Devon Cricket Board - Devon on Fire

As Exeter was approached there was a build up of dark smoke emanating from Woodbury, our initial destination. We had left the luggage van at Rydon Farm and the closer we got concern entered the mind. Fortunately the very severe fire was at a scrap yard not that far from the farm. It would appear that fire watching is becoming a national sporting pastime as it was really remarkable at the number of parked up vehicles and spectators watching this unfortunate situation. The lane to the farm was blocked by four by fours and our schedule which we were already behind slipped further. We reached MOTO fifteen minutes late, further disaster as the ice cream freezer was on the blink and the assortment of ice creams much reduced. However our AA membership ensured a discount. The three vehicle convoy was on its way and good time was made to Bristol. All the basic rules had been broken in booking the Ibis as it was situated in the middle of this popular City. It was not a smooth arrival as we passed Brunel’s SS Great Britain to be told by our navigation system that we had reached our destination. We had been taken into the middle of a music festival of some type fortunately marshalled by the local constabulary. We were quickly redirected but the 2 metre height restriction of the nearby car parks was of some concern for both van and mini-bus. The nine players present successfully unloaded and a seven o’clock departure time was agreed for dinner. It was a tenuous journey to the Yeoman at Whitchurch to meet up with Mr Rudolph who had most kindly brought across the three fifteens whose game we had briefly watched on entering the City. This was not to be one of the scorers better selections, her excuse was no one else would take bookings on a Sunday night. The food acceptable but the music was overbearing. Even penetrating an ear that normal needs artificial amplification. We returned to the Car Park that had no height restrictions and walked back to the hotel.

A reasonable self service breakfast was followed by the five minute walk to the car park, which with perseverance was reduced to three minutes by the third day. We had passed Clifton College the previous evening but TOMTOM took us a different way and it confirmed the choice of hotel to be a wise one as the ground, in rush hour conditions, was found it minutes. Clifton College is a spectacular back drop to play cricket but as seems traditional in Bristol totally resistant to dogs. After UN negotiations they were allowed in the score box and a local park was recommended. The ground had been flooded by the storms the previous weekend and was very green. We had been warned that some remedial work had been undertaken the previous winter and there would not be a great deal of bounce. At last the captains call of heads worked and Devon were batting. The importance of a decent opening partnership can not be overstressed and once again it did not materialise. Off the fifth ball of the opening over Skeemer was out having hit the first legal ball sublimely for four was caught off a long hop. Dominic Bess has volunteered to go in at three and he and Harvey Sargent put on fifty-four off one hundred and seventeen balls. The captain was the second wicket to fall bowled by Lezar for thirty-five. The brought under fifteen captain Billy Rudolph to the crease and with Sargent took Devon to lunch three short of three figures. Lasagne was enjoyed particularly by our left arm spinner who outdid Oliver Twist and actually asked for more twice. Post lunch sessions can swing or damage games and the two under fifteens got their heads down but in the third over after the break Rudolph’s innings came to a conclusion. He had batted just under the hour and faced sixty-three balls in compiling a most useful thirty-one. The East Devon pair had taken their side up to 104. The fourth wicket added fourteen when Sargent over balanced trying to hit a wide leg side long hop and was stumped. Reid Mawdsley back from an unprogramed operation with all the ancillary side affects from anaesthetic did not look in his Somerset form and was bowled. Devon were meandering at 125-5 off fifty-two overs and needed a change in tempo. Fortunately this came from the two Dan’s - Powell and Wolf. The Paignton all rounder had not been firing on all cylinders but a pre lunch session with the coach hopefully helped him turn the corner for the remainder of the summer. The sixth wicket pairing combined to put on the highest partnership of the game – eighty off one hundred and fifty-two balls in seventy minutes. They were together at tea with Devon past their first batting point on 188. Crust less sandwiches and the remnants of the fruit salad were enjoyed with increased optimism. Five runs past the second bonus point Powell was out. The all rounder has been struggling with his batting but there were signs in this important innings that he was on the way back. He was bowled by Bracey for forty-six off one hundred and six balls having batted for a minute under two hours. Jamie Drew joined Wolf who was now playing in his 2013 form and their partnership took Devon to within fifteen of the second batting point. Drews stubborn batting is proving to be a very important element of the 2014 under 17s. Wolf was caught by a remarkable catch at slip by Loud. The fielder bettered it in the one day game. Dan had batted for and faced an identical number of balls – one hundred and nine. He hit six fours in his important fifty-four. Unfortunately the lower order, apart from a stand of twenty-five with Toby Codd, did not stay around long enough to give Drew the support he deserved and his team needed. From 235-7 Devon fell away to 267 all out and at five thirty-two the instruction to don whites was given and seven minutes later they were out warming up. Devon had faced ninety-seven overs and the umpires, who had been under observation by a local member of ACO, were preparing calculations. A wicket or two was the objective but not achieved as Devon bowled five overs for thirteen. It could have been six if our non batter had been more alert to retrieving a ball! This had been a difficult day for Devon who realistically had not posted sufficient runs, Devon walked across from the Ibis to the Slug and Lettuce for a more relaxed and enjoyable meal made even more agreeable by their special Happy Monday night deal that we had been unaware of until sitting down.

Route two to the Car Park shaved a minute off personal bests only to be beaten on the return trip when access for the on going Bristol University Graduations enabled all records to be broken. The side appeared in good heart as they took to the field with the school clock chiming the hour. The Gloucestershire openers seemed in little trouble until off the seventieth ball of the morning Bracey slashed hard at Dawe and Wolf held an exceptional catch at second slip. Thirty-six for one, six balls later Dan Goodey struck trapping Hopkins in front. Lezar was joined by the home sides captain and Bath batsman Hankings. The pair put on fifty-six taking their side up to three minutes to lunch when the captain had a double strike. Wolf took another catch and the captain bowled Grieshaper first ball. The Gloucestershire wicket keeper batsman had been called up in June to make his LV County Championship debut against Glamorgan scoring ten. Lunch was taken with Gloucestershire 97-4. Large Chicken breasts were served by the Clifton College catering team. Gloucestershire were one hundred and seventy-behind with six wickets in hand. Two partnerships in excess of fifty started to make them favourites for first innings points but Devon kept at it in another exceptionally hot day. The fifth wicket fell three runs after the first bonus batting point was acquired as Petherbridge made up for his misdemeanour the previous night when he took the key wicket of Hankins, he was leg before for 60. He and Loud had put on fifty-six in fifteen overs. This was on the fifth ball of the sixtieth over and the spinners were in a vital spell. Bess had regularly changed his bowlers looking for openings. Loud was proving to be a thorn as he and Slade put on their sides best partnership of fifty-nine. The captain took the sixth wicket bowling Loud for sixty-eight. In his next and final over the Exeter all-rounder took his fourth wicket trapping Summerfield - 216-7. Tea was taken with Gloucestershire forty runs adrift, the game had the makings of a tense final session. The exceptionally fit Ollie Dawe is one bowler who seems, even in this heat, to sustain his pace over his spells took the eighth wicket with the second new ball. With Gloucestershire still needing thirty-six Dan Powell held a vital catch. Enter Shine with an old fashioned gait and a stance reminiscent of the old blacksmith. First ball crashed though extra cover for four, next over he smacked Goodey’s second ball in an identical fashion and the heart fluttered. It was apparent he was not an orthodox black smith as his strength was on the off side as opposed to cow. The two seamers actually responded well to what could have been a critical ten minutes. He waved his bat with great velocity, faced thirty balls scored fifteen runs and then smote Dawe to long off with some force. Positioned in this very important position was the third youngest member of the team – Billy Rudolph. To his eternal credit he never looked like dropping this match winning catch. He held it with great aplomb, in the context of the match a brilliant catch. One wicket remaining eleven needed, Devon celebrated the catch and were now sensing victory. Morris came to the wicket, Ellis added two to his total and it took Goodey two balls to bowl Morris. The Coach had now experienced most of the emotions that go with the job and Devon set about getting an eighteenth point. This had been an outstanding team performance with everyone fighting for the cause, the captain, on his seventeenth birthday, again provided a critical return of 4-64 off his twenty-five but Dawe had taken three for thirty-seven off nineteen and the others had all bowled well. The fielding had needed to improve on the three previous games and had done so.

Devon lost five wickets in reaching the three figures needed, conceding two bonus points. Skeemer fell third ball, four and out, Bess scored seven which was also Powell’s contribution and Sargent hit twenty-one leaving Devon 41-4. Wolf and Rudolph steadied the ship when the Ottery man was caught 75-5. Wolf was just carrying on from his first innings performance and took Devon up to 100 with an over to spare. Bess immediately declared with Wolf nine short of a second fifty and Mawdsley, who had given his partner the strike, on seven scoring as a pair scoring twenty-five off eighteen balls.. The side had built up the momentum in this game and it was unfortunate that their next ECB two day game was now three weeks away. The Slug and Lettuce did not have a full menu which for the second time on our travels this year did not go down well particularly when an administrator had sacrificed his Clifton College chicken breast for a rack of ribs

Scorecard