| Everyone was present at either Exeter or Tiverton and the longest journey of the summer was undertaken. The holiday traffic was not as great as the week before and we still took fours hours to reach Rugeley. Last year’s Travelodge was not so competitively priced so we ventured to the Fairway Motel in the centre of town. They were most welcoming although the booked accommodation was at variance with the actual which included a dormitory. The encouraging news was the building was single storey and the ground floor would not be disturbed by a floor above. Holmes took solitary confinement but he was to make up for it at Leamington. We went back to the Ash Tree who had had a refurbishment over the winter and the next three days cricket was viewed with some optimism. With two players from the previous game on holiday and one preferring pre season rugby for their College further opportunities were given to players who had missed out due to the weather earlier in the summer.
Next day the mini-bus was entrusted with finding the ground and only took one incorrect turning. It was overcast at Stafford, a shower or two predicted and thoughts of inserting were considered. Wyatt-Haines won the toss and batted. Harry Choule, as he is now known, opened with Richardson and they did a first rate job up until the twenty-fourth over. The objective of much of the under 16 programme is to alert players to the needs and objectives of two day cricket. When batting first it is to bat for an hour and then a second and enjoy a good lunch at something between ninety and one hundred a ten for hopefully none but possible no more than one down and as most two. The East Devon pairing was achieving this objective with very little difficulty until at twenty-six minutes past twelve Richardson was leg before. Devon was on fifty-eight and the opening bowlers had both been withdrawn from the attack. Harry Choules then with twenty-three minutes before the interval departed. Skeemer and Choules had passed the minimum partnership by one run but now two batsmen were at the crease. At thirteen minutes to lunch Skeemer was on his way back and Devon in some difficulty at 73-3 and a partnership was needed. The captain and Higgs reached lunch with Devon below par at 85-3. The two friends then provided the partnership as they added one hundred and twenty really important runs. Remarkable for a fourth wicket partnership this was only nine runs short of the record. This was compiled against Dorset in 2001 by Will Grainger and Steve Rowe at Seaton. They batted to within eight minutes of tea when Wyatt-Haines was caught in his favourite leg side area. This brought Jack Maunder to the wicket. Maunder is already on the Nottinghamshire radar but so now was Wyatt-Haines whose 84 had been another masterful performance impressing their watching Academy Director. Maunder and Higgs took Devon to tea one short of a second batting point. With the final ball of the post tea fifth over Higgs, who was looking back at his best, was bowled by Perkin. Devon now were 216 for five after seventy-eight overs. In the 2013 world the side would have one hundred and forty-four balls to score the eighty-four runs needed to take full batting points. In fact it was the home side that started to turn the screw. Declan Lines disappointing run continued when he was stumped without scoring. This placed additional pressure on Maunder who was now joined by Hooton-Harrison. Macaulay was under some pressure to demonstrate that he was not just a one day player and he applied himself well. He lost his partner with two hundred and fifty-nine on the board with nine overs left in the day. Maunder had batted for one hour twenty in scoring thirty-four. Hooton-Harrison and Bess took Devon up to two ninety off the one hundred and five overs bowled by Staffordshire. They had demonstrated the benefit of an excellent over rate which would have ensured that Devon would not have picked up a fourth bonus point.
The next morning the captain checked with his agent before appearing in a publicity shot for the Fairway who had been delighted to host us. We travelled over the Chase to see the annual Fair building, but not yet the dodgems. Still overcast at Stafford, the dews were now getting heavier, a new referee was employed to bring some discipline to the football but some of the catching still disappointed. The two batters were advised of the objectives of the first hour and twenty-five minutes later Sam Wyatt-Haines declared. In the seven overs the two overnight batters Harrison-Hooton and Bess had added thirty-five off the forty-two balls. HH was on 43 and Bess had contributed 32 both provided a sensible approach to the morning.
Staffordshire reached lunch one down, Devon bowled 23 overs and there were 71 runs on the board. The wicket that fell set the mode for the day caught Maunder bowled Crouch in the tenth over. Staffordshire made good progress after lunch reaching the fortieth over with a score of 132-1. On the fourth ball of this over Dominic’s Bess’s season ended as he stopped a return with his foot and it subsequently transpired broke a bone in his foot. Bess tried to bowl one more delivery and almost immediately it started to rain. With the possibility of an early departure of the mini-bus to Leamington the coach took Bess to Stafford’s A & E. The break for rain lasted seventy minutes taking in tea. An old hand put on a mitt and play started with Ollie Higgs completing the over in style. An obviously reluctant Crouch returned to the attack, some kicks of the ground and then fifth ball his second wicket with an identical dismissal. He removed the now set Patel for 60 and Staffordshire were 150-2. Crouch’s figures were 2-19 off six. They soon became 3-31 off 9.5 when Maunder did the business again. He had removed Hemmings for seventy-six and the game interestingly placed at 178-3 with potentially 42 overs left in the day. Staffs to score 147 off 252 balls and Devon to take seven wickets. A good game was brewing but so was a thunder storm. Two balls and one run after the third wicket the covers were back on their way out as the noise of thunder grew, lightning flashed and it was soon to start to rain. Regular updates were received from A&E and it was pouring in the City. The longer the rain came down the less likely a result would be achieved. The stoppage was enlightened by the return of the plastered off spinner who was not destined to take an under sixteen wicket in 2012. Hands were eventually shaken and the side were on the road again, M6 Toll and a nasty accident on the M42 to which local radio had alerted the scorer who took us smoothly via the back roads. |
