With three games to go, the 2nd XI made the trip to Kentisbeare in the knowledge that six points would seal promotion regardless of results elsewhere.

The XI for the encounter: A. Pitt, A. Daldorph, B. Coe*, S. Jefferson, J. Porter. P. Stirling+, H. Squire, G. Squire, J. Meredith, I. Daldorph, S. Tait

On a ground known for its short boundaries, Coe won the toss and elected to bat with a view to putting runs on the board and securing the batting points.

Pitt and A. Daldorph opened the batting for Thorverton and struggled to hit singles. However, hitting boundaries were no problem for either batter with one coming in the majority of overs. 81-0 from the first 10 overs. In the 12th over, Pitt brought up his totally boundary hit 50 with a huge six over the oak tree. The 100 partnership came an over later with A. Daldorph despatching Lewis over the square leg boundary and celebrated the partnership with the same result next ball. A couple of overs later A. Daldorph joined Pitt in surpassing 50.

By the time drinks came, the score had reached 171-0 and big total was on the cards. A. Daldorph was out LBW second ball following the refreshments and the skipper Coe joined Pitt at the crease. In the 24th over, Pitt worked one off his legs to bring up an excellent century featuring 19 boundaries, 6 singles and 1 two. Pitt found the boundary three more times before being dismissed for 116, Thors now 207-2.

Jefferson and Coe went at more of a steady pace compared to the opening pair but still hit the rope frequently. Coe held out to “long off” in the 35th over for 23 and Porter came in at 5 to tick things along. Jefferson was caught for 42 in the 40th over, leaving the score on 287-4. The next two wickets fell to run outs, Porter and then H. Squire the batters to go, but not before the score surpassed the 300 mark. The tail added a few more runs in the remaining overs taking Thors to 316-9.

Thorverton 316-9. A. Pitt 116, A. Daldorph 60, S. Jefferson 4

Whilst thoroughly enjoying what was arguably the best tea of the season and watching the football on the other side of the field, news filtered through that Honiton were all out for 104 and promotion for the 2s was now secured! Taking the field for the second innings the team’s focus turned to the league title, knowing the win was needed and preferably with maximum points with Topsham looking like taking the maximum at North Devon.

Tait got us underway with the new ball and struck in the first over, Sanders edging one through to Stirling behind the stumps. I. Daldorph opened from the other end and went well in her first over but struggled in her second as Norman took advantage of the short straight boundaries with some clean striking. Daldorph did strike in her third over with Porter taking a screamer diving full stretch low to his right at slip. After Tait beat the edge of Findlay three times in the 7th over, it was Daldorph who got him in the next over with Coe taking a comfortable catch at short extra. At the 10 over mark, Kentisbeare were 75-3.

Jefferson and Pitt replaced the opening bowlers, and both picked up a wicket in their second overs. Jefferson first had the dangerous Norman (66) caught smartly by Tait at point, then Pitt had Farley expertly caught by Coe low to his left.The sixth wicket followed very shortly after as Jefferson had Gillet smartly caught by G. Squire at backward square leg, much to the surprise of the batter that Squire was there, leaving Kentisbeare 121-6.

With a small partnership developing, Meredith replaced Pittand found the edge of Busch’s bat in his second over, Stirling taking the catch. Jefferson got his third wicket in the next over, Stirling again taking the catch to leave Kentisbeare 164-8.

H. Squire took over from Jefferson and bowled with real aggression. Like many other bowlers, he also struck in his second over as one was struck hard and flat straight into the bucket hands of A. Daldorph at the familiar “long on” boundary. Meredith completed the job in the next over taking a caught and bowled to dismiss Kentisbeare for 197. All 10 wickets were caught in the innings with every bowler getting in on the act.

Kentisbeare 197ao. Jefferson 3-30, Meredith 2-35, Daldorph2-50

Scorecard

League Table

Skipper on the day, Ben Coe “Great platform set by the opening bats allowed everyone else to be aggressive and play with freedom which got us up to a really good score. Although Kentisbeare got off to a really good start we were able to pick up wickets regularly with good bowling and excellent catching. All the wicket’s were caught which doesn’t happen very often. Such a great group to be a part of”.

Jack Stirling “We’ve set out what we targeted at the start of the campaign and I couldn’t be prouder of everyone involved in this squad. To achieve what we have with whilst being able to involve so many players of all ages & genders can only be great for the club going forward. Great to see Andy hit a first league ton, which has been a long time coming. I’m also pretty sure that’s a league record score for the 2nd XI which is a monumental achievement in itself. We absolutely deserve nothing more than the league title & I expect us to get the twenty points next weekend, so we can relax and enjoy the final game”.

With the promotion to the D division secure, the 2s have the long trip to North Devon next week where a maximum points will give them the league title.

After some heavy downpours in the week, the 1st XI arrived at a greener looking Station Ground for the visit of Plympton. There were 4 changes to last week’s team as Dave Baldock, Bobby Heard, George Greed and Paul Fielder returned to the side.

Plympton won the toss and elected to field with the pitch looking green and some cloud cover around. It looked like they may regret that call as Robbins & Fielder got the hosts off to a flier. Robbins took a particular liking to Devon left armer Walliker & the 50 partnership was brought up in the 10th over.

However the pair fell in quick succession as the score reached 59-2 after 15 overs. Van Der Meulen came and went soon after. Harry Choules, batting at 3 this week, struck a couple of 4s before also going caught and bowled. 75-4 after 20.

By this time, the visitors spin bowling had really tightened things up and make things difficult for Thors. However Baldock briefly made things look easy, striking 18 from 13 balls before being removed by a good turning ball.

Greed and Heard, both former Exeter School captains, sought to steady the ship, running well as a pair and working hard to survive some half chances. They brought the score over 100 to 115-5 before Greed was eventually given LBW for 12 from 44 balls which felt like a big moment in the game.

Daldroph showed promise yet again but with only 16 runs to show for it. By the time Plympton had dealt with the tail, Thors were all out for 141, 9 short of a 3rd bonus point.

After a top spread courtesy of Harry Choules & Lexi Bastin, ably assisted by Julie Choules, Plympton set about the chace.

Thors had an early wicket thanks to a mix up in the middle allowed a simple run out as smoke blew across the ground from a neighbouring bonfire. In stark contrast to last week, Plympton didn’t want to take any chances with the chase as Eliot Hamilton and Justin Wubbeling took the attack to Thorverton.

Choules tried to negate this by rotating his bowlers regularly but the spinners struggled to find any consistency under pressure. Only seamersRobbins and Daldorph, in his second spell, found consistent areas with the former getting his reward when Wubbeling skied one to Greed, however the score had already reached 89-2.

Plympton continued to be aggressive as they wasted no time reaching the target in the 22nd over, not before Daldorph picked up a couple of deserved wickets.

Scorecard

League Table

A tough day at the office for the Thors who still require 2 more points before we can celebrate guaranteed A Division cricket for 2023.

The skipper concluded:
“We were well beaten by a very strong side today who have really hit some form of late. I’m determined that we up our performances for the last 2 games though and that this season doesn’t fizzle out.”

Next week we host top of the table Exmouth in the 1s final home of the year.

The 1st XI arrived at Abbotskerswell during drought and heatwave conditions with:

Robbins, Vukusic, Chilcott, Van Der Meulen, Jefferson, H. Choules, Pitt, Daldorph, Slaverio, Jopling, Choules.

The pitch was green in colour but given the overhead conditions and heat, Choules won the toss and elected to bat. Robbins was unlucky to be adjudged LBW first ball of the innings from a fairly half hearted appeal and Thors had work to do from early on.

The Abbots bowlers bowled tightly as Vukusic & Chilcott set about restoring some calm. Chilcott passed 500 league runs but it became clear that the pitch was keeping low and wasn’t easy to bat on. With the score on 24 in the 12th over, Vukusic was caught behind for 12.

The change bowlers allowed Thors to bat more freely with Van Der Meulen & Chilcott rotating the strike and finding the boundary more and more comfortably. Both in the 40s, the total passed 100 as we approached the 30 over mark.

However this was where Thors comfort stopped. Jason fell for 41 and Chilly for 51 which brought about the start of a quite substantial collapse.

Thorverton fell from 105-2 to 155 all out with only Daldorph and Jopling finding double figures from there. Had a couple of tight decisions gone the other way or a couple of good catches not stuck then it may have been different but overall there was no excusing some poor shot selections.

After a quick tea, Thors were fired up for the defence.
2nd ball of the innings, Slaverio bowled Smout-Cooper who scored a ton at Station Ground a few months ago, and belief had set in.

Daldorph also struck in the first 10 leaving Abbots on 31-2. Robbins was then introduced and picked up where he left off last week with a consistent and toiling spell as it became even more apparent that there was enough in the pitch for bowlers. A short sharp spell from Van Der Meulen found the outside edge but too wide of Harry Choules. After 20 overs the score reached 56-2 as Watkin and Carpenter had to work for every run for the hosts.

Jopling and Choules were introduced in the next 10 which went past without real event – 78-2 and suddenly run rate looked like it may become an issue for the hosts. However, the host’s skipper and Carpenter continued to dig in and with 10 to go the score reached 115-2, 4 an over needed.

In his second spell, Robbins removed the opposition skipper for 47 (123 balls), LBW. The next over Carpenter (43 from 115 balls) was out thanks to a quality catch from Van Der Meulen at short cover off of Jake Choules. 26 needed from the final 6 overs.

Nathan Walker, the hosts Aussie overseas, came in with some intent and found the boundary a couple of times, albeit aerially and via the edge. This finally took the game out of reach of Thorverton who continued to battle hard meaning Abbots finally took the win with only 8 balls to spare.

Thorverton lose by 6 wickets, gaining 5 points.

Scorecard

League Table

The skipper concluded:
“A really strong and determined effort in the field but ultimately you aren’t going to win many games if you’re all out for 150. 30 or 40 more would’ve been very interesting given the poor surface but that doesn’t excuse a pretty spectacular collapse”

We drop back down to 6th in the table, 40 clear of the relegation places with another opportunity to mathematically secure our place in the A Division for next season next week at home to high flying Plympton.

On a scorcher of a day across Devon, the E Division promotion race was also heating up & Thors took on 9th placed Ottery St Mary in their penultimate home fixture of the season.

Thors line up:- P.Fielder, J.Farley, B.Coe, G.Squire, B.Heard, P.Stirling+, J.Porter, J.Meredith, I.Daldorph, J.Stirling*, J.Broom.

In an rapidly emerging tradition, Stirling lost the toss but was left aghast as Ottery elected to field in 33°C.

Fielder & Farley opened the innings for Thors at a steady, solid pace, taking the score to 40-0 after the first ten overs. The paid continued to toil away in the sunshine, reaching the second of three allotted drinks breaks on 22 overs with the score on 86-0.

Farley began to struggle in the heat and retired hurt with heatstroke on 32 with the score on 101-0.

Fielder went past 50 for the first time this campaign, but was then bowled by Harris on the same score; Thors 124-1 after 28 overs.

Coe was next to go, bowled by left-armer Gleeson for 25. Squire & Heard both fell to the same bowler 4 overs later for 7 & 21 respectively; the hosts 167-4 with 9 overs left.

Porter & P.Stirling batted with intent during the last few overs, taking Thors past 200 to secure full batting points. Stirling then slapped a ball straight at cover and was on his way back for 17. Farley joined Porter with the score on 206-5. The pair took an impressive 39 off the remaining 4 overs & the innings closed at 245-5, Farley 44* and Porter with another not out on 36.

After a large Stirling tea, Thors took the field at 5pm & immediately made inroads into the Ottery batters. Imogen Daldorph struck twice in her second over, bowling Gleeson & finding the edge of Sandford first ball & the hands of Fielder at slip to reduce Ottery to 11-2.

Heard replaced Broom after a 3 over spell & immediately had Harris caught by Porter at deep-midwicket. He then had Handley & Jackson LBW and the visitors were struggling at 36-5 after 11 overs.

Venables and Liyanage added some resistance, blocking off Stirling & Heard. Fielder was introduced as Liyanage reached his half century before nicking behind to Stirling. He then struck twice again, Venables caught by Jack Stirling at mid off for 11, then Tierney caught and bowled.

Broom was reintroduced and bowled Lovell for 0 to leave Ottery on the brink. A few more overs were sent down before Smart wasn’t so with his running and was run out by Porter; Ottery 113 all out.

Scorecard

League Table

Skipper Stirling “A routine win & good performance that leaves us essentially promoted with three games left & all credit to everyone for that. Really been impressed with the conduct & attitude of anyone coming down from the 1s, Fielder again proving that today with a great performance”

The 2s travel to Kentisbeare next Saturday needing just 6 points to mathematically secure promotion. We remain 21 points ahead of Topsham needing 40 points from a possible 60 to secure the title.

Thors entertained Exeter on Thursday night in the final round of the Covid Cup. With Thors on top of the table on 8 points & the visitors second placed on 6 points, this was essentially a title decider.

The permutations:- Thors needed to win, tie or lose by less than 7 runs to lift the cup. If Exeter won by more than 7 runs, they would lift the title in their first season in the competition.

Thors line up:- D.Robbins, A.Pitt, H.Choules+, J.Van Der Meulen, L.Vukusic, S.Jefferson, G.Daldorph, B.Slaviero*, J.Broom, A.Jopling, J.Stirling.

The crucial toss was won by Slaviero, all but ending Exeter’s hopes of a final day coup.

Robbins & Pitt opened the innings; Robbins immediately took a liking to the off-spin of Sam Read as he planted the first ball of the game over square leg for six. The following three balls saw another twelve added following two fours & a four byes, Thors 19-0 after the first.

Dube & Jones restored some control for Exeter as three off Dube’s first over, followed by a wicket maiden for Jones, yorking Robbins for 17 left the hosts 22-1 after 3. Pitt was the next man to go for 5, trying to pull a back of a length ball from Dube, only for the ball to skid through straight into his off peg. Choules & Van Der Meulen survived the rest of the powerplay; Thors 47-2.

The off-spin of Billy Buckingham struck twice in two balls, Choules patting the simplest of chances back to him on 19, then bowling Vukusic first ball for 0 to reduce the hosts to 54-4.

Van Der Meulen took 15 off the next over including a 6 over long on. Him and Jefferson looked to be making progress when he tried to repeat the six a couple of overs earlier and was caught off Riyaz for 23 from 12.

Daldorph joined Jefferson and the pair kept the scoreboard ticking over with good running and a few boundaries.

Jefferson was bowled trying to sweep Read for 35 from 30 with two overs left, Thors 148-6. Daldorph hit an exquisite six over extra cover and he & skipper Slaviero took 12 off the remainder of the Read over; 160-6 with an over to go. A single was all that Thors could manage off Dube’s impressive death bowling as he knocked over Slaviero for 5 and incoming Broom first ball for 0; Thors finishing on 161-8.

Slaviero opened from the pavilion end and removed one of the visitors dangerman, Sam Read, second ball for 0, caught by Pitt at mid on. Off the last ball of the first over, a bizarre incident lead to Mohammed Thoufeeq being stumped by Choules off Slaviero after Thors were convinced he had been caught behind. Exeter 2-2 after the first.

The former Sri Lanka U19s star Jeham Daniel strode to the crease to join Merchant & the pair quickly began to rebuild the innings, taking the score up to 40 from 5 overs before Merchant was caught by Broom off Jopling at extra cover.

Gribble hung around to support Daniel with the game looking very much in the balance at the halfway stage with Exeter at 85-3 and Daniel looking extremely settled at the crease.

Pitt replaced Jopling and removed Gribble for 11 with his first ball, hacking a full toss to Van Der Meulen at deep midwicket. Daniel continued his onslaught before Tojy was run out for 6, just after Daniel had planted a six off Pitt straight onto the roof of former Thors skipper Graham White’s car. Exeter needed 41 off the last 5 overs with 5 wickets in hand.

Van Der Meulen replaced Robbins & Slaviero was brought back into the attack, to be smashed for six over extra cover, but he then managed to get the big wicket of Daniel for 81 off 51 balls; a superb knock that had given Exeter more than a sniff and that any of the many spectators won’t forget in a hurry. 28 needed from 18 balls.

Jones and Fanous took 9 off the 18th over to leave Exeter needing 21 from 12. Fanous was removed coming back for a second run due to a phenomenal long on run out by Jopling with a direct hit. Dube & Jones could only muster 5 from the over to leave 15 required from Van Der Meulen’s last over.

Van Der Meulen kept things tight, a dot and two singles leaving the visitors needing 13 from 3. Dube managed to squirm the ball through point for 4 to leave 9 from 2 need.

Dube then managed to pull an impressively well struck 6 over midwicket & into the road to keep Exeter’s hopes alive. Van Der Meulen nailed his Yorker for the last ball, Dube could only find Pitt at extra cover and a single was all he could muster up to give Thors the win by just one run. A phenomenal game that won the cup for Thors for the second time in three years; last years competition was curtailed following a covid outbreak.

SCORECARD

Victorious Thors skipper Ben Slaviero “Well batted by George and jeffers, they got us through a tough patch of the game. Jase, Robbo and Harry all got starts and were unlucky not to go on. Bowlers did our job and the fielding was outstanding. Great to see the club up competing against the big clubs in the league and retaining the cup. Thank you to all the supporters for coming down and creating such a buzz.”

Thank you Rich Lloyd for umpiring.

The game marked the last T20 for the season for Thors who will be re-entering the Covid Cup next year, which is likely to be renamed.

We are delighted to announce that overseas star Jason Van Der Meulen has been awarded the Player of the Month Award for July!

Jason has impressed since his arrival in April from Gateng, South Africa with 580 league runs at an average of of 52.73. He has also made major contributions in the DCL with the ball, taking 17 wickets at 17.53.

Jason’s July run-fest consisted of 257 runs from four A Division innings at an average of 85.66. This included a fantastic 100 v Torquay & scores of 70 and 70* against Budleigh Salterton & Exeter. Jason also took 6 DCL wickets in July & contributed two catches and a run out in the field.

Jason has been a fantastic addition to the club both on and off the field – congratulations Jason!

Jason is sponsored by Twenty Twenty Property for the 2022 season.

Thank you to all members for filling out our communications survey. One idea that proved popular was a Whatsapp group to be created solely for club updates. This has now been created. 

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It was T Shirt Weather at Station Ground as the 1st XI made 2 changes for the visit of Barton.

With the outfield dry like Brazil, Choules won the toss and elected to bat as was The Promise.

Despite Fielder falling early, Robbins and Chilcott put on The Greatest Show to hammer Thors to 70-1 from the first 10 overs.

By the time Robbins fell for a well made 59 the score was 90-2 and Van Der Meulen picked up where Robbins left off.

Both Chilly and Jason passed 50 in consecutive overs, Jason in particular finding the boundary with force leaving some Thors supporters to think- You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid.

When Jason fell for 61 a score of 300 was on the cards but Barton tightened up their bowling, led by their Skipper Adam Parker. Greed and Choules departed for 2 and 0 respectively, the latter unlucky to be adjudged caught behind.

There was no need to Look Back in Anger though as Chilcott soon passed his 100 and Daldorph slapped 28 not out to leave the hosts on 281-5 from the 50 overs.

After a quality tea debut from Maria Tandy with no Peanut Butter Jelly sandwiches in sight, it was About Damn Time to do some fielding.

Slaviero and Daldroph bowled with great discipline to keep it tight in the first 10, the score on 33-2. Daldroph picking up the 2 wickets, both caught well by Jopling.

Hooper and Jopling himself were then introduced, both getting the ball to Jump Around. Jop picked up a wicket straight after the first drinks and with the score on 63-3 from 18 and Thors had the ascendency.

Choules replaced Hooper at the pavilion end and after toiling for a few overs removed his opposite number, Parker caught behind.

With 20 overs to go the score was 119-4 and Robbins was introduced for perhaps his spell of the season so far. The hosts picked up wickets at regular intervals and Slaverio and Daldroph were reintroduced in the last 10 with the task of bowling Barton out to gain maximum points.

Scorecard

League Table

Some aggressive fields were set, leaving the covers Pretty Vacant and Slaviero & Daldroph picked up a couple more wickets each as we bowled Barton out for 193 with 2 overs to spare. George finishing with figures of 4-30.

As news filtered through of a 2s win as well, Heaven was a Place on Earth and it was called Station Ground. A 40 point weekend had Thors Dancing in the Moonlight until the early hours at iPod shuffle night.

After last week’s demolition job of fellow promotion candidates Honiton, Thors travelled to Topsham for undoubtedly their biggest game of the season. The day started with Thors 8 points clear of the second placed hosts, who had won 8 in a row.

The visitors lineup:- L.Vukusic, A.Daldorph, S.Jefferson, D.Baldock, G.Squire, P.Stirling+, B.Heard, J.Baker, I.Daldorph, J.Stirling*, J.Broom. Stirling won his first toss for 92 days and elected to bat on a dry wicket & rapid outfield.

Vukusic & Daldorph opened the innings, taking Thors to 50-0 after the first ten, Vukusic in particular finding the gaps & the bowlers with relative ease; looking assured in the process.

The pair continued until just after the first of the two scheduled drinks breaks as the spin of Wardell bowled Daldorph uncharacteristically short of his half-century on 47. Daldorph is sitting pretty at the top of the E Division East batting charts with an impressive 596 league runs this campaign. Thors 103-1 after 16 overs.

The hosts managed to enforce a dramatic turnaround in momentum as the tidy spin of Perry & Wardell took a flurry of wickets and have limited opportunities to score. Jefferson, Baldock, Squire, P.Stirling and Heard all fell to the pair in single figures & Topsham must’ve fancied their chances as Thors capitulated to 136-6 after 29 overs.

Vukusic stood strong & still looked comfortable, passing 50 for the second time this season. He was ably supported by the straight bat of Jonny Baker at number 8. The pair tucked along nicely to take Thors passed a fourth batting point, before Vukusic was bowled for a well made 69 from 103 balls.

Imogen Daldorph came and went courtesy of a screamer of a catch at midwicket by Declan Wardell, taking the ball behind him and over his head, somehow managing to negotiate hitting the ground; there won’t be many better catches in the division this year.

Baker was then stumped for a very handy 26. Last man Broom strode out to join skipper Stirling with Thors 18 short of a vital fifth batting point at 182-9 with 4 overs left.

The pair ran well and took advantage of the occasional loose ball to steer the visitors beyond the crucial 200 mark. They both hung around at the end to deny Topsham the last bowling point, finishing on 213-9.

Broom & I.Daldorph took the new cherry in response, with Topsham openers Wardell & Sapwell taking the score to 34-0 from 8 when a double bowling change brought Baker & J.Stirling into the attack.

Wardell was first to go, a victim of some turn and bounce from Stirling finding the glove, deflecting off P.Stirling’s gloves into the safe grasp of Baldock at first slip; Topsham 41-1.

Perry & Sapwell continued to chip away in the heat before Stirling got his opposite number, bowled through the gate with the score on 69. Baker trapped Perry LBW four runs later, before Stirling trapped danger-man Treleaven in front for just 4; Topsham 77-4 after 20 overs.

Baker finished his nine overs with tidy figures of 1-27. Stirling struck again to remove LBW to remove Croxall; Topsham 92-5 and Stirling bowled out with 4-29.

Broom came back into the attack & Heard replaced Stirling from the other end, bowling Williams with just his second ball. Broom then found the edge of Sharp & the hands of Baldock at slip to leave the hosts struggling at 108-7. Shillabeer proved sticky to remove, soaking up 45 balls for 24. Daldorph replaced Broom & took the final three wickets to bowl the hosts out for 150; Daldorph returning with 3-35.

Scorecard

League Table

The win gives Thors pole position in the title race and keeps us 51 points clear of third placed Honiton.

Jack Stirling “A really impressive performance against the best side we’ll face in this league. Luke’s knock was the most mature I’ve seen from him and it’s great to see him in the runs. As a unit we were so tight today to turn things around from 136-6 & were near-faultless in the field. Everyone did their job with the ball & the metronomic Imogen Daldorph is proving herself to be more and more of an asset everytime we play. I’m so proud of every single player in this squad to get us into such an enviable position with four games to go and we absolutely deserve to be there. We need to ensure we don’t let up and secure the title now as nothing less is befitting for the season we’ve had to this point”.

Next up, the 2s host Ottery St Mary on Saturday 13th August at home.

Slaviero won the toss and elected to bat on a pleasant evening at the Station ground. Pitt and Greed walked out to the middle and both departed soon after. Donovan bowled Pitt with a slower ball and Greed was removed the first ball of the very next over, the Creer twins combining with Freddie taking a very smart catch behind the stumps off Bertie’s bowling with the score at 4-2.

Jefferson and Van Der Meulen steadied the ship with a mix of boundaries and good running they got the score up to 45. Then four Thorverton wickets were lost for just 17 runs. Jefferson was bowled by Cragg for a tidy 25. Choules joined Jason at the crease but didn’t last long, after a mix up he was ran out without scoring. A few balls later Van Der Mulen ran past one of Craggs off spinning deliveries and was stumped before Daldorph was adjudged LBW off the bowling of Ronaldo Callendar. 62-6.

Heard and Porter started the rebuild again, both finding the boundary and running well between the wickets putting on 28 before Porter was bowled by Singh. 90-7 with 6 to go. Slaviero joined Heard and they picked up the run rate, capitalising on the bad balls they managed to push the score up to 143-7, taking 19 off the last over of the innings. Heard 29* and Slaviero 19*

Clyst St George got off to a flyer with Donovan and Attwater finding the boundary with ease scoring 33 off the first four overs. Joping was introduced and instantly made an impact bowling Attwater for 19. Donovan took a liking to Daldorph’s third over taking 21 from it leaving CSG 56-1 after 6.

Pitt was introduced in the 8th over and removed Donavan with his second ball, aided by a superb bit of boundary fielding at long on from Van Der Mulen. Freddie Creer falling two balls later mistiming a pull and being caught at deep mid wicket by Jefferson.

Joping and Pitt then kept it tight with just 21 runs coming from the next 6 overs. Pitt claimed a third wicket in his final over with Bertie Creer suffering the same fate as his twin brother, caught at deep mid wicket by Jefferson.

Callendar hung around with Cragg pushing the score up to 100 and after a few lusty blows he was bowled by a Van Der Mulen yorker. Singh and Cragg put on another 15 before Jason struck again, bowling Singh with a ball that clipped the top of off stump. Soon after Burrell was smartly ran out by Porter with the score at 119-7.

Cragg found the boundary twice off Heard in the final over getting the score up to 132-7 finishing on 31 not out.

A steady all round performance from the Thors with the tail wagging to get them up to a competitive total. The bowing unit pulled it back after an explosive start from the Clyst St George openers and kept it tight through the middle overs leaving the Clyst batters with too much to do.

Scorecard

Thorverton 143-7 Heard 29, Jefferson 25, Van Der Meulen 20, Slaviero 19

CSG 132-7 Pitt 3-12, Van Der Meulen 2-14, Jopling 1-14.

Four wins from five matches leaves us in a strong position to retain the Covid Cup.

Next up Exeter (H) Thursday 11th August.