A Useful Warm Up

The ROK sponsored Devon under 21s took just 67 overs to beat Somerset IIs at Exmouth. The reigning Southern Counties champions put on an encouraging performance for the summer in all the important departments. On winning the toss Jack Porter elected to field on a track that had been well protected from the heavy weekend rain but was part of a square that had been flooded by the deluge. Plympton’s Lewis Gregory set Somerset back when fourth ball he bowled Cornwall’s Neil Edwards who has scored nearly 3000 first class runs. Gregory took his second wicket in his third over when he had Barlow leg before. The visitors captain Carl Gazzard, the second Cornishman, was next to fall as his opposite number was leg before on 16. The Devon attack was making the most of the good overcast bowling conditions and it was 23-4 when Porter, in his next over, had Meschade well caught by Matt Thompson at slip. Walker and Davies put on the highest partnership of the innings as they dug in and scored 20 in six overs when Walker was Ross Acton’s first victim. Acton’s first spell of 7 overs (1-25) was only marred by an expensive first over that went for 11. The captain Jack Porter was bowling his full quota of ten overs in one spell and he took his third wicket when he had Lintott the third leg before victim with the score on 46. He finished with the impressive figures of 3-11 off ten. Gary Chappell, one of Devon’s promising left arm spinners, who with Chris Metters and Dan Bowser could play an important part this summer, took over at the sea end and in his third over and the innings twenty-sixth bowled Davies for a sixty-two ball 14.  Lewis Gregory completed his spell from the pavilion end and much to the consternation of his top order tried to rough up former Durham and England under 19 paceman Mark Turner. Ross Action took over again from Gregory and took the final three wickets in 2.2 overs. First he had Thompson caught by Dan Bowser at slip, then Turner well caught by Matt Thompson at mid off for a top score of 28, and the diving captain caught the third Cornishman Tom Turner. No balls (2 runs) had been expensive as Devon contributed 27 extras in the final total of 91. The fielding had been up to standard with just one misfield which can be put down to a dislocation the previous week.

Rain had been forecasted to arrive at the Maer anytime after 2.00pm and was in the air as Devon lost two quick wickets. James Burke, who had been sitting an A level at Plymouth College in the morning and can be forgiven for thinking the journey up might have been more profitable as he was bowled by Meschede fourth ball. Devon’s second academy player Lewis Gregory fell five runs later when Turner exerted some revenge. From 5-2 Dan Hardy, who had been undefeated on 95 in the corresponding fixture last year, and Dan Bowser whose cricketing ambitions had just been published on devoncricket.com took Devon home in the twenty-ninth over. Their partnership of 87 showed all the characteristics needed in far from ideal climatic conditions. Hardy took his aggregate in two knocks against the cider men up to 138 without being dismissed and Bowser reached 37 hitting six fours. This was a useful warm up, with Porter pulling most of the strings, for the 2009 Southern Counties campaign which shortly starts at Axminster.  Exmouth were their normal outstanding hosts.