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Sunday started bright and the Transit fired up first time, all were present at the meeting places but already we were ten minutes behind schedule. Intermittent wipe was spasmodically used up to the outskirts of Bristol when we were using the rapid wipe. The captain learnt where Nottingham is located and we found ourselves on the Wolverhampton Olympic Torch Route enjoying about twenty sets of traffic lights all on red. The Coach was contacted and a reduction in overs to 45 a side was agreed. Will Squire and TomTom did their bit in getting the side to the ground even if the driver nearly did go the wrong way.
In view of the growing relationship with Worcestershire with the sixteen’s and seventeen’s playing annually it seemed logical to play their academy. Getting suitable grounds, particularly on a Sunday, is proving increasing difficult and Worcestershire apologised for taking us into Staffordshire. However the venue was excellent and if you had tuned into Channel 979 the previous Thursday and watched Midlands Today you would have witnessed the result of the flash floods in the City. This had cast a doubt on the fixture but the Club worked exceedingly hard to make the game possible. It was overcast and there was moisture in the air when Barnie Huxtable won an important toss and Devon elected to field. Conditions were far from ideal for either batting or bowling and there was a brief interruption, which resulted in a loss of an over a side, for rain. Devon did not field to the high standard they normally set themselves – this may have been a combination of an early start, three hours on the bus and not ideal conditions. However chances were missed which would have and indeed did annoy. A return to the more intense approach will be expected for the remainder of our fixtures. Thanks to some excellent bowling and taking a large percentage of the catches their hosts were 156-9 at the end of their allocation. In the tenth over and his second Jack Popham, who had taken five in last years under 16 game which had earnt him a trip up to New Road, took the first wicket. This was thanks to a catch from the captain. The score was thirty-four as openers Matt Kidd and Craig Eaves had bowled effectively obtaining some good carry. Debutant Will Squire entered the attack in the sixteenth over. He has had to wait to make his county debut longer than most. The 2011 rain and abandonment’s delayed his appearance by just under a year. At last he was in the royal gold and black of Devon and with his eleventh ball he removed the second opener Carasco. Mailling held his second chance of the afternoon despite some harassment. The Worcestershire captain Rhodes, in his fourth appearance against, Devon was holding his side together. Squire took his second and the side’s third wicket in the twenty-eighth over when Kidd held Clarke on the rope. This brought another of a number of county second team players, Ollie Steele, to the crease. He had scored a century against the county at Exmouth in 2011 as his side failed to pass the 376 they were set. He is another talented player but lasted only twenty-three balls when Kidd took his first wicket with Rhys Davies taking another skyer. It transpired of the three centurions from the last two years (Golding and Huxtable the others) his and Goldings fifteen would be the best return. Four down with 115 on the board and nine overs left. The home side then scored at just under four and a half an over losing five more wickets as Devon dictated the play. Matt Kidd took the next two wickets bowling Harris and trapping Joshi leg before. George Yates, back from his break in the sun, then took the remaining three wickets including the vital one of Rhodes caught by the ever reliable Matt Golding. His contribution had been an outstanding seventy-six ball sixty-two. This was the top score of the game and had lasted one hundred and two minutes. In the same over Yates then bowled Charwood and in his next over he dismissed Underwood in an identical fashion. The last pairing put on another couple of runs as Worcestershire finished on 156 -9.
The weather then transformed into an almost perfect summers afternoon with bright sunshine. Devon’s captain was brilliantly held at slip off a no ball but fell in the sixth over with his side on 14 when Edwards caught him off Underhill. Josh Mailling and his new partner Zack Bess then compiled the best partnership of the game putting on fifty-five in a minute over the hour off ninety-nine balls. They looked in total control until Bess chanced the arm of mid wicket and was run out by a whisker by a direct hit. It was good to learn that Zack was on the bowling recovery route and his time at Exeter University has been well spent at the cricket centre. Mailling was batting very sensibly but lost a decidedly unwell Golding with eight still needed for the hundred. Devon reached three figures in the twenty-seventh over but in the next over and five runs later the sides anchor fell. The coach had been looking for a nice fifty-five not out from the opener as the target was passed. The under 17 captain scored yet another thirty. He swept spinner Turley and had his middle stump knocked back. Mailling had batted outstandingly hitting two fours and a six but once again did not get past thirty-nine. The Plympton all-rounder has the potential to have a record breaking summer and he should be looking to score some big hundreds for the seventeen’s. With Rhys Davies batting intelligently he and Harry Booker comfortably put on the remaining fifty-two. This took up another seventy-eight balls and after forty-one minutes together at the crease the game was won. Davies struck a couple of trademark straight sixes which both ended up in the car park behind the pavilion. Davies was unbeaten on 35 and Booker 14 not out. This was another worthwhile exercise with some of the best young talent in Devon showcasing their skills to a first class county and hopefully starting to fully appreciate their own ability. |
