Devon Cricket Board - Dumplings fall short on chase

Dumplings fall short on chase

DEVON Dumplings made a belated start to the 2013 season with a game against a strong University of Exeter X1 at the County Ground.

The students to bat first and a fiery opening burst from Phil Allen made them work hard and could easily have brought several wickets.

Merrick Steward shared the new ball and was also unlucky, with Andrew Curtis (54) dropped twice off his bowling.

But the openers worked hard to lay a foundation and with runs from Will Leith (27), Matt Laidman (40) and Bradley Lane (23) the University posted a decent score of 218 off their 40 overs.

Will Steward bowled off spin at the end of the innings to good effect.

In reply, the Dumplings were tested with fine new ball bowling from Joe Barrs and Tom Barton and struggled to 61 for three at the 20 over point.

Big hitting from Chris Kelmere (43) and Fanie de Villiers (36) gave the chase impetus and with 10 overs to go exactly 100 were required, with seven wickets in hand.

However, wickets in consecutive balls stopped the charge and then Neal Prowse (4-38) picked up the tail-enders to ensure victory for the University with the Dumplings all out in the final over for 175.

University of Exeter 1st X1 218-4 (A Curtis 54, M Laidman 40, W Steward 2-33) Devon Dumplings 175 (C Kelmere 43, F de Villiers 36, T Barton 2-20, N Prowse 4-38). University of Exeter beat the Dumplings by 43 runs.

DCB Ltd, University of Exeter Sports Hall, Stocker Road, Exeter, Devon EX4 4QN Company Registration Number: 7024773