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.

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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.

After last week’s washout, the 2s made their way to Budleigh Salterton for the first league match at their new ground, The Holt. Basking in some rare sunshine, both teams were looking forward to getting their league campaigns underway in what proved to be a thrilling and unique encounter.

The XI for the game were: A. Daldorph, G. Squire, J. Porter+, D. Baldock, J. Baker (jnr), C. Winzer, J. Baker (snr), J. Meredith, J. Stirling*, J. Broom, A. Gibbons

Stirling won the toss (a good start to his afternoon) and elect to field first and Broom set to work immediately removing Robinson second ball of the innings, caught by Baker jnr. Gibbons, on debut, opened from the other end and provided some steady line and length. However, the lack of pre-season catching practice proved to be costly for Thors as H. Shipton was dropped four times on his way to 44.

Broom had overexerted himself, not only during his 4 over opening spell, but also the night before, culminated in some bizarre noises from third man, a slight pause to the game & a minor decoration of the bordering bank of Budleigh’s new ground.

Baker Jnr replaced Broom and struggled to find consistency and the partnership between the batsmen starting growing. Baker Snr replaced Gibbons and was starting where he left off last season with his left arm orthodox bowling, until his third over when he dislocated his finger from fielding one hit back at him and off he went to hospital. It came to light that Baker jnr had also broken his finger when fielding off his own bowling but braved it out for the remainder of the innings to field with his left hand only – a top effort.

Stirling and Meredith came into the attack, and it was the latter who made the break through removing Booth for 59, caught by Winzer at mid-wicket. In his next over, he removed H. Shipton, this time caught by Squire at point, and trapped Roper lbw shortly after. Having been 113-1, Budleigh were now 122-4. After some more runs, Gibbons got his first wicket for the club when Bolt caught by Daldorph.

Stirling replaced Meredith and joined in the wicket party by taking 3 wickets in two overs. Squire also chipped in with one of his own to leave Budleigh 185-9. However, a big over of Squire’s bowling took Budleigh to 221 before Stirling finished the innings off.

Budleigh Salterton II 221 ao, Stirling 4-27, Meredith 3-28

After the tea break, Thors were down to 9 batsmen with both Bakers going to hospital with their hand injuries. Daldorph and Squire opened the batting and started to make steady progress before Squire was bowled. Porter came and went before Baldock joined Daldorph at the crease with the score at 43-2. The pair set about making headway towards the total with plenty of running between the wickets, interspersed with some boundaries – Baldock hitting 3 sixes.

Daldorph fell for 47 to leave Thors on 98-3 with about 23 overs left. Winzer was the next man in and put on another 20 runs with Baldock before being bowled. Gibbons made his way out to the crease at 6 and ran smartly with Baldock and made a good contribution in the partnership of 63.

However, during their partnership, the skipper received an urgent phone call and had to rush off, and also ended up in hospital – but this time for a happy reason; the birth of his son. This left the team with only 8 batsmen in total and when Gibbons was dismissed Thors were 181-5 with 9 overs to go. Baldock departed shortly after for a well made 70 off 62 balls. This left Broom and Meredith the task of chasing down the remaining runs.

In a game where the momentum had swung between the teams, there was still time for one last swing. With Broom and Meredith seeing the team through to 200 and maximum batting points, Broom unleashed the biff taking F. Shipton for 6, 4, 6 in successive deliveries and Thors within 6 of the total with four overs to go. The pair took the runs to tie the scores before Meredith was bowled off the last ball of the 43rd over and the game was over, finishing a tie.

Thorverton 221ao, Baldock 70, Daldorph 47, Broom 29

Scorecard

League Table

Considering the team started with 11, fielded with 9 and a half men for about 25 overs, and batted with 8, the tie was a great result. Also it was probably a first to end up with 3 players in hospital. Thanks to Alan for umpiring and Bob for scoring the match.

The skipper “Apologies for my urgent early exit with ten overs to go. We did incredibly to take something from the game all things considered. I thought Alex played impeccably on debut and was metronomic with the ball. An incredible effort from Jack Baker to play through the pain and field one handed. Mez bowled the best spell I’ve seen him bowl in a Thorvy shirt & when we needed it most. Dave & Andy great with the bat. An impressive points haul from the 8 left at the end. Get well soon to both Bakers”.

Next week the 2’s play their first home game of the season with Heathcoat III the visitors.

The sun was shining and anticipation was in the air as the Devon League season belatedly got underway after last week’s wash out. Station Ground looked a picture so full credit goes to our ground team who have worked tirelessly in the testing weather conditions.

TCC gave league debuts to Billy Wakeley and Aussie overseas Jack Geraghty, lining up with: A.Pitt, G.Greed, B.Coe, J.Geraghty, H. Choules+, D.Robbins, B.Wakeley, G. Daldorph, B.Slaviero, A.Jopling, J. Choules*.

Picking up from last season Choules won the toss and elected to bowl. Slaverio was thrown the new ball from the pavilion end but the first ball bowled on the newly laid square was a wide.

Slaviero didn’t give the Tavistock openers an inch from there though, bowling consistent lines and lengths at a brisk pace. He struck with the 3rd ball of the game while Daldroph looked to shake off some rustiness at the river end. Opener Luffman was dropped at slip in the 3rd over and responded with some positive drives through the covers.

Slavs kept toiling and had danger man Dave Manning trapped LBW at the end of the 7th over – 25-2.

Geraghty and the skipper were introduced at the end of the 1st powerplay. Tavistock struggled to score off the bat against Jack’s swinging ball but were helped by some extras as Thors continued to settle in.

Choules picked up a wicket right on the drinks break which was quickly followed by Jopling removing Luffman for 29. Suddenly Tavistock were under pressure at 77-5.

Opposition captain Charlie Barriball sought to counter attack with some success including 3 impressive sixes. Choules picked up 2 more in the meantime before Daldorph and Slaverio were introduced to deal with counter attacking Barriball. Daldorph had his man clean bowled bringing the score to 124-8.

Slaverio made light work of the tail and Tavistock finished on 135 all out after 40 overs.

Following a terrific Keeley tea, Pitt and Robbins began the chase. Robbins being promoted from the previously advertised line up in order to take the game to the opposition.

There was an immediate hiccup however as Pitt was caught out by a slower ball in the first over. It could have been worse only for Robbins to be dropped by Tavi keeper Dave Manning – a real collector’s item. Greed and Robbins appeared unphased however with the score reaching 41 before Robbins finally went for 23.

Greed continued to show patience and ran extremely well with the incoming Geraghty. Greed was unlucky to play on with the score on 97 but by now Thorverton were closing in on the win.

There was a wobble when H. Choules and Coe came and went but the ever present Jack brought up his 50 in the meantime. Billy Wakeley (10*) showed impressive intent as the two debutantes got us over the line – 19 points.

Scorecard

League Table

Post match, the skipper surmised:
“Really important to start off with a win so we can take some confidence into the season. Still some rustiness to shake off with bat and ball (30 extras) but 2 great individual performances from Ben Slaviero and Jack got us over the line.”

Next week the 1s follow in the 2s footsteps with a trip to Budleigh Salterton’s new ground as 1st in the A Division host 2nd.

Both of our 1st XI & 2nd XI fixtures have been abandoned without a ball being bowled today due to rain. The 1st XI were due to travel to Mount Wise to take on Plymouth 1st XI, whilst the 2nd XI were due to host Upottery 1st XI.

Next Saturday sees us try to start the league season at the second attempt as the 1st XI host Tavistock 1st XI & the 2nd XI travel to Budleigh Salterton’s new abode The Holt.

We have approved the transfer of Tom Diamond, who has left the club to join West of England Premier League side Hinton Charterhouse.

Tom joined in 2021 & was an integral part of the B Division & Corinthian Cup double winning side that year, scoring 298 runs @ 27.09.

He followed up in 2022 with an impressive 364 runs in 9 innings @ 52, including 3 half-centuries.

Tom also took nine 1st XI wickets @ 24.22 over his two seasons at the club, alongside 12 dismissals in the field.

Overall TCC stats:-

692 runs @ 38.4, 3 x 50, Highest Score 84 v Exmouth, 2022

9 wickets @ 29.11. Best bowling 3-33 v Dartington & Totnes, 2021

12 dismissals (10 catches & 2 run outs)

Skipper Jake Choules:- “Tommy will be greatly missed, he brought a good energy to the group. He was a key part of the double winning squad and his batting at number 3 last season was a revelation. We wish him all the best with his next challenge”

We wish Tom all the best in his future cricketing endeavours & hope to see him at Station Ground again soon.

The continuing wet weather has forced the cancellation of our final pre-season friendly at at home to Sandford which was scheduled for Saturday 29th April.

This also unfortunately means the postponement of Community Cream Tea day.

The Devon Cricket League season starts next Saturday, as the 1st XI travel to Plymouth & 2nd XI host Upottery.

We hope that everybody had a great time at the race night on Saturday, raising vital start up costs for the club.

It wouldn’t have been possible without our race sponsors so thank you to:

Energy Systems SW Ltd

Paws for Pleasure

The Exeter Inn, Thorverton

The Berry Dairy, Thorverton

Mosaic Rwanda

Bob Rice

Kislingbury Property Consultants

Thorverton Arms, Thorverton

Also a huge thank you to all of our volunteers but in particular to:

Lucy & Tamsin for running the door. Mary, Louise, Issac, Jimmy & Tammi for running the tote. Sally & Penny for the food. Phil for running the races. Keeley for all of her hard work organising the evening.The memorial hall for hosting us & Andy, Ben & Bob for compering and auctioning.

Keep your eyes peeled for more events over the summer including a community cream tea at the ground this Saturday.

After the washout at Exmouth last week, the cricket season finally got underway at Kensham Park against the newly amalgamated & current Premier Division champions Bradninch & Kentisbeare. With an ominous looking sky & a bleak forecast for the afternoon, captains Jake Choules & Gary Chappell agreed a T20 should take place rather than the planned 45 overs to ensure both sides benefitted from a chance to both bat & bowl.

Choules won the toss and elected to bat. Thors lined up as a XII – A.Pitt, D.Robbins, B.Coe, J.Geraghty, H.Choules+, L.Vukusic, S.Jefferson, G.Daldorph, J.Porter, B.Slaviero, J.Choules*, J.Stirling.

Pitt & Robbins opened the season for Thors, Mitch Pugh bowling a maiden at Pitt & newly acquired overseas player Yuvraj Singh conceded just three off his first over to leave Thors 3-0 after 2. Pitt was the first to go, impatiently gifting a catch to Josh Farley off the bowling of Pugh for 1.

Robbins upped the rate with a flurry of boundaries including a six over deep backward square before falling to an outstanding diving catch at midwicket by Elliot Acton, running around from mid on. Robbins out for 22 off 14 & Yuvraj Singh had his first wicket on English soil, leaving Thors 31-2 after 5.

Coe & Geraghty quietly offered some stability to the innings before Coe was caught by Thacker off the bowling of Ross Acton for 12 from 19. Harry Choules joined Geraghty as the visitors reached 43-3 at the halfway mark. The pair ran well with intent before Choules fell to Farley, caught Chappell for 7 from 17.

Geraghty went on the attack against the change bowlers, ably supported by Luke Vukusic. Both timed the ball superbly, Geraghty finding the boundary regularly courtesy of some superb late cuts.

Thors pushed through to the final two overs with the score at 93-4. Vukusic was bowled by the returning Singh for a well made 17 from 19. Geraghty hit a couple more boundaries & Thors finished on 109-6 after Jefferson was stumped for 1 off Farley. Geraghty 40 not out from 37, an impressive first knock on English soil.

Bradninch opened the reply with the experienced Chappell & Piper taking the attack to the new ball pairing of Slaviero & Daldorph, adding 36-0 off the first four overs; Piper in particular timing the ball well and finding the boundary three times from Daldorph’s first over. Chappell (14 from 16) was the first man to go, caught by Robbins at slip after Slaviero found the outside edge to make it 36-1.

Yuvraj Singh came in at three as Choules replaced Daldorph. Slaviero picked up his second wicket as Piper (20 from 12) pulled him to the safe hands of Geraghty at deep midwicket. Singh (6 from 15) followed in the next over, smashing Choules down Porter’s throat at deep midwicket after the pressure had built.

After Slaviero had bowled 4 overs straight through (2-14), a solitary over for Daldorph conceding just one allowed a change of ends for Choules & Stirling came into the attack & immediately struck to remove Ross Acton caught behind for 5, the hosts 50-4 at the halfway stage.

A couple of tight overs followed from the spin pairing, Eliot Acton & Pugh struggling to get the ball away. The pressure became too much for Pugh (9 from 23) as he smashed Choules to Pitt at extra cover in his last over, finishing with figures of 2-21 from his four over. Stirling bowled Farley for 0 in the next over to leave Bradninch 67-6.

Ankit Badwal joint Acton and both released the pressure with their usual attacking intent, taking 11 from a sole Vukusic over, then 13 from Stirling’s last over (2-24), leaving the hosts requiring 15 from the last 4 overs.

Robbins replaced Vukusic and conceded 9 from the next. Acton (25 from & Badwal (16 from ) retired not out.

Pitt (1-5) took the wicket of the incoming Darren Paul (stumped Choules for 4) after he had reverse swept him for four to virtually seal the game. Daldorph (1-25)then bowled Thacker for 1 before the winning runs were hit with Bradninch 8 wickets down & 8 balls to spare. Thors allowed Bradninch to bat out their overs to allow extra time in the middle. The rain started within 5 minutes of the games conclusion, proving a T20 had been the best option.

SCORECARD

Thors skipper Jake Choules:- “Huge thanks to Bradninch for getting the game on. I felt it was a useful pre season run out for both sides. Jack was impressive, timing the ball well on a difficult pitch. Hopefully we started to shake off some rustiness in the field with Jack Stirling being pick of the bowlers for me. Hopeful of a longer run out at home to Sandford next week”

All credit must go to Bradninch & Kentisbeare’s groundsman for making the ground playable. Thanks to Rich Lloyd and Jimmy May for braving the at times Arctic elements & scoring & umpiring.

Next up for Thors is a 50 over home friendly against Premier Division runners up Sandford next Saturday (29th) as we play the first fixture on our newly relaid square.

Saturday’s 2nd XI friendly against Bradninch & Kentisbeare 2nd XI at Rectory Park, Kentisbeare has fallen foul of the weather. The ground has been unable to be prepared due to the deluge of rain throughout recent weeks.

Saturday’s 1st XI friendly against Bradninch & Kentisbeare’s 1st XI at Kensham Park is still set to go ahead as planned, but check here for further updates.

A reminder that Race Night takes place on Saturday night at Thorverton Memorial Hall