We are pleased to announce that we are running two of our popular Cricket Camps for boys & girls aged 10+ from Monday 8th-Wednesday 10th August and 22nd-24th August.
The camps will be run by overseas star Jason Van Der Meulen and other junior coaches.
The timings for each day are 10am-3pm, with the exception of Wednesday 10th August which will run from 9am to 1pm.
Please provide a packed lunch.
Cost: £20 a day or £50 for all 3 days.
Prebooking is essential. You can book your child in for both camps by visiting our online store HERE.
On another scorcher of a Saturday, Thors welcomed Sidmouth 3rd XI to Station Ground. In a tradition now dating back over two months, Stirling lost the toss and Sidmouth elected to bowl, much to be bemusement of some of Thors’ senior players.
Chapman’s decision to field first started to look to be the right call, as Vukusic was quickly out for 1, caught at extra cover off a leading edge. The return of Heard didn’t last much longer as he nicked behind for 0. Thors 15-2 in just the third over.
Baldock joined Daldorph and began to pepper the boundary immediately. He narrowly missed the head of short extra cover with without doubt the hardest hit off drive the E Division will have seen this season. Baldock found the boundary six times in his 28 ball stay at the crease before he begrudgingly departed, adjudged LBW for 28 with Thors 49-3 after 11.
Sam Jefferson joined Daldorph in the sunshine & the 4 wicket pair rebuilt the Thors innings with Daldorph in particular finding the boundary regularly with ease & passing 50 for the fourth time this term. The pair added 120 between them in 21 overs before Jefferson was caught for 34 with the score on 169-4. Daldorph immediately followed him, smacking a full toss straight to deep midwicket for a well made 86, taking him to 450 league runs for the season.
Andy Daldorph cuts during his 86
Stirling & Porter added 57 between them including a big six for Paul over long on into the newly harvested rapeseed field at the River End before he was caught behind for 25. Broom was elevated again with a license to swing and delivered with 17* off 12 balls. Porter finished 39* for the second week running & Thors had taken full batting points, posting 257-6, which a couple at teatime thinking was a few short on a splendid PJ deck & a rapid outfield.
Sam Jefferson on his way to34
After a fantastic Tammi Vukusic tea which came close to replicating Jesus’ miracle of feeding the 5000, Broom & E.Vukusic took the new ball, choosing their ends perfectly as a slight breeze complimented Jacob’s outswingers & Erin’s trademark inswingers.
Vukusic was rewarded in her first over, knocking over Goodall’s stumps for 1. The bowlers toiled away in the heat to keep things tight; Sidmouth 27-1 after the first ten.
Stirling replaced Broom at the Pavilion End before the first of the two drinks breaks. Baker came on for Vukusic, finishing her first spell with 1-20 from 7 overs but deserving of more as she consistently found severe lateral movement.
Rattenbury was the next batter to go, well run out by some smart work by Jefferson at midwicket. Anthony Cox quietly started to add runs at a decent rate with some aggressive running. Burhop at 4 fell to Stirling, caught by the ever-dependable Daldorph running around at mid-on, the visitors 60-3 after 17.
Cox passed 50 before being bowled by Stirling for 53 from 65. Skipper Chapman soon followed him, bowled by Baker for 11, muttering some expletives on the way off at the surprise of how unplayable the ball of Baker’s left-arm spin had castled him. Sidmouth 100-5.
Dalton gave Stirling a third wicket, caught by Broom at mid off. Stirling finishing his 9 with 3-36. A change of ends for Baker allowed Heard a pop from the River End, bowling Clayden for 12. Jefferson removed Pugsley with another run out and the visitors were on the brink at 140-8.
Baker finished his spell with 1-43. Vukusic returned with another two tight overs before Broom came back from the Pavilion End. Jefferson came into the attack from the River End and immediately bowled Raistrick for 15.
Manav Singh had some fun on his way to 36, hitting Broom over the ropes, before he gloves behind to Paul Stirling twice in an over, with the second one sticking in the gloves to give Thors all 20 points. Sidmouth 192 all out.
The win sees Thors remain 20 points clear of second placed Topsham and 36 clear of third placed Honiton, with key fixtures against them within the next three weeks.
Thors skipper Jack Stirling “Another good performance despite some drops in the field. Andy Daldorph was outstanding once again and Erin was deserving of far more with the ball. Great to see Sam & Jay hitting some form at a key part of the season. We’ve just got to keep our heads and keep doing what we’ve been doing over the next seven weeks & we’ll get to where we need to be”.
Next up for the 2s is a trip to Braunton on Saturday 23rd July.
On another hot Saturday in the Devon League, the 1st XI made the trip to Budleigh Salterton.
Robbins, Pitt & H. Choules returned to the side as we lined up with: Chilcott, Robbins, Coe, Fielder, Van Der Meulen, H. Choules, Pitt, Daldorph, Jopling, Slaviero, J. Choules.
Budleigh won the toss and elected to bat but despite the weather the pitch didn’t look as white and flat as might have been expected and there was a feeling that chasing may bring a change of luck for the Thors.
However, Budleigh shot off to a positive start as the pitch played better than it looked and the rapid outfield helped the ball find the boundary with ease. After 10 overs the hosts were 48-0.
Van Der Meulen was introduced from the pavilion end and his first 3 overs were a clinic in fast bowling. He snicked off Troman and the next over he pinned the dangerous Penberthy-Hutchings in the midriff before the opener skied one which was put down. However, undeterred, Jason had his man caught behind a few balls later. The spell also saw the hosts, overseas star, Perris, dropped at first slip on 0.
Perris and Jack England fought back for the hosts though as the score reached 130-2 when Choules and Jopling were introduced to take the pace off.
Both kept it reasonably tight and England was bowled by Jopling in the 29th over. 2 overs later Robbins kept his head to run the new batter out with help some good hands by Jopling. The score 162-4 in the 30th.
The spin duo continued to toil and Jopling had 2 more when he trapped Oxland LBW before getting dangerman Perris caught at long on for 71.
The leggie then bowled the opposition skipper before completing his 5fa in the 40th over with help from a rapid stumping by Harry Choules.
The score was 209-8 with 9 to go when Jopling and Choules finished their spells and Pitt and Daldroph were tasked with finishing off. 31 more runs were added for one more wicket as the hosts finished on 240-9. A decent fight back by Thorverton.
A slight change to the usual order meant Robbins opened up with Chilcott and the pair got off to a positive start striking 24 from the first 5 overs. Chilcott was then stumped in bizarre fashion before both Robbins and Fielder fell to Doble, the league’s leading wicket taker, the following over. Thors somewhat reeling at 31-3 from 7.
Van der Meulen and the ever-reliable Coe set about steadying the ship just as they did last week and got us to the first drinks break at 82-3 (17 overs).
Just after Thors passed 3 figures Coe was caught and bowled for 15. Harry Choules continued where Coe left off, turning the strike over and allowing Jason to bring up his half century. With 20 over to go Thors were 126-4 and requiring around a run a ball to win.
However with the score on 130 the hosts had the big Van der Meulen wicket, LBW for 70. Pitt and Choules looked comfortable but Pitt skied one on 10 as the score reached 150-6 with 15 to go.
A solid partnership between Choules and Daldorph had their teammates quietly whispering about the pair’s Corinthian Cup Final heroics last year. Thors required 55 from the last 10.
Choules was caught in the 43rd for a well made 37 with the score now 199-7. Another big wicket for the hosts.
Due to the latter picking up a calf tweak in the field, Jopling went in ahead of Slaviero at 9. He got the score past 200 but fell soon after.
Thors had reached 204-8 going into the final 5 but Perris had found some extra pace and clean bowled Daldorph for 28.
Budleigh were behind on over rate so experienced operater Joel Murphy had to rush through the 47th over to prevent a potential 18 penalty runs. However this was immaterial as last man Jake Choules skied a slower ball long hop, somehow only as far as short mid wicket. Thors had lost by 30 runs.
Another tight game at this level as we left the seaside with 8 bonus points. Thank you to Jimmy & Isaac May for their scoring and to the Thor’s spectators that made the trip.
The skipper: “We can be proud of our recoveries from 150-2 in the first innings and 30-3 in the second but we need to put in more complete performances to get us over the line. We are good enough to compete at this level and a couple of wins in the next 2 or 3 weeks will take the pressure off”.
Next up we look to do the double over city side Exeter at Station Ground.
You can purchase tickets to both events on our newly launched online store HERE.
In particular we would advise booking reunion tickets online to give us an idea of catering numbers for the evening. If you have any questions about either event, please email seniors@thorvertoncricketclub.com.
The 1st XI welcomed Torquay to Station Ground on a hot day for the first match of the 2nd half of the season.
Thors made 3 changes to the team that beat Seaton last week: Greed, Chilcott, Coe, Van der Meulen, Fielder, Baldock, Daldorph, Hooper, Slaviero, Jopling, Choules.
Choules won the toss as was becoming strangely typical and elected to bat and what looked to be a flat one at Station Ground.
However, as spectators, sponsors and Vice Presidents filtered in, it was a nightmare start for the hosts. The in-form Chilcott was given out lbw for 0 in the 2nd over before Greed played on in the 3rd over for 1. Thors reeling at 1-2.
The rebuilding job started with Ben Coe and Jason van Der Meulen who showed incredible resilience and determination to get us back on track. By the time Coe was run out on 32, the pressure had somewhat lifted with the score on 87-3 with plenty of overs to play with.
Jason batted positively but selectively, passing 50 with a well struck boundary. Fielder came and went before Baldock added 20, caught with the score on 151-5.
Jason was still there though and with Daldroph at the crease with him, Jason nailed an extra cover drive for 4 to bring up his well deserved century. Helmet aloft and a tap of the badge, a real moment to savour and all in front if his player sponsor – 2020 property.
Jason Van Der Meulen
Unfortunately he fell almost instantly after with the score on 180 and it was down to the lower order to amass as many runs as possible in the last 10.
Daldroph and Hooper reached double figures and Slaviero’s 7 not out contributed to getting us to 209-9.
The talk whilst eating a top drawer Chilcott tea alongside sponsors and VPs was that perhaps we were just under par but a great effort considering the first 3 overs.
Western and Allen started the chase for the visitors and found the boundary all too frequently for Thorverton’s liking. At the first drinks break (17 overs) Torquay were 81 without loss.
Van der Meulen had begun to tighten things for the hosts bowling an economic 6 over spell for just 20 runs. Hooper and the skipper were then introduced and continued to keep things tight but wickets were hard to come by. It wasn’t until Choules’ 9th over and the 34th of the innings that Allen was removed for a well made 74. Hooper picked up a well deserved wicket the following over and the score was 147-2 with 15 to go. The visitors still very much the favourites but Thors had a sniff.
Daldorph was introduced from the river end and once Hooper finished his spell (1-34) Slaverio was tasked with finishing off from the pavilion end.
Daldorph struck getting Western caught behind then bowling Colgate in the same over. 174-4 with 8 to go and suddenly the game was in the balance.
In George’s next over he dismissed Stanley lbw, 177-5. Shorty after, Thors felt they had dangerman Joshi, caught behind. A huge appeal went up after a noise but both batter and umpire were unmoved.
Joshi and Baxendale steadily accumulated with singles as the visitors took the calculation to 22 required from the last 4 overs. Baxandale edged Slaverio for 4 and with a few more singles Torquay needed 13 from 3.
Daldorph got Baxandale lbw in the last ball of his allowable 10 overs finishing with 4 wickets. However the hosts only needed 10 from the last 2. Reminiscent of the first game of the season, Joshi didn’t want to leave it much longer and struck a sublime 6 over point followed by a 4 to finish it off.
Thors were left wondering about many ifs and buts but overall put in a good performance and lost another tight game against an opposition with premier division aspirations.
The skipper concluded: “To go so close is always gutting. We have been on the wrong side of too many close games this season and need to change a couple of them into wins. However we can be proud of the fight shown from 1-2 in the first innings and 140-0 in the 2nd. We can also take the positives from a brilliant hundred for Jason and 4fa from George”
Next week is a trip to 4th place Budleigh Salterton.
On the hottest day of the season so far, the 2nd XI travelled to Woodbury & Newton St Cyres 1st XI. Stirling continued his woeful toss record this season and Woodbury elected to field in the heat.
Farley & Daldorph got Thors off to a solid opening start, helped by a few extras from the Woodbury new ball pairing, pushing Thors through to 43-0 after the first ten overs.
The textile-themed first change pairing of Silk & Harris-Cotton frustrated Farley & Daldorph, keeping thing tight and the pressure building. A release shot came in the form of Farley clearing mid-on for four. He tried the same again an over later, only to cloth the ball into Smale’s hands at mid-on for 29. Thors 66-1. H.Squire came in at three and a feather through to Boundy off Silk saw him depart for one.
Jefferson & Daldorph showed patience against some tight bowling but took advantage of any loose balls. Daldorph passed 50 for the third time this season before being bowled by a jaffa from Jarvis for 51. Thors 116-3 after 30.
Jefferson showed some real intent and now started to find the boundary regularly, pushing the run rate up. The pair added 48 in seven overs before Squire was caught behind on the pull for 7. Porter joined Jefferson and showed similar intent. Jefferson despatched a six over square leg & brought up his maiden 50 for Thors with a drive through the covers, before being caught behind for 58 from 54 balls.
Some kamikaze running saw Jack Baker come and go for 3. Broom was elevated with a license and found the boundary once before being caught at mid-on for 4. Meredith and Porter ran well, with Porter finding the rope three times on his way to 37* from 32. Thors finishing on 229-7.
The returning Broom & H.Squire took the new ball for Woodbury’s reply and the hosts got off to a flier, courtesy of Purohit batting with serious intent and a helping hand with plenty of extras given by the visitors, racing to 78-0 after the first ten overs.
The spin pairing of Baker snr & Stirling came into the attack, Baker first removing Boundy LBW for 17. Purohit went past 50. Chouhan was then bowled by Stirling for 1 to leave the hosts 98-2 after 14.
Stirling struck a total of 5 times in his first five overs, getting Purohit LBW for 59 and bowling Jarvis for 5, Collier for 0 & Smale for 0. The hosts had gone from 98-1 to 121-6. Baker then struck again to remove Brearly caught and bowled. Baker finishing his 9 overs with 2-30.
Meredith came into the attack, bowling Spurrell in his first over. Woodbury 130-8. He struck again in his third, Harris-Cotton caught well by Farley at point and the hosts on the brink at 144-9. Stirling finished his 9 with 5-34.
Jack Stirling 5-34
Pearce & Silk frustrated the visitors for 7 overs before Sam Jefferson stepped up to remove Pearce with just his second ball, a leg stump Yorker. Thors winners by 54 runs.
Just 3 days after the 2nd XI’s nail-biting win at Kensham Park, Thors returned to Kensham Park to take on Bradninch in the T20 Covid Cup.
Captained by overseas star Jason Van Der Meulen, the visitors lineup:- Chilcott, L.Vukusic, Van Der Meulen, Coe, Jefferson, G.Daldorph, Hooper, Meredith, Jopling, Broom, J.Stirling. Eliot Acton won the toss and the visitors elected to bat in the evening sunshine.
Daldorph & Broom initially kept things tight in the powerplay, with E.Acton the first wicket to fall, courtesy of a smart combination of Coe & Meredith running the Ninch skipper out for 4 with the score on 13. Daldorph then bowled Darren Paul for 1 with a well-executed yorker, the hosts 35-2 at the end of the 6 over powerplay.
Ross Acton took a liking to Broom’s final over, smashing four 4s and a six in a set that saw 25 runs added. Jopling came into the attack to bowl R.Acton for a well-made 40 from just 20 balls. Jack Horton was bowled first ball to put Jopling on a hat-trick and Ninch were 70-4. The hat-trick ball was safely negotiated by Josh Farley.
Bradninch’s overseas star Chad Classen remained throughout the flurry of wickets, quietly building his innings. Jopling struck again to remove Farley for 12, finishing with figures of 3-21 from his 4 overs. Stirling had Bunker well caught by Jefferson at long on and the hosts were 102-6 after 12 overs.
The dangerous Ankit Badwal joined Classen and the pair went after Hooper to add 42 in the next 4 overs. Van Der Meulen brought himself into the attack, bowling Badwal, Lawson and then Classen for a well-made 46 in his solitary over, finishing with figures of 3-3. Hooper continued and bowled Dowrick to finish Brandninch’s innings after 18.5 overs; 139 all out.
Vukusic & Chilcott opened for Thors, quietly opening the innings before Chilcott was run out by Farley for 19, Thors 33-1 at the end of the powerplay.
Van Der Meulen came to the crease with intent and he & Vukusic had taken the score to 53 when the latter was bowled by Farley’s leg spin.
Coe joined Van Der Meulen, taking 28 off the next two overs to put Thors 81-2 after 11 overs; 58 required from 54.
With good running and consistent boundaries including a huge Van Der Meulen six into the leg side netting, the pair made it look easy. Van Der Meulen went to 50 off just 26 balls with a drive through extra cover for 4. The third wicket pairing managed chase down the remaining runs with 17 balls to spare and 8 wickets in hand. Van Der Meulen with a dominant 73 from 39 balls, Coe 33 from 22.
As Saturday marked the halfway point of the Devon Cricket League season, we sat down with 2nd XI captain Jack Stirling to discuss the 2’s campaign so far.
You must be pleased with how the first half has gone?
Extremely so, it’s gone as well as we could’ve hoped for to this point, especially as availability has been varied at points throughout the season so far. It says a lot about the depth of squad we have and the ability of the juniors coming through to get us over the line in games against decent sides. We can’t allow ourselves to take the foot off the gas and ensure we see through what we know we can achieve.
Highlight so far?
The win at Bradninch showed the most character so far in my view, we just never gave up and trusted ourselves to do the job. In terms of personal milestones, a couple of cracking tons from Andy Daldorph and one Balders have gone a long way to winning matches. It’s great to have seen so many senior players involved in the 2nd XI this season and performing their roles well.
Stand out players?
As mention Andy & Balders have won matches on their own, but so many have performed consistently. Last year’s player of the year Erin Vukusic has again and again showed her ability. Imogen has been metronomic with the ball too all season when she’s had chances. The girls involvement with the 2nd XI is one of the things I’m proudest on and they can achieve great things. Jonny Baker has been such a coup to be playing regularly for us and is a great guy to have in the dressing room. Bobby Heard was great before he popped off travelling, so we’ll be really pleased to have him back from next weekend.
The beauty of the 2nd XI must be watching the young players come through – any stars if the future to look out for?
Absolutely. We’ve had a nice balance this year. The girls have impressed yet again, as has Henry Squire and I’m really looking forward to having him in the side more regularly in the second half; he has bags of potential. Olly Coe has really impressed with the ball when he’s had opportunities and he’s certainly one to keep an eye on.
As well as young players, you’ve mentioned some senior players being involved. What are the advantages of this mix?
It’s such a massive advantage to us as a side, not only for their performances, but also nurturing the youngsters. Having Benny Coe working with me as vice-captain has been such a massive boost on and off the field. The same goes for Balders & Paul who are a massive help to me on the field. I’m really looking forward to having Broomy at my disposal from Saturday.
Aims for the second half?
More of the same and in particular not getting complacent. Anyone in this league is capable of beating anyone. We need to take that momentum forward to make sure we get promoted, that’s the main aim. A lot of clubs benefit from improved availability in the second half, so we could face very different challenges to overcome. So many have identified that the gap between our 1st XI & 2nd XI is too vast and having played both I’m far too aware of that. Getting promoted is imperative if we are to sustain A Division cricket.
What’s needed to achieve that?
More of the same. We need availability to stay good and for everyone to perform their roles as they have done. If we have those two, we should get to where we need to be.
Without wanting to tempt fate, how would you be celebrating?
Let’s get the job done first. If history is going to repeat itself, I think we should expect the same thing again.
As Saturday marked the halfway point of the Devon Cricket League season, we sat down with 1st XI captain Jake Choules to discuss the campaign so far.
How’s the season turning out compared to your pre-season expectations?
We’re about where we’d like to be and also about where I expected we would be. The aim was to consolidate in the A Division and 6th place is doing just that. The league is so tight though so there is a lot of hard work to do in the 2nd half to maintain our position.
Some good wins & some really close defeats, must be nice to know we can compete with anyone in this league?
For sure, I think we’ve shown this is definitely our level. The good thing was we felt that from week 1 when we only narrowly lost to Torquay. We just need to make sure there aren’t too many narrow defeats so we can be sure to enjoy playing at this level again next season.
Have you identified many areas that we need to improve on?
I think it’s just consistency and concentration really as we’ve got the talent. With our 2 home defeats, I think we tried a little too hard and were a bit over eager. I think we’ve learnt from that now though
What’s been the biggest difference in terms of the step up from the B Division?
The consistency and depth of the opposistion is a lot stronger. We’ve found that the change bowlers or lower order hitters can still change games. Some of the overseas players have been phenomenal as well
You mention squad depth which is something we’ve been lucky to have over the last couple of years, how much of a bonus is having competition for places?
Yeah, we are very lucky. There is probably a squad of 15/16 for the 1s and it’s also allowed us to strengthen the 2s as we aim to get them promoted. This weekend is a prime example with someone with Dave Baldocks experience playing his first 1s game of the season. It’s great to be able to call on these types of players. Hopefully later in the season there will opportunities for some of our young players too.
Who have been the standout performers in your view?
It’s been a real team effort again this year rather than one individual carrying us but I’ve probably been most pleased with the top order. There is an interesting battle shaping up between Chilly, Tom & Jason for the leading run scorer.
It’s been great to see George Daldorph really cement his place as a 1st XI regular, how impressed have you been with him?
George has been great, we had a feeling this would be his breakthrough year in the 1s and he hasn’t disappointed. Some really useful contributions with bat and ball.
What constitutes a successful finish to the season from here?
It’s pleasing to say we haven’t had to revise our target – staying in the A & getting the 2s promoted. Blooding some more young players through would be the icing on the cake for me
Thorverton Cricket Club 