The 2nd XI made their longest trip of the season on Saturday away at Barnstaple. With steady rain on Saturday morning that hadn’t cleared before 1pm, the start was delayed until 1:30pm, with a 41 over game to be played. Jack Stirling won the toss & elected to bowl under grey skies.

Thors line up:- A.Daldorph, J.Farley, J.Porter+, D.Baldock, B.Heard, J.Baker, C.Winzer, E.Heard, J.Stirling*, A.Gibbons, S.Tait

The opening pair of Gibbons & Tait set to work and found early lateral movement & kept things tight. Tait was the first to strike, removing Tapp, caught by Winzer at cover after pushing too hard on the drive. He struck again in his third over, Roe strangled down the leg side & caught at short fine leg by Gibbons.

Gibbons then got in on the act himself with probably the best delivery we’ll see all season. Swinging away & seaming back in from a length, Roe was castled middle & off shouldering arms & Thors were sensing blood at 25-3.

Tait continued and deservedly removed Fewings caught behind well by Porter & Barnstaple had slumped to 34-4 after the first ten overs.

With a reduced bowling allocation for all but one bowler, a double bowling change was made as Eliza Heard & Stirling replaced the new ball pair. Stirling struck with his second ball, Tapp failing to tap it over Gibbons at mid off & the hosts were 45-5.

James Poole joined namesake Tom for the hosts & immediately went on the counter attack & just 19 minutes later had brought up their fifty partnership from just 32 balls, courtesy of some strong hitting & good running by both.

The onslaught continued & number 7 Tom Poole brought up his 50 from just 22 balls. By the time the 13 over partnership had been broken by the returning Gibbons, Poole was out for 78 from 37 and Barnstaple had bludgeoned their way from 45-5 to 169-6.

James Poole went past 50 & was ably supported by the captain Cole as Barnstaple passed full batting points. Following a ball being exchanged for the bar of soap Thors had been bowling with, the runs slightly tightened up £ Eliza Heard caught and bowled Poole for a well made 80.

Cole passed 50 and remained there at the close, the only other wicket to fall was Bashford, bowled B.Heard for 3. The hosts with a miraculous recovery to 252-8.

Farley & Daldorph opened the reply as the sun came out. Daldorph the first man to go, clean bowled by an inswinging yorker from Elnaugh for 5.

Porter then departed, coughing up a pull shot to mid on for six, before Baldock nicked off first ball to leave Thors 28-3 in the chase. Farley & Heard also fell shortly after to reduce us to 38-5.

Winzer came and went before Baker & E.Heard offered some relative stability for a handful of overs before Heard departed for 8 from 21. Skipper Stirling lasted only three balls and Thors had collapsed to a paltry 58-8.

Baker & the incoming Gibbons managed to take Thors past a second batting point with a steady run rate. The partnership lasted 13 overs before Gibbons fell for 26 to leave the visitors on the brink at 110-9.

Tait joined Baker with the added amusement of Porter as runner. Baker smashed 10 from the next three balls to take Thors past 120 and a third batting point.

Porter (running for Tait) was then run out coming back for two & Thors were all out for 121, Jack Baker left unbeaten on 42 from 57.

Scorecard

League Table

Skipper Jack Stirling “Stu and Alex were great with the new ball & Jack looked great for his 42*, but other than that a very bad day at the office. Just one of those days mother cricket wasn’t on our side. Fair play to Tom Poole, I can’t say I’ve seen too many 22 ball 50s in the Devon League & it completely changed the game. We pick ourselves up and aim to continue to hang around in mid-table for the rest of the season”.

Next up for the 2s is two home games in two weeks, against Whimple 1st XI & Exeter 2nd XI

On another scorcher, the 1st XI made the trip to Hatherleigh to face opponents who were playing in the Premier Division last season.

There were 4 changes to the XI for the 2nd week in a row with 15 year old Henry Squire making his debut. Team: A.Pitt, D.Robbins, B.Coe, J.Geraghty, H.Choules, G.Daldorph, H.Squire, B.Slaviero, A.Jopling, J.Choules, A.Gibbons.

Unlike last week, a coin was used for the toss and the skipper was back to winning ways, electing to bat.

Pitt struck a beautiful straight drive for four 3rd ball that rattled against the iconic white wall at Hatherleigh. Not to be outdone, Robbins also found the boundary on his 3rd ball faced.

The start was positive until Pitt was bowled for 10 in the 8th over. Next man in, Coe, also got off the mark with a boundary as the total reached 38-1 after the first PowerPlay.

Robbins looked to attack the change bowler striking two 6s in Jones’s first over. He fell for 29 shortly after, however, thanks to a sublime catch at first slip.

Coe and Aussie Jack Geraghty continued positively before Coe was bowled a couple of balls before the first drinks break – the score reaching 71-3.

Continuing the order of the day Harry Choules also got off the mark with a 4 before he and Jack ran between the wickets in their usual positive manner – despite one near miss.

Choules was next out just after the halfway point – 104-4. Jack struck the next over for 18 before becoming the latest victim in the 30th over, adjudged lbw for 40.

Henry Squire was unlucky to get an almost unplayable delivery from Charlie Presswell, ending his debut innings before it really got going for 2. Slaviero came and went for 4 as the total reached 155-7 with 14 to go.

Daldorph and Jopling calmed things down for Thors both striking maximums before Jops was eventually caught. The skipper didn’t last long and Daldorph went soon after looking to attack while we were 9 down.

TCC all out for 184 in the 44th over.

Following the well-renowned Hatherleigh tea, Slaviero was handed the new ball. If Thors felt we had a chance at tea, we certainly did when opener Presswell left a straight one – 0-1.

Following a Daldorph maiden, Slav struck again and the hosts were reeling at 4-2.

Hatherleigh overseas Rapulana sought to counter attack for the hosts as Daldorph was convinced he had him caught behind, the umpire was unmoved. Following a couple of boundaries, Daldorph had his man in his next over – this time the finger going up for an edge behind.

Heard and Davies calmed the game down for the hosts and by the time Daldroph and Slaverio had bowled 6 overs each the score was 51-3.

The skipper and Gibbons were introduced next. The former struggled to find his usual areas and took himself off for Jopling after just 2 overs.

Gibbons and Jopling kept things tight and after 20 overs the total was 70-3. With the visitors knowing we required wickets to win this one, Robbins was introduced for Gibbons at the concrete works end. However it was Jopling who took the next wicket as Heard found Geraghty at long on – 81-4.

Hatherleigh continued to tick things along, reaching 115-4 with 20 to go. The skipper rolled the dice, introducing strike bowlers Slaviero and Daldorph for a second spell. They couldn’t strike instantly, however, with the total reaching 128-4 at the final drinks break.

Choules bowled himself again after the break and whilst still pitching them too short, Davies skied one which was well caught by Daldorph at short mid wicket. Davies with a well made 63. Choules had a second last ball of the over thanks to sharp work behind the stumps by brother Harry.

With the hosts now 6 down, Thors went back to Daldorph and Slaviero going into the last 15.

The pair kept it tight meaning the required rate snuck up to 5 an over going into the last 10 and run rate was now a consideration as well as wickets.

Back into the attack, Robbins struck in the 41st over – 140-7. With Daldorph bowled out, Aussie Geraghty was now introduced – also striking in his first over – 146-8 with 8 to go.

Opposition skipper, Lake, played very calmly and sensibly ticking things along for his club. With 5 to go the situation was now 166-8, the pendulum perhaps swinging back in Hatherleigh’s favour.

A maiden from the Aussie followed before Slaverio finished his 10 overs – his final over going for 5.

The hosts required 14 from the final 3 overs but it was the penultimate over when things slipped away. Two edges from the Hatherleigh skipper found the boundary taking the equation to just 2 required from the last over.

Another edge on the second ball of the last sealed the win for Hatherleigh as the visitors pondered all the ifs, buts and maybes throughout the day. The most curucial probably being the failure to bat for 50 overs.

Scorecard

League Table

Choules debriefed:
“A fantastic game of cricket that I thought was played in a refreshingly good spirit. Ultimately we were 20 short with the bat but very proud of the efforts in the field to take it to the last over. George Daldorph in particular was fantastic with both bat and ball.”

The 1s slip down to 7th in the table ahead of the visit of newly promoted Clyst St George on Saturday.

Following a unbeaten May which saw the 2nd XI rise to the top of the D Division East at the end of May, we welcomed Clyst Hydon to Station Ground as the Devon Cricket League moved into it’s second month.

Returning captain Jack Stirling won the toss under blue skies & unsurprisingly elected to bat. Thors lineup:- J.Farley, A.Daldorph, J.Porter, D.Baldock, P.Stirling+, C.Winzer, E.Vukusic, J.Stirling*, E.Heard, I.Daldorph.

Farley & Daldorph opened the innings, Farley finding some timing off the back foot & the boundary a couple of times; impressing considering he hadn’t picked up a bat since August.

Daldorph, following on from his unbeaten 147 last week was the first man to go, pulling a James Billington full toss straight to Newman who pulled off a blinder at square leg for 12. Porter failed to bother Bob in the scorebox as he nicked off to the following ball & Thors were 29-2.

In at 4 was Baldock who went on the counter attack, as Farley maintained a decent strike rate at the other end. Baldock found the boundary five time, including a couple bludgeoned down the ground with venom, before being bowled by Thornton whilst trying to continue his intent, for 23 from 19 balls.

A patient Paul Stirling, playing his first game of the season following a foot injury, joined Farley & tried to rebuild the innings from 69-3. The pair trundled through to drinks before Farley was bowled by Newman for 32 from 57. Winzer joined P.Stirling & soon departed, edging the left armer through to Sutton behind the stumps for 1 and the hosts were 97-5.

Meredith joining Stirling & patiently kept watch whilst Paul picked out the field at the river end of the ground for 6. Meredith the next man to go, caught behind for 9 to give Sutton his third dismissal. Erin Vukusic struggled to a 13 ball duck before being clean bowled by Reshi for 0. Jack Stirling joined brother Paul who was out soon after trying to accelerate the rate, caught at long on for 32.

Eliza Heard joined the skipper with Thors stumbling to 140-8. Stirling doggedly stuck around with the entertainment value of a slowly drying Dulux magnolia wall & Heard ably supported him before Heard went on the attack for the last few overs. The pair had put on 54 for the 9th wicket and took the hosts to a reasonable total of 194-8. Heard with an impressive run a ball 26, Stirling with a 48 ball 18 which thankfully didn’t bore off the handful of fortunately non-paying spectators.

After an always popular Kate Baldock tea, Thors set out to defend 194. The outswing of Imogen Daldorph & inswing of Erin Vukusic set out with the new ball. Clyst Hydon’s opening pair of captain Ian Sutton & Sinthuran Thevaraj quietly went about their business but consistently finding the boundary to take the opening partnership to 50 just after Eliza Heard & Jack Stirling had replaced the new ball pair.

Eliza Heard was the first of the three pronged female seam attack to strike, the dangerous Sutton caught by Winzer at point for 26.

Trude joined Theravaj & the pair continued to add runs at an attritional rate. Theravaj was next to go at around the halfway mark, caught after failing to clear Andy Daldorph mid on for 46 off Stirling. Trude followed soon after, caught by Eliza Heard at cover off a returning Vukusic for 23 & Thors had a very slight sniff of being back in the game with Clyst Hydon at 117-3.

Stirling finished his 9 overs with 1-33 & was replaced by Meredith at the River End whilst the three seamers were rotated from the pavilion end. Daldorph picked up a deserved wicket with Billington finally caught by Meredith at square leg after some circus-like juggling. Daldorph finished her allocation with 1-37.

Meredith attracted some attacking shots from Reshi who found the cover boundary a couple of times & rotated the strike well. Winzer replaced him and picked up his maiden Thorverton wicket with a dubious full toss, caught well down low by Heard at square leg.

Heard (1-39) returned for a third spell to complete her 9 overs, before the winning runs were hit to consign Thors to a first defeat of the season, by 5 wickets.

Scorecard

League Table

Thors skipper Jack Stirling “We just weren’t at the races; I felt we could’ve applied ourselves with the bat slightly better but to be second in the table after five games is fantastic”

Next up for the 2nd XI is a trip to take on Barnstaple & Pilton on Saturday.

It is with great disappointment that Sunday’s Community Cream Day has been postponed as Abbotskerswell have conceded our Wombat Cricket Devon T20 Second Round tie after not being able to raise a side. Sunday’s tie was due to be our first home cup fixture since 2019.

We hope to rearrange Community Cream Tea Day & will publish details as and when this is rearranged.

Thors advance to the Quarter Finals of the Cup & will face Plympton away from home, date & time TBC. Details will be published in due course.

Off the back of 2 wins, a much changed 1st XI were hosting Torquay at Station Ground.

The team:
A.Pitt, D.Robbins, A.Chilcott, J.Geraghty, H. Choules+, D.Baldock, L.Vukusic, G.Daldorph, B.Heard, A.Gibbons, J. Choules*.

Due to a lack of coin, the toss was done with the umpire’s Exeter Chief’s keyring; the away skipper calling correctly and electing to bat.

With Slaverio unavailable, Daldorph took the first over from the river end and Geraghty was trusted with the new ball from the pavilion end. Both sides would have been reasonably happy with the first 10 overs as the score reached 38-0.

Thors opted to stick with seam as Robbins and Gibbons were introduced next with Gibbons striking in his first over for the 1st XI – removing the left handed Tim Western.

Jono Colgate came in at 3 and wasn’t smiling when he went shortly after for 1. Gibbons now with 2 wickets on debut as the score reached 65-2 at the first drinks (17 overs).

The skipper replaced Robbins at the pavilion and as he and Gibbons kept things reasonably tight. The score trickled along to 108-2 at halfway.

As Torquay sought to accelerate in the 2nd half, overseas pro Terblanche passed 50. He was dropped on the fence off Choules shortly afterwards.

Ex Torquay skipper Chris Kelmere also passed 50, managing to strike Gibbons for 6 in his final over, not fully ruining solid debut figures of 2-47 from 10.

Pitt replaced Gibbons and struck twice in 2 balls in his second over with the hat trick ball squeezing through the slips.

Choules finally had a wicket in the next over, his last, finishing with 1-42. With 10 overs to go the score was 185-5 but crucially Terblance was still there.

After passing his hundred the South African accelerated exponentially – making the most of being dropped twice more. In the last ten Thors rotated the bowling but the tightest over we could muster still had 6 off it. Thanks to 17 off the penultimate and 24 off the last, Torquay finished on exactly 300. Thors taking 7 wickets.

After a great tea from super-mum Chloe Robbins, husband Dan and Andy Pitt set to work, hoping to make use of the early fielding restrictions.

Robbins was caught in the 5th with the score on 25 but the introduction of Chilcott didn’t slow things down as we continued at a solid scoring rate.

With the score at 74-1 at the first drinks, it looked like Thors would at least reach maximum batting points even if 300 was out of reach.

However, with Pitt going the next over for 25 and Jack shortly after, things slowed up.

Nobody in the middle order reached double figures and by the time 27 overs had passed the score was 106-5.

2 more fell in the 31st over and despite Chilcott still being in, our fate had pretty much been sealed.

When Chilly went for 31 the score was 125-8 and the target quickly became 150 which was the next available batting point. Gibbons came and went leaving the final pair of Heard and Choules requiring 20 to earn Thors another point.

Heard ticked some runs over whilst Choules blocked out opposite number Baxendale’s final over out to prevent his 5fa. However Heard played on for 13 in the 40th over and Thors were 139 all out.

The home side crashed down to earth with a bump with a stark reminder that catches win matches and the loss of quick wickets loses them.

Scorecard

League Table

Next week is a trip to Hatherleigh who are new to the division following relegation from the Premier.

The skipper was brief in his comments:
“Far from ideal dropping their overseas 3 times. Would probably have been chasing under 250 and might’ve been very different. Saying that, Torquay are a strong outfit and we didn’t apply ourselves with the bat either. Hoping to see a reaction next week.”

The second XI made the trip up the A30 to Feniton this week with sun continuing to shine across Devon. There were a host of changes from last week and a couple of late changes on Friday with juniors A. Bate and I. May called up.

The XI were: A. Daldorph, G. Squire, J. Porter+, N. Taverner, A. Bate, H. Squire, J. Meredith*, E. Heard, E. Vukusic, S. Tait, I. May.

The musical chairs of captains continued with Meredith being the third captain in three weeks. He won the toss and elected to field in the hope his side could get Feniton out cheaply after their batting troubles last week.

Tait and Vukusic took the new ball and Feniton got off to a decent start on a hard deck scoring at 5 an over for the first four overs. Tait was the first to strike in his 3rd over when Stone was adjudged to be out LBW. Vukusic immediately responded with a wicket of her own when H. Squire leapt through the air to take a spectacular catch at gully. At the 10 over mark, Feniton were 43-2.

H. Squire and Heard were introduced into the attack. Heard took the next wicket thanks to some lightning reactions from Tait at gully to take a stunner of a catch when Salter cut it quickly at him. Meredith took over from H. Squire to toil away and picked up the wicket of his opposite number, Tait taking the catch. Feniton were 140-4 at the 30 over mark, Brooks having gone past 50.

Thors had to wait until the 40th over for the next wicket, Tait bowled Pyle after Pyle had told him to go and carry on bowling the ball before. H. Squire had swapped ends by this point and was bowling with some heat and energy but couldn’t find a wicket. Daldorph replaced H. Squire originally for one over which became two after a tidy first, and was rewarded with the wicket of Kingdon when he spooned one straight up for Porter to take a comfortable catch. Heard and Vukusic closed out the innings but couldn’t take any more wickets including that of opener Brook who finished 114 not out.

Feniton 235-6, Tait 2-44

On what seemed to be a good batting deck, Thors felt the total was a gettable one. Daldorph and G. Squire opened up for Thors but it wasn’t long before G. Squire was walking back to the pavilion third ball of the innings. Porter joined Daldorph in the middle and the pair started to make some progress with both batsmen finding the boundary. Unfortunately, Porter was bowled in the 6th over to leave Thors 40-2.

The young Mr Taverner was the next man in for what turned out to be a mammoth partnership. Daldorph was still finding the boundary with some ease and hitting the ball into the hedge and field and the northern end of the ground. His 50 came up in the 12th over with a shot you knew was going for 6 the moment it left his bat. At the 15 over mark, Thors were 95-2.

The scoring rate became a tale of two ends with Davies providing some tight bowling for Feniton, whilst Daldorph and Taverner scored more freely off the other bowling. The partnership continued to tick along with plenty of ones and twos, and the odd boundary. Daldorph brought up his first century of the season with a four in the 25th over to the applause of his teammates, and celebrated in style by putting the next ball over the rope into the football field.

At the second drinks break, the partnership was already worth 140, Thors were on 180-2 and required 56 off 15 overs. Taverner brought up his own 50 a few overs later with a single as he and Daldorph were ticking along with a few runs each over. However, there was time for Daldorph to hit a big six over the clubhouse.

The partnership was on 191 (a club record for the 3rd wicket)when it ended in the 40th over, Taverner bowled for 58 by Pyle. With Thors only requiring 5 to win at this point, Bate went in next and faced a handful of balls before being stumped without scoring. It was fitting that Daldorph hit the winning runs with a boundary in the 42nd over to take him to 147 not out off 113 balls and Thors to their second win of the season.

Thorverton 239-4, Daldorph 147*, Taverner 58, Daldorph-Taverner 191 partnership

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League Table

The result means the 2s continue their unbeaten start to the season and currently sit top of the Division D East table. Thank you to Alan Birmingham and Bob Rice for umpiring and scoring. The 2XI will look to continue their form next week when they welcome Clyst Hydon to The Station Ground.

With the Wombat T20 Cup and Covid Cup mini league looming, Thors sought to arrange a t20 friendly. Huge thanks to Sandford and our grounds team for getting the game on at short notice as the original fixture due to be played at Cullompton couldn’t be fulfilled.

Following numerous changes throughout the week as Thors felt the effect of hard outfields, we lined up with:
D.Robbins, G.Greed, J.Geraghty, D.Baldock, G. Daldorph, J.Porter+, B.Slaverio, A.Jopling, E.Heard, S.Tait, J.Choules*.

The skipper was running late so Slaverio tossed and Sandford elected to bat.

The familiar new ball pairing of Slaverio and Daldorph got us underway as Sandford openers and overseas pro Negi looked to make the most of the opening powerplay.

They reached 20-0 after 3 before Daldorph had Glass caught behind for 9 in the 4th.

Negi started to take a liking to the short leg side boundary and took a solitary Tait over for 15. It was already starting to appear that the only threat to Negi was a run out as there were a few mix ups in the middle. Eventually a smart pick up and direct hit from brief Sandford player Greed had Ward run out.

Negi was still there though and finding the boundary regularly, passing 50 in the process. A positive at this stage was seeing Robbins with ball back in hand after an injury lay off, and he did find Negi’s edge on one occasion.

The next wicket didn’t come until after halfway when Choules had Gray stumped for 6- the score 121-3 after 12.

Grieve ably supported Negi for the visitors as the latter reached his century off of a mere 55 balls.

Eliza Heard tied up the river end for the remainder of the innings and was unlucky not to have a wicket when one was put down in the deep. Thors rotated the bowling from the pavilion end as we attempted to keep the rate under 10 an over. Eventually Daldorph had Negi caught on the fence but the damage had been done – 117 from 60 balls.

There was a run out from Porter and wickets for Slaverio and Robbins before the close as Sandford finished on a more than significant 206–7.

Robbins wasted no time pummelling the first ball of the reply for 6 before a lower keeping ball had his stumps dislodged.

Greed and Geraghty kept us up with the required rate for the first 4 overs before Greed fell in the 5th with the score 41-2.

Baldock came in with intent and after the 1st powerplay we remained up with the rate. However the fall of Baldock’s wicket and end of the powerplay slowed things down somewhat.

Daldorph supported Jack well in the next phase including a fantastic pull shot that reached the rope in no time. However, when he came and went Jay Porter represented the last of the recognised batters.

After a tricky start, Porter found the fence 6th ball as the score reached 99-4 with 8 to go.

Jay and Jack ticked things along nicely, the latter passing 50 whilst teammates wondered if he’d ever get out this season. A mix up in the middle saw to that as Jack was run out for 52 from 34 balls.

Porter went on to make the second top score of 20 before being bowled. There was a flurry from Jopling (15*) and a cameo for Eliza Heard before the innings closed on 133-7.

SCORECARD

An entertaining game that would’ve been enjoyed by the numerous spectators in the evening sun. Pasty and chips were enjoyed by both sides post match – thanks to Alex Jopling. Thank you also to AB for umpiring both ends and Louise James for scoring.

We would like to invite all residents of Thorverton & the wider community to enjoy a complimentary cream tea during our Wombat Devon T20 Cup fixture at home to Abbotskerswell on Sunday 4th June.

The fixture will showcase some great local cricket as we take on the fellow A Division outfit from 1:30pm in Devon’s premier T20 competition.

The club is keen to open it’s doors to all to showcase what we have to offer from a social membership point of view & to aid establishing long-lasting connections with the community. The bar will be open and teas & coffees will be available. 

From an on-field point of view, we have open age teams playing league & friendly cricket, women’s softball cricket and junior cricket for ages 5-16. If you’re keen to give cricket a go, please get in touch! 

Whether you’re a staunch cricket fan or are yet to learn your yorkers from your googlies, we would love to see you at the ground on Sunday 4th June. Why not bring a friend?

If you can’t make the 4th June, admission is free to all of our league fixtures, weekly on Saturdays until 2nd September, so feel free to join us to watch some cricket!

Please note both the fixture & cream tea day are dependent on the weather – if this fixture & the cream tea day is cancelled, we will communicate this via our website & social media platforms.

The 1s arrived at a sunny Budleigh Salterton, the scene of a dramatic tied game last week, with a spring in their step following their win last time out.

There was one change to the team as Chilcott came in for the unavailable Greed. Team- A. Pitt, A. Chilcott, B. Coe, J. Geraghty, H. Choules+, D. Robbins, B. Wakeley, G. Daldorph, B. Slaverio, A. Jopling, J. Choules*.

The uncertainty of a new ground made the decision at the toss interesting but after his customary successful call, Choules elected to bat.

The Otters opened with spinner Will Oxland and immediately had men on the rope. This allowed Pitt and Chilcott to turn the strike over from the off which lead to early frustration in the home ranks. So much so that the umpires issued a warning relating to language.

A steady start had Thors into the 20s in the 6th over before Pitt was caught on the rope for 9. The calming Coe replaced him as the score ticked along at 3 an over when the opening PowerPlay came and went.

There was a flurry of activity around the first drinks break (17 overs) as Ben Coe was dropped the ball before and Chilly was dropped shortly after. The visitors in the hutch were convinced Chilly would make Budleigh pay but he went the following ball for 35. Coe’s wicket followed next, bowled for 19 right on the halfway mark of the innings. The score had reached 85-3.

It was down to Geraghty and H. Choules to continue the steady building and the pair showed impressive running with numerous 2s and 3s.

Following Choules’ departure for a patient 17 from 47 balls, Thors showed experience and restraint to ensure we didn’t lose wickets in clusters. The ever-present Aussie had useful partnerships with Robbins (6) & Wakeley (12) as we headed into the final 10.

There was some confusion going into the last PowerPlay as the scorers indicated that Ed Doble had already bowled his allotted 10 as he ran in for his next delivery. However, umpires clarified this wasn’t the case and play resumed – it was to be a crucial over. On the final ball, Geraghty smacked one powerfully to mid wicket only for it to be dropped over the rope for 6. A show of frustration from the bowler saw the bails dislodged.

Runs continued to flow, with Daldorph’s nonchalant flick for 6 in particular being worthy of mention as the ball rattled into the sightscreen.

Following George’s cameo, it was down to Slaverio to support Jack. As we entered into the final over having reached 230-7, a score 250 and the final batting point looked out of reach so attention turned to whether Jack could reach his ton. He clubbed a 4 and then a 6 to move onto 98 with 2 balls left. This was immediately followed by yet another well run 2 to bring up the century, greeted by rapturous applause by his teammates. A single off the final ball moved the score onto 246-7 at close.

However, umpires confided with scorers at the interval and due to the initial warning for swearing and follow up for kicking the stumps, Thorverton were awarded 5 penalty runs and the 5th batting point was secured.

Despite no teas, the atmosphere in the Thors ranks was buoyant as we sought to take the momentum into the 2nd innings.

The Otters opened with 2 left handers who took the game to Thors on an increasingly flat deck. Slaverio and Daldroph bowled very well, however, with Slav beating the bat and George with a couple of LBW appeals. At the end of the 1st powerplay the score reached 32-0.

It was a full toss that was eventually the end of Oxland as Daldroph had his man LBW. After 5 overs from Slavs and 7 from George, the spin duo of Choules and Jopling were introduced. Jops appeared to find his areas instantly whilst the batters took the game to Choules. After a boundary and lost ball Choules indicted that Pitt would be replacing him at the far end. However, there was one ball to come and Choules dislodged the stumps of opener Rice for 39.

Pitt and Jopling continued to toil but as we approached the halfway mark the Otters increased the pace again. Not wanting to go through the motions, Thors introduced Geraghty and Slaverio who pegged back the hosts despite an expensive first over from Jack.

At the final drinks the required rate was sneaking up to 7 an over. This was slashed again due to a solitary expensive over from the skipper although it did allow a change of ends for Jack so Daldorph could be introduced from the pavilion end.

George in particular kept things tight ending his 10 overs with figures of 1-34. Jack had enough overs and energy in the bank to bowl through at the far end but a solitary over from Jopling (his 9th) was needed to allow Slav to finish off from the pavilion end. It was a tight one from Jops which gave Thors some control heading into the final 4. Budleigh required 32 to win.

However, thanks to a drive for 4 and a fine edge for 4 in consecutive balls in the 48th over, Budleigh only required 13 to win from the last 2.

9 from Jack’s final over left Budleigh requiring 4 to win and 3 to tie off of the last. Sensible money would’ve been on Budleigh but it was hard to not think of the 2s tie on the same ground this time last week.

The field was up except from a deep cover as Slaverio steamed in for his 10th over. A dot was followed by a single taking the equation to 3 to win and 2 to tie.

Slav kept hitting the perfect spot and after 2 more dots the pressure was palpable. He then cleaned up the opposition skipper on the 5th ball.

New batter, 3 to win, 2 to tie, 1 ball to come.

If echoes of last week’s tie weren’t felt before they certainly were now. Thors could now afford to drop a couple more to the boundary. Slavs ran in again. The new man attempted a scoop shot. Pads were rattled and a single taken but it wasn’t enough for the hosts as Thors won by a solitary run.

18 points were secured and the very early league table has Thors joint top with city-side Plymouth.

SCORECARD

LEAGUE TABLE

It was fantastic to see so many Thorverton supporters throughout the day who experienced a thriller of a game. Thanks too, to Jimmy and Isaac May for their hard work in the score gazebo.

The Station Ground was bathed in sunshine for the 2’s first home game of the season, where a much changed and more youthful side were taking on Heathcoat III. Stand in skipper Dave Baldock won the toss and elected to field.

There were a few debuts in the side which lined up: A. Daldorph, J. Meredith, J. Porter, D. Baldock*, O. Hawke, F. Davidson, A. Smerdon+, J. Broom, E. Heard, O. Coe, E. Coe

Broom and O. Coe opened the bowling for Thors, both being tight in their line and length and not giving much away. In his fifth over, Coe was the first bowler to strike with Chilcott driving straight to Porter at short extra cover. One down quickly became two as Heard replaced Broom and bowled a beauty fourth ball to knock over the stumps, prompting umpire Jordan to compliment the delivery by saying “That was a jolly good ball” (jolly wasn’t the word used). Porter replaced O. Coe for a couple of overs and Heard picked up her second wicket, again bowled, to leave Heathcoat 59-3 at the first drinks break.

Meredith came on at the River End and helped slow things up. He picked a deserved wicket when Salter chipped one up to E. Coe at mid off. Heathcoat 109-4 off 30 overs. O.Coe took over from Heard for a couple before Broom came back to finish his allocated overs with consistent bowling that frustrated the Heathcoat batsmen, going for just 22 runs off his 9 overs.

E.Coe, on debut, replaced Meredith and plugged away with the Heathcoat batsmen looking to accelerate. In her third over she took her first senior wicket when Coon tried to sweep only to top edge it straight up, leaving Smerdon to take a catch on his debut. Heard came back on at the other end and took another wicket with her first ball of the spell, again bowled. E.Coe picked up her second of the match in the very next over, this time stumped by Smerdon, before Heard picked up her fourth with a good catch from Davidson at short third man. In the space of four overs, Heathcoat had gone from 148-4 to 159-8 thanks to the juniors. The next pair delt in 1s and 2s as Davidson, Heard and E. Coe closed out the innings with no more wickets to fall.

Heathcoat III 185-8, E. Heard 4-21, E. Coe 2-35

Following an excellent Mary Coe tea, Daldorph and Meredith opened the batting and made a steady start by keeping around the required rate. It wasn’t until the 14th over when Heathcoat made the breakthrough, Daldorph bowled for 26 and Thors 49-1. Porter joined Meredith in the middle and the scoring rate increased slightly with a few more boundaries and plenty of 1s and 2s. Meredith was dismissed in the 23rd over when a ball kept low to bowl him for a well-made 32.

Last weeks top scorer, Baldock, was the next man in but fell in similar fashion to Meredith and the bat had the mark to prove it. Hawke and Davidson fell in consecutive deliveries to the leg spin of Thomas without scoring and Thors were wobbling at 108-5 off 28 overs. Smerdon stayed with Porter for a couple overs which allowed Porter to take 12 off Salter’s 6th over including a six into the field.

After Smerdon was also bowled by Thomas, Broom joined Porter hoping to replicate last weeks quick fire runs. After a couple of defensive shots and a couple of single, Coon bowled into the arch was dispatched by Broom for a towering 6 over long on. Next ball however, Broom shoulder arms to one he thought was going over the stumps only to hear the death rattle. Thors 140-7 with 13 overs to play and some getting flashbacks to last week’s tie.

Heard strode out to the middle and field came up, and quickly went back again when the ball started going past them. Porter brought up his 50 off 55 balls at the end of the 35th over and the pair had taken the score to 160. The 2s skipper, Jack Stirling, was watching the stream at home with his new son and was getting nervous, wanting over by over updates from his troops.

Porter was taking the leading role in the partnership with plenty of running between the wickets and the occasional boundary, and even asked the fastest bowler to bowl faster. Heard supported him excellently with a resolute defence seeing off the Heathcoat bowlers. At the 40 over mark, Thors were 171-7 and edging closer. When the next two overs went for 5 each, they were nearly there but the nerves still present knowing a wicket could change everything. But Porter brought Thors home to a 3 wicket win in the 43rd over with a 2 and then a 4 to take him to a superb 77 not out.

Thorverton II 187-7, Porter 77no, Meredith 32, Daldorph 26

SCORECARD

LEAGUE TABLE

A great game of cricket from both sides and an excellent win for the 2s, taking 19 points from the game sees them up to 3rdin the table. Thank you to Paul Jordan for umpiring, Bob Rice for scoring and Keith Cudby for sorting drinks and keep the fans hydrated.

Next week sees the twos on the road again as they make their way up the A30 to Feniton.