next over.

Despite the significant setbacks, Thors were still in a reasonable position at 157-5 with 12 to go but the less said about the response the better. McCabe and Jarman cleaned up the rest of the order as we ended 167AO, not using 7 overs.

Scorecard

League Table

The skipper concluded:
“Thought it was a really good game of cricket that was tighter than the scorecard reflects. Harry and Jack were going really well and we were in a great position until we were unlucky to lose both of them in consecutive overs. The less said about what happened afterwards the better!”

Thors remain 6th in the table but will be anxious for some wins as the bottom sides close the points gaps. Spirits in the camp remain high however, helped by a successful iPod shuffle night.

Thanks to Isaac in the score box, Maria for teas and the various volunteers at the social.

Next week the 1s host Plymouth who have an almost identical record to Thorverton this term.

Sam Jefferson was presented with the Energy Systems SW Player of the Month Award for June 2023. The cricket committee chose Jeffers for his 126* against Exeter 2nd XI.

Jeffers match-winning 126* against Exeter came off 101 balls & included 21 fours.

A very belated Energy Systems SW Ltd Player of the Month for May was presented last night, Andy Daldorph the recipient for this 147* against Feniton.

In 8 league appearances so far this term, Andy has amassed 341 runs at an average of 48.71.

The 2nd XI travelled to the University Ground to take on fellow 2022 promotees Topsham St James as the DCL season reached the halfway point.

For the second week in a row, Jack Stirling lost the toss & Thors would be fielding first. The 2nd XI lineup:- L.Vukusic, A.Daldorph, H.Squire, D.Baldock, P.Stirling+, J.Baker, J.Porter, B.Heard, A.Gibbons, J.Stirling, E.Vukusic.

Gibbons & E.Vukusic started the game quietly bowling to the opening pair of Sapwell & Wardell. The openers ran some good singles and crept their way towards a 50 opening stand.

Heard & L.Vukusic came on in a double bowling change which paid off immediately with Wardell smashing a full toss from Heard down L.Vukusic’s throat at deep-midwicket. 50-1. New man Perry followed shortly after as the roles were reversed, Vukusic finding some extra bounce to square the batter up & the ball looped up to Heard in the gully.

Croxall hung around with Sapwell as the hosts meandered to 86-1 at drinks. Sapwell followed immediately after the break, captain Stirling with some sharp turn & bounce finding the good hands of Baldock at slip via the Topsham captain’s glove.

Heard had a second when Croxall spooned him to Henry Squire at cover, before finishing with figures of 2-36. Topsham 105-4.

The wickets tally went up before the run tally as Stirling (3-26) was chipped by Jenkins to Daldorph at mid-on. Incoming Smalley did the same to Porter at extra cover & Topsham were struggling at 110-6.

Luke Vukusic returned & broke the eccentric resistance of Ahmadzai who chipped him to J.Stirling at mid off. Two balls later he clean bowled Armstrong without troubling the scorers, finishing with 3-42. Topsham 131-8.

Khalid Khan joined the determined Williams but only lasted 7 balls before skying the returning Erin Vukusic to P.Stirling for 11. Last man Smalley had his stumps rearranged by Henry Squire’s first ball of the match & Topsham were all out for 155.

Luke Vukusic & Andy Daldorph opened the reply & Thors got off to a flier taking 70 off the first ten overs, mainly thanks to a stream of Vukusic boundaries, ably supported by Daldorph who was taking a rare supporting role.

The score reached 71 as Vukusic brought up his half-century, but departed straight after, chopping on to J.Smalley. Vukusic’s impressive 50 from 39 balls with 9 fours and a six. Daldorph then departed on the same total, patting spinner Wardell back into his hands. 72-2.

Thors then looked to have instigated a collapse as Wardell bowled Squire without scoring.

A patient Paul Stirling assisted the more freescoring Baldock to take the momentum back towards the visitors. The latter found the boundary at regular intervals.

Stirling then departed, caught at slip for a watchful 5 from 35. Baker assumed his supporting role as Baldock passed 50 for the second time this term.

Baker was bowled for 7 with the scores level, before Baldock hit the winning runs, finishing 67* from 51 balls, with nine fours & two maximums.

Scorecard

League Table

The result sees the 2nd XI move to the summit of the D Division East by one point at the halfway point of the season. Thors travel to take on Upottery next who sit 5th in the table but just 5 points behind in a congested league table.

Thors were back in Covid Cup action on Tuesday night, taking on Exeter at the County Ground in a prelude to the A Division clash between the two sides this weekend.

Slaviero called wrongly at the toss & Exeter skipper Billy Buckingham elected to bat. Thors line up:- D.Robbins, G.Greed, B.Wakeley, J.Geraghty, H.Choules+, L.Vukusic, G.Daldorph, B.Slaviero*, J.Broom, J.Stirling, A.Jopling.

The youthful opening pair of Gribble & Cockram saw out a quiet first over from Slaviero with the new pink ball, before beginning to find some timing from Daldorph’s first over from the pavilion end. With the score 32-0 from 4, Broom & Jopling were brought into the attack, Broom conceding 14 from his first over; Jopling hit for four fours by a keenly sweep-heavy Cockram in his; 63-0 at the end of the first powerplay.

Gribble departed the first ball after the powerplay – with fine leg up, the scoop was brought into play, but the opener failed to execute and was bowled leg stump by Broom for 27 from 17.

Felix Joseph joined Cockram, the latter hitting the first maximum of the night in the gap between the pavilion & Squash Club which sent Geraghty as the unfortunate chase down down Prince of Wales Road. 76-1 after seven.

The double leg-spin pairing of Stirling & the returning Jopling was introduced and added some control. Cockram went past 50 before slapping a sweep down the throat of Billy Wakeley at deep square (51 from 37). Stirling then bowled Joseph for 15 in the same over. Exeter 103-3 from twelve.

Wakeley took over from Jopling, conceding 10 from his first. New man Dube then struck Stirling over long on for six; Stirling finishing with 2-19 from his four overs. Dube & partner Paget went on the attack, taking 20 from Wakeley’s second over. 140-3 with five to go.

Jopling (1-34), returning for his third spell of the evening removed Dube caught by Geraghty at long on for 31 from 18.

The opening pair of Slaviero (0-26) & Daldorph (1-24) returned for the last 4 overs, only conceding 22 in the process. A direct hit by Geraghty to remove Paget & another catch for the overseas to remove skipper Buckingham off the bowling of Daldorph saw the innings close at 164-7.

After a quick turnaround, Robbins & Greed opened the reply, but Thors were soon in trouble at 1-2 after the left arm inswing of Dominic Morgan bowled both Greed & Wakeley for 0.

Robbins & Geraghty began the rebuild with a handful of boundaries taking the visitors to 28-2 from four. Robbins then struck the largest maximum of the night straight back over Dube’s head. Buckingham came into the attack & immediately removed Geraghty for 17; the Aussie trying to cut a ball despite being cramped for room & the ball thundering back into his legs. 42-3.

Choules joined Robbins & the boundaries were swapped for some good running, taking the total up to 80-3 at the halfway mark.

Robbins hit a third maximum of the night & a few singles later went past 50, before hitting his next ball down the throat of Morgan off the bowling of Cockram; Robbins 50 from 36.

A spell of aggressive running from the incoming Vukusic & Harry continued to keep the board ticking over before Vukusic walked past a Cockram delivery & was stumped by Paget for 12. 16 overs gone, 122-5 and Thors needing 43 from 24 balls.

Choules & Daldorph managed 9 from the Jarman bowled 17th over to leave the equation at 34 needed from 18. A tight over next from Morgan saw only three runs conceded & both Choules (34 from 38) and Slaviero gone first ball. 134-7.

The last two overs only saw 6 runs scored but Daldorph gone for 3 and Broom gone first ball. Morgan (4-14) only conceded one from the last; skipper Buckingham the other pick of the bowlers with 3-15. Thors 24 short and left stewing over a few drops in the field which may have changed the game in their favour.

Scorecard

Next up in the Covid Cup is a trip to Bradninch & Kentisbeare on Tuesday 4th July.

As Dan’s Coast-2-Coast Challenge on 3rd & 4th August gets closer & closer, we are seeking ‘shirt sponsors’ for the whites Dan will be sporting as he walks 60 miles from North Devon Cricket Club to Exmouth Cricket club within a twenty-four hour period – all whilst wearing full whites & fully padded up in batting equipment.

Dan is aiming to raise £2000 to go towards Thorverton Cricket Club’s running costs & pavilion replacement project.

For a donation, Dan will be happy to put your businesses logo on the cricket shirt he will be wearing throughout the walk, which will be custom-made via his cricket company, Cavok Cricket for the challenge.

If you would like to donate & have your business’s logo on Dan’s shirt – please donate by visiting his GoFundMe Page HERE.

If you would like to have your logo on Dan’s shirt, please e-mail seniors@thorvertoncricketclub.com once you have donated.

Please do support Dan by donating if you are able, even if you aren’t looking to sponsor his shirt.

For full details on Dan’s Coast-2-Coast Challenge, please visit his GoFundMe page or visit HERE.

The 2nd XI welcomed top of the table Exeter 2nd XI to Station Ground for the second of their back-to-back home games. On another clear, warm and dry Saturday, Stirling lost the toss and Thors would be fielding first in the heat.

Thors line up:- A.Daldorph, J.Farley, S.Jefferson, L.Vukusic, P.Stirling+, J.Porter, G.Squire, B.Heard, A.Gibbons, E.Vukusic, J.Stirling*. 

Gibbons & E.Vukusic took the new ball for the hosts & initially kept openers Wilkinson & Cockram quiet, before both batters settled, found some timing & the boundaries started to flow. Exeter 60-0 from 11 overs when the first bowling change was made with the off-spin of Heard replacing E.Vukusic.

L.Vukusic also replaced Gibbons & the pressure began to build slightly as runs started to become more of a challenge. 68-0 at drinks.

Luke struck first to remove Wilkinson who had looked comfortable for his 31 before Vukusic bowled him from around the wicket. Barnes came in at 3 but only lasted one ball, walking across his stumps to a full, straight one and getting wrapped on the pads. Aashey Dube joined Cockram with intent & comfortably saw at the hat trick ball. 72-2.

Dube & Cockram released some of the scoring pressure taking on Heard. Dube sent a free-hit off the off-spinner flying into the meadow from the other side of the square. Vukusic then had his third, bowling Cockram for a well-made 47. Dangerman Dube soon followed him, cutting Heard to Squire at point, who despite a few tumbles in the field, took a screamer running back behind him. 103-4.

Fradgeley came & went for 12 with Vukusic rattling the stumps once more. Unni suffered the same fate after making 17 & Luke Vukusic had changed the game with his maiden 5 wicket haul in any cricket – Exeter going from 72-0 to 136-6.

Stirling joined the attack from the River End & Gibbons returned for a second spell. Tipper was next to go, not before a friendly chat with the garrulous Porter at short cover; a flick off the legs produced another great catch by Squire at square leg.

Exeter skipper Williamson & Naj Choudary started the rebuild at 143-7, the latter playing & missing at 5 trademark Gibbons outswingers in a row. The pairing started with attrition but upped the ante in particular off the returning Erin Vukusic, bringing up the 50 partnership in 60 balls.

A solitary over from Sam Jefferson ended the innings with Williamson going past a deserved 50 & finishing on 62. A great recovery to 228-7 for the visitors & it had felt the pendulum had swung back in their favour.

After a great Meredith tea, Farley & Daldorph were tasked with seeing out the new ball pair of Dube & Fradegley. A spicy first over from Dube saw both batters wrapped on the glove from undoubtedly the quickest bowler in the division with a bit of extra bounce. Fradegley opened Exeter’s account in his first over, bowling Farley top of off.

Jefferson joined Daldorph at 1-1. The third over saw Daldorph cut the pace of Dube through the infield to the cover boundary four times. Jefferson & Daldorph both found the boundary consistently to take the hosts to an impressive 78-1 from the first ten overs.

Introducing Wilkinson & Tipper to the attack didn’t stem the flow as Thors raced to 112-1 at the first drinks break.

Unni & Gribble replaced them & the the theme continued. Jefferson was dropped by Choudary on 49 and ran through to pass 50 from just 40 balls. Daldorph was bowled by Unni for a well made 44 directly after his family entourage had arrived. 130-2.

Luke Vukusic joined Jefferson & ably supported him as the latter continued to pepper the boundary. He brought up his maiden hundred for the club with a cut for 2 in just the 27th over from 84 balls.

The pace of Dube returned and knocked over Luke Vukusic for 20 with the score on 202. Paul Stirling was in at 5 and hit a couple of boundaries before Jefferson hit the winning runs. Jefferson 126 not out from 101 balls, including an impressive 21 fours. Thors home with 12 and a half overs left.

Scorecard

League Table

Skipper Jack Stirling “A really enjoyable win & a couple of phenomenal individual performances to see us home. Jeffers was quality & entertaining with the bat. Fantastic to see Luke delivering with his bowling potential as he’s been threatened a performance like this for a few years. Great to see to of the younger players taking responsibility & delivering match winning performances.”

The win sees the 2s go third in the D Division East behind Barnstaple & Upottery ahead of the visit to fellow promotees Topsham St James on Saturday.

The sun was out and an unchanged 1st XI made it to Abbotskerswell hoping to make it 3 wins from 3.

After his customary toss win the skipper elected to bat. Things started badly when a half hearted appeal had Pitt given caught behind down the leg side off of Hussain.

Hussain in particular got the ball to spit and move off of the pitch on what looked to be a difficult batting track, much to the amusement of some.

Robbins and Chilcott appeared to have weathered the early storm, however, finding the boundary regularly off of the other opener, James Tyler. This was until Hussain found Chilly’s edge.

Robbins continued positively and after the first Powerplay the score reached 53-2. The hosts struck again immediately after when Robbins went LBW for 38.

Another rebuild was in order as Geraghty and H. Choules batted sensibly on the increasingly difficult wicket. They turned the strike over well and were aided by a few extras from the hosts.

The pair put on 50 as the score reached 102-3 until Choules holed out to mid off and then Daldorph went the very next ball. The balance tipping back into Abbots favour just as Thors were looking to take charge.

Things went from bad to worse when Geraghty was 6 and out the next over – caught behind trying to cut.

Wickets fell at regular intervals from here, Ben Coe the only batter to show some resistance with a patient 16 not out. He ran out of partners though and Thors were 142 all out – 8 short of a 3rd batting point.

After tea, the usual opening bowling pair of Slaviero and Daldorph got to work and their pace had the pitch looking even more tricky. Balls spat off of good lengths and jagged in all directions, at times even the fielders were concerned for the batters welfare. The opening pair wore it well for the hosts though, particularly Aussie overseas Jack Neylon despite some loose shots on occasions that on another day may have found the outside edge.

Slaverio eventually had a wicket in the 9th over, catching and bowling Hard for 1 off of 22 balls.

The Abbots skipper entered the middle for the hosts and he and Neylon continued to be patient, wearing a few where necessary. They had a bit more joy from the change bowling partnership of Jopling and Pitt, finding the boundary on a couple of occasions.

At the first drinks the score was 68-1 and Thors had a lot to do. The skipper introduced himself and kept things generally tight whilst a change of ends for Daldroph, also keeping things tight, brought about a good but almost fruitless spell for the visitors.

Daldorph eventually had a deserved wicket at around the halfway point with the score on 87-2, removing Watkin with a jaffa. He also went close to removing the Aussie, the closest being a decent LBW shout on the back leg.

Once Daldorph was bowled out there was a burst from Slaviero but in the meantime Neylon found the boundary a couple of times off of Choules, passing his 50 as the total reached 116-2.

Wakeley was then introduced for his first spell for the club and showed some encouraging turn with an attacking field. Jopling had a wicket in his first over back thanks to a stunning grab by Harry Choules, one handed.

The key man, Neylon, was still there though and it was a matter of time before he got his team over the line.

Scorecard

League Table

Thors well beaten and slip from 4th to 6th in the 10 team table. It’s 2 home games next against city sides Exeter (top) and Plymouth (5th).

Following last week’s convincing win at home, an unchanged first XI travelled to Kilmington. Our hosts only lost for the first time this term 7 days earlier so a tough test was expected.

A heavy shower during the warm up left the skipper in a bit of a frenzy and he elected to bowl after winning the toss. An eyebrow raising decision at the high scoring ground.

By the time the game started the rain cleared and only a small bit of cloud cover remained for Slaviero and Daldorph to work with. With Gooding slapping a 4 through the covers in the first over, it looked like it could be hard work in the field.

However, despite the positive start from the hosts, Slaviero removed Gooding LBW for 14 in the 5th over. It was Daldorph’s turn the very next over – both openers now gone and the score at 29-2.

Jopling was introduced for Slaviero after the first powerplay and struck in his 2nd over, removing the opposition overseas Cucontis for 12. The total reaching 52-3 after 13.

Pitt replaced Daldorph from the pavilion end and the spin duo kept things tight up to the first drinks break with only 10 more runs being amassed.

The disciplined bowling allowed for some attacking fields to keep the batters guessing. Jopling struck again straight after drinks when Josh Cann found Geraghty at short cover before having an argument with his stumps.

Sensing blood the skipper introduced himself and removed Rockett caught and bowled almost instantly. The bowling pair continued to toil and at the halfway mark the score was 72-5.

Jopling had a deserved 3rd in his final over finishing with figures of 3-19 from his 10.

Slaviero was re-introduced as he and the skipper continued to keep things tight going into the final drinks break. Drinks brought about another wicket, Slav snicking off Crabb immediately afterwards – 90-7.

At drinks the skipper worked out that one over would be needed from a 6th bowler so Coe was introduced for an action packed over at the pavilion end. Left hander Joel Seward finding the boundary twice.

Pitt came on from the other end and struck the ball after he was hit for 6. The Kilmington plan appeared to be that Seaward would hang around and the tailenders would attack around him.

It appeared to be working as Kilmington started to amass a more defendable score and it wasn’t until the 48th over before Thors struck again- Jopling catching off of Slaviero.

9 runs came off the final over, Seaward passing his 50 in the meantime, Kilmington finishing on 169-9.

Pitt and Robbins didn’t hang around in getting to work as the Thors batters sought to benefit from the good batting conditions where their opposite numbers didn’t.

33 runs were taken from the first 3 overs. Pitt striking well off the back foot and Robbins dispatching anything over-pitched including a gargantuan 6 over the bowlers head into the nearby houses.

Kilmington switched to spin after just 5 overs and Crabb did pose a few problems but he wasn’t helped by 4 overthrows. Aussie overseas Cucontis couldn’t keep things as tight with Pitt in particular taking a liking to his tweakers.

Robbins despatched 2 more maximums before bringing up his 50 from 40 balls in the 14th over. It was 50 and out though as he missed out on a full toss – caught on the rope.

Chilly got off the mark with a boundary before Pitt fell in the 17th over for 35 – 104-2 and any pressure now very much eased.

Next man in Geraghty seemed to be in a rush to get back to the Lamb Inn and after having a look for 2 balls hit consecutive boundaries to get underway. He then rotated well with Chilcott, punishing any bad balls with some brutal 6s.

At the halfway point Thors only required 6 more to win – a brutal batting display. Jack tried to finish it in one hit and was caught for 49 before H Choules and Chilly were tasked with getting us over the line. The latter finishing with a nicely made 23 not out.

Scorecard

League Table

It was another convincing win for the 1s who seem to have found their stride this season. 4th place Thorverton go to bottom side Abbotskerswell next with last season’s 2 defeats to Abbots still fresh in minds.