Devon eased to a 3rd consecutive victory in a game which underlined the
growing maturity and game management skills of this young
squad.
Things had not started as planned, however. Opening bowler
Butler pulled out of the match the night before with a broken hand, and then
skipper Jeacock lost the toss meaning Devon had to bat second - not our
preferred option!
With Butler out, Whitaker stepped up to partner
Popham with the new ball and for the first time all season, Devon's opening
bowling was a little rusty with too many short balls which the impressive
Gregory kept dispatching with ease. Despite a pre-match team talk on the
subject, Devon didn't quite get their field placings right especially to Gregory
who scored almost all of his runs behind square, and with the scoreboard
rattling along at 5 per over, Devon's fielding also started to look less than
polished for the first time all season.
The one glimmer of hope for
the visitors was that the running between the Cornish batters was anything but
convincing but again, Devon were a little sloppy and spurned at least 2 clear
chances to secure a run out in the early overs. For the first time in several
weeks, the management duo were a little concerned!
The introduction
of Tapley brought the home side's scoring rate under control and in his first
over Devon finally clicked into gear as a great throw from Passenger was well
collected by Tapley to run out Harvey for 15.
One of the key
moments followed soon after, as the leg spin of Ford accounted for the dangerous
looking Gregory for 29, although the wicket also owed a lot to a superb reflex
catch from 'keeper Crouch, standing up to the stumps. 55/2 in the 12th
over.
If the departure of Gregory looked to have eased the scoring,
the Number 3 batter Wyatt was quickly into his stride and looking like a highly
accomplished batsman with some gorgeous flowing drives through cover. Just
before drinks, Devon picked up a 3rd wicket and a second run-out with another
horrible mix up between Cornish batters leaving both men stood at the same end!
Jeacock cooly threw to the vacant end and the score was 77/3 at
drinks.
The interval team talk focused on the need to set better
(and different) fields - especially recognising the ability of Murray at one end
- and to create more pressure by controlling the run rate knowing Cornwall had 7
wickets in hand. Devon responded to this fantastically with the second 20 overs
yielding just 54 runs and 5 wickets.
The key breakthrough was the
dismissal of Murray - excellently run out by Tyler who stood up at a key moment
for the 2nd week running. After his dismissal, Cornwall's lower order batters
showed good technique but struggled to score at any kind of rate in the face of
sustained accurate bowling and confident fielding. Popham returned to claim 2
wickets in 3 balls during his second spell and Devon forced a 4th run out of the
innings with good work from Walker.
Cornwall ended on 131/8. The
Devon bowling unit again excelled, coughing up just 10 runs in wides and no
balls, with 'keeper Couch also doing some amazing work down the leg side to
minimise extras. Popham's 2/24 represented the best wicket taking figures but
the pressure of miserly bowling from Taplay (6-2-12-0), Nickell (4-2-7-0);
Jeacock (4-1-11-0); Tyler (4-0-11-0) and Passenger (3-1-6-0) all contributed to
a score which Devon felt confident of chasing.
After a good tea, a
re-jigged Devon batting order saw Pascoe return to his favoured opening berth
alongside the in-form Walker who had scored over 150 Devon runs already this
season in 4 matches, with Whittaker at 3 and Ford in his customary number 4
slot.
Devon got off to a solid start with Pascoe and Walker nudging
and nurdling without any great risk. Although neither was scoring at any
significant rate, there was no pressure from the scoreboard as positive running
and a healthy contribution of extras from the Cornish bowlers kept Devon ticking
at 4 an over - above the required rate.
On occasion the 'positive'
running had caused a few hearts in mouths moments and after a serene partnership
of 63 had Devon already half way to their target, a complete mix up saw Walker
run out for 25 in the 14th over.
Any thoughts that this loss may
have triggered a collapse were quickly erased as Whittaker joined Pascoe and
after an initial period of caution in the period up to drinks, after the break
both batters began to press the accelerator with Whittaker happily turning half
volleys into the legside whilst Pascoe began to go through his full repertoire
of cover drives.
It was satisfying to see both batters in confident
mood - Whittaker had so far only faced a handful of deliveries for Devon this
season and Pascoe being on the back of two disappointing scores. The only
remaining question was either either could reach a half century before the
victory target was achieved, and the answer to that came as Pascoe, on 46, and
with Devon needing 1 to win, could only edge a single rather than the boundary
he was seeking. He ended 47no with Whittaker 31no from 34 balls.
A
win by 9 wickets and a very well managed run chase that never looked like
stalling built on the second 20 overs of the Cornwall innings with excellent
bowling and fielding. A slight 'blip' at the start of the game will be
forgotten, but the lessons from that period - bowling good lengths and setting
appropriate fields - need to be learned with the Festival approaching.
