Devon Cricket Board - A day in the sun

In September this did really seem a good idea but the bringing forward of the Somerset one day game to early June provided the side with the warm up game for the summer, albeit a competitive one, that this had been intended to be. There was a nasty accident on the M5 which transpired to be closer to home than anyone would have wanted, we were playing on the Schools Junior Ground, greeted and welcomed by a charming custodian of the ground who directed car drivers to some distance car park with a certain glee, we determined toilets and water were available although within a walk, we had completed an excellent windswept warm up before any opposition were sighted..................Dan Pyle called heads Devon batted, we experienced Benchgate as the game got underway. That overused word opportunity was again worn out and some did and others did not take their chance. An objective of the fixture was to ensure that every member of the likely summer squad had played a game before July so Josh Cann was keeping and it was hoped that Noah Wright would bat. A trip to London ruled out the latter so a new member to the under 16 squad, Ed Doble, was given his county debut. Some of the cricket was very good, some of the players should have used the occasion to be totally selfish and refine parts of their game but the end product of 341 runs will enter the Greenbook at number one in the fifty overs section. Toby Codd should have joined the centurions list and the opening partnership of 155 was joint twelfth in the partnerships matching Bryn Latchem and Matt Wood at Exmouth against Hampshire in 1997. This stand was later eclipsed as the highest opening partnership in 2004 by Josh Bess and Dan Bowser's 195. Toby Codd and Harvey Sargent batted together for seventy-nine minutes facing one hundred and fifty three balls which can only be good for their relationship this summer. Their time together came to an end in the twenty-fourth over when Sargent was leg before for a seventy-six ball sixty-four. The partnership had taken seventy-nine balls. Codd was well past his fifty, thirteen short of three figures. The Captain and Codd only put on eight before Codd was stumped off Eckland now six short of three figures. Toby's view was he had lived by the sword and had died by it. One wonders if Zorro or D'Artagan would have turned to the Lunge, Flunge. Parry or Passata Sotto rather than the Petherbridge Charge. In truth he had chanced his arm, had a couple of lives but hit ten fours and three sixes in eighty-five minutes at the crease facing seventy-six balls and a ton is a ton. Pyle and Thompson put on ninety-two in forty minutes for the third wicket. Their partnership took in a Millfield Sunday Brunch and ended in the thirty-sixth over with Devon on 255 when Dunning bowled Pyle for forty-four. Josh Cann joined Thompson who was seven short of his fifty. The Heathcoat batsman was next to go in the forty-first over caught by Zander, who sounds more like a fencer than Codd, for a forty-seven ball sixty-six (nine fours two sixes). Devon were now two runs past their previous highest fifty over score - 280. What would the final tally be with fifty-two deliveries remaining. One would expect at least a run a ball -334 and this was achieved. Some of the running was not as good as it should have been which may have been down to inexperience but 350 should have been the target for the remaining six batsman that arrived at the crease and they accumulated 341. Cann scored a twenty-eight ball twenty-two, Rudolph twenty-two off twenty-three, Wolf nine off five, Doble an unbeaten eight off seven, Hagan-Burt somehow batting at nine after a very mature hundred the previous day, two off three and FitzRoy two off one. A very reasonable return taking everything into account.

The home side faced ten overs before tea and had reached 46-2 with Dan Goodey taking both wickets which included a truly amazing (yes it was) caught and bowled to remove Mama and bowling Vigar. After tea there was some confusion on the ECB Fast Bowling regulations that stopped Charles FitzRoy re-entering the attack which showed that the coach can get annoyed! Ten overs later Petherbridge bowled opener Ackland for a fifty-eight ball twenty-four. The home side were now 100-3 having scored at fives with the required rate now up to eight. The third wicket had put on sixty-five. The fourth added six when Codd caught and bowled Chesham two short of his fifty. Willows, with Dorset School connections, was batting confidently contributed the two runs of the fifth wicket partnership when Zander was well caught by Cann of Codd. The eighteen runs of the sixth wicket took Millfield up to one hundred and twenty-six when with the third ball of Petherbridge's ninth over Codd took the catch to remove Diamond. In his final over Petherbridge bowled Dunning - Millfield 133-7. Thirty-one were added for the eighth when Goodey took another catch this time off Codd. Willows was ninth out for a highest score of the innings -fifty-one caught behind by Cann of FitzRoy. The final wicket was taken by Goodey who was too quick for Dunn who was bowled. Devon had won by one hundred and sixty one and TCS choose Codd as their MOM.

Breaking a habit of a lifetime - the parents, who are actually a great group, were brilliant in getting all the kit to the school playground which had been utilised as a car park. Football completed, a realisation that the day had been an anti-climax and the normal spark had been missing in the field and the magnificent grounds of Millfield School left. Next on the agenda three days against Hampshire.

Scorecard