Devon Cricket Board - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The feel of the day for this one dayer at the Fortfield just seemed right, gorgeous day with blue skies and shimmering sea, high activity by the ground team and a good warm up led by Matt Cooke on his home ground. The only contentious element was a delayed start to 11.00am as Wales had timed their preparation for this time and a view from a senior player that we should bat second. It did not matter a fifth toss in succession was lost and Devon, who had fielded for nearly four hours the previous day at Sandford, were back out in the field in intense heat. Devon then produced the best cricket of the summer in a scintillating display that reduced their visitors to 87-8 within twenty overs. The quality of the cricket during these ninety-two minutes shocked their opponents and excited a reasonable crowd. Ben Green struck in the fifth over when Voke pulled him straight down Harvey Sargent’s throat. Three balls later Ollie Dawe struck trapping Thorpe-Yon in front, the third time in three days that this batsman had been out leg before – 33-2. Six runs later Jamie Drew held the first fine catch of the innings as he held brilliantly caught left hander Ansell on the rope pulling Green. Ben Green in six balls conceded six runs and a wide and took three wickets as he then bowled Carlson. In the twelfth over Toby Codd took full advantage of confusion between the two batters to run out Roberts. If Wales were not down and out they were now on the ropes being 58-5. The captain, Dominic Bess then took two staggering catches at slip. He dived to pick up first Pearce off Dan Goodey and then James off Jamie Drew. These catches were simply brilliant and if the side were not on a high before they most certainly were now as Wales were 69-7 off sixteen. The Heathcoat pair of Jamie Drew and Dan Powell took the eighth wicket when the keeper took a smart stumping. There was total disbelieve around the ground and our opponents were considering an early departure. However Devon then totally lost their way as Carey crashed and Mills blocked. The pair put on exactly one hundred off only one hundred and fourteen balls in a minute under an hour. Carey’s fifty came up off forty-four balls and in all he hit twelve fours and three sixes before he became over ambitious to give Green a fourth wicket when Dan Wolf held a regulation but very important catch a few yards in from the rope.. His innings had been a perfect example of how to counter attack, He took on the Devon skipper and seamers Drew, Skeemer, Green and Wolf to total 84. He had a perfect partner in Mills who batted initially at the non stickers end, playing straight without being over ambitious. His contribution to the partnership of twenty-three was equally important, Devon need to learn how to respond to such a situation and pressurise the lesser batter. It actually got worse as the final pairing put on an unbeaten sixty-three off seventy-three balls in thirty-nine minutes. The silence for the final eleven overs both on the field and in the ground said so much as to how the home side had lost their way allowing the last two pairings to score more runs than Devon could muster as a team. Mills completed a personal fifty and number eleven Jones an unbeaten twenty-eight off forty-three minutes as Devon appeared to be just going through the motions, Devon had fallen from ecstasy to depression as perhaps never previously experienced and it had coincided with a change in ball.. Sidmouth provided a variety of deserts and spaghetti bolognaise.

Devon needed five an over and the top five to set a platform. At the half way stage Devon were 54-8 the game lost and the GreenBook being discreetly thumbed in the scorebox for records of the worst kind. A tired Matt Skeemer pulled his fourth ball to be taken at mid wicket, 0-1, Sargent played a similar shot 17-2, Wales were now employing two mid wickets Ben Green found one of them 27-3, the captain slashed at Brown to be caught behind 29-4. Dan Powell was applying himself at one end as did Dan Wolf when he joined the Heathcoat keeper but he fell in the eighteenth over bowled by Pike. Debutant Billy Rudolph was trapped in front 41-6, Powell was out in a similar manner to the other top order and was caught – 44-7, Toby Codd gave Brown the charge to be stumped 54-8. This brought Ollie Dawe to the crease to join Jamie Drew, whose batting is beginning to become an equally important ingredient to his game. The pair got their heads down and put on twenty-four at a run a minute off forty-four balls. In the process the scorer could tick off the 64 against Dorset in 1993 and the 67 against Hampshire in 2002. Drew was out in the thirty-second over playing across the line to be leg before. The final pairing of Dawe and Dan Goodey actually ticked off the remaining five totals under 120 in the GreenBook as they applied themselves against a softer ball and put on sixty-three in forty-six minutes off eighty-seven balls. Ollie Dawe played his natural game, including some shots more appropriate to the grass at Wimbledon, got hit and hit back (with his bat) and scored a maiden fifty. We will have to suffer him for the rest of the season but hopefully as has been pointed out more than once this summer he will allow his actions to speak louder than his words! Goodey played his part , he did give a chance before Dawe was able to raise his bat but showed what application can do, He did eventually succumb for a fifty ball 8 leaving Dawe unbeaten on 58 (46 balls, 51 minutes, ten fours and a six. This stand gave Devon some respectability, at least on paper and the games against Gloucestershire and Hampshire will provide an opportunity to show true character. Class is permanent form is……………..If nothing else this performance should at least reduce the view to bat second on a top deck. It clearly demonstrated all the disadvantages of such a decision – in this case extend the time in the field to over eight hours in intense heat, it is always easier to recover difficult situations when setting than chasing and basically it is always easier to set than chase. If climatic conditions have not interfered we should always bat first but then again we have to win a toss something we have not yet achieved. This had been a really strange game with seventeen players contributing 165 runs and the remaining five scoring 226. We enter the second half of the season with an awful lot to do.

The day ended with the normal hunt for car keys, phones and credit cards at what must be one of the most sociable clubs in Devon with their members enjoying the delights of their bar and caterers, Sidmouth seems to be in a very happy place at the moment and it was a pleasure to be back after a gap of nine years, we really do hope we will be able to return soon hopefully for a two day encounter.

Scorecard