Sat 3rd Sept

Anti-Climax.........

Game 18, one last chance to add to the Devon League stats with a home match against Kingsbridge. Unbelievably for the second week running we have an unchanged team. We arrived at Westward Ho! in overcast conditions and a dry pitch but with a poor forecast its not known how much of a game will be played. With this in mind I decide after winning the toss to have a bat.

Mike and Matt open and get off to a good start until Mike (still in 12/12 mode) puts one straight down long offs throat for 22. Matt was next to go playing on a half volley for 31. With the rain looking ever closer we try to keep the score ticking over which we do well but lose wickets regularly. After a rain break and a loss of 5 overs we try to push on, doing so sees Will caught in the deep for 36. Every batsman in the top 7 made double figures which I believe hasn't happened all season. With a good 25 from Dan Barratt and 31 not out by myself we finish our overs on 224 for 9.

Unfortunately this was as far as the game went as the rain became more persistant over tea, so both captains and umpires agree not to drag out the inevitable and give Kingsbridge the opportunity to start their long journey early.

So a bit of an anti-climax to the season but not a result that made any difference to the standings, our 11 points secure our league finish of 5th place!

The early finish meant that I had no excuse in fulfilling my promise of joining the swimmers for a dip in the not so warm Atlantic, luckily I was not alone as I was supported by my Hannah and Jenny Williams, forcing me to take it like a man. The experience was most certainly an invigorating one but not as bad as expected!

So thats it! 2011 Devon League season over! It has been a season with a lot of ups and downs, it seemed that when we were good we looked as good as anyone, but when we were bad we just fell apart. There have been negatives to our season, but negatives I believe we can sort out. On the flip side we can take a lot of positives from it as well, Josh King has stood out a mile in the field and if you put that with his ever improving batting he is an absolute asset. Will Barratt's return from uni was an important one as he was in good touch with the bat this year. Martin Stewart particularly in the second half of the season was awesome at times and bowled some outstanding spells so with a bit more consistency next year I feel  will take a lot of wickets. Mike Young, new to English conditions adapted very well and scored good, valuable runs throughout the season. Add this (with the exception of Mike) to the senior players and the fringe players, next year has the makings of a good one, with a little more structure.

I would now like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has played a part for the Saturday 1st team this season:

-Firstly everyone who has played for me throughout the 18 games.

-Secondly to John Weeks who has made my job a lot easier and never once moaned when I robbed him blind of players.

-Jackie Shephard for once again putting out a great spread every week.

-Kevin Fishleigh for always having the bar open, along with painting the line between innings and always there with input at selection.

-Andy Davies for yet another good year of wickets, although the weather usually didn't help.

-My wonderful wife to be Hannah, who supported me and the team at practically every game, and with that also all the other WAGS and supporters who are all so important to the club.

-Jolyon Huxtable, who this season has been an absolute Godsend. Without him not only would I be pulling my hair out trying to get a scorer every week, but I also would be completely stuck for transport most away games.

-Lastly anyone who has supported the club, and anyone who has read my blog! My apologies if I've forgotten to thank anybody, so if you feel your name should be there then consider yourself thanked.

Hope to see you all at the annual dinner and senior presentation evening onFriday 14th October, contact Jim Lowe for details.

Also congrats to Ian Hayter and his merry men on winning NDL Division 1, top effort guys.

This is me signing off for the season. Thanks again

Chris

Sat 27th Aug

 Not enough effort...

Game 17, an away match at Hatherleigh. For the first time this season we have an unchanged team.

I lose the toss and am asked to bat on a wet wicket. After a positive first 3 overs it all went downhill and we are bowled out for just 99, with Matt making 20 odd, fordy 20 and Dan 12.

After tea (which turned out to be the highlight of the day) we took to the field without the conviction we should have, and it was not long before Hatherleigh chased down the runs with the loss of only one wicket.

It was a bit embarrassing this week to lose by 9 wickets, but it was a hard game to focus on this week with nothing to play for and i think a few players didn't treat the game as seriously as maybe we should have, myself included after last weeks win had put us safe. I think now on reflection this game has given us a bit of incentive to finish the season off with a win next week at home to Kingsbridge.

Chris

Sat 20th aug

Game 16, a bit more of a challenge at home to Seaton. Fordy's back in for Jack and Webby's back to replace John Weeks. With a dry but overcast morning and a bit of a green wicket bowling first seemed the obvious decision, so after winning the toss, much to everyones amazement (and a little help from Josh's coin selection) I did just that.

Pete opens up the hill and it only takes him 3 balls to claim a wicket, caught behind. Matt Bettiss starts down the hill and soon claims one for himself, caught and bowled. Things go a bit quiet for a few overs but runs are kept to a minimum with Pete having a spell with figures at 1-7 off 7 overs. I come on for a few at the bottom but cannot generate any kind of movement from these new balls so don't stay on for long although I manage to take a wicket for my troubles. Martin takes over from Matt at the top end and after an average first over soon finds his rhythm. Fordy comes on at the bottom and immediately puts pressure on with his nagging line and length. Martin soon realises that his slightly back of length delivery causes the batsmen all kinds of problems and with some good short balls thrown in he was soon in the wickets, his first a well engineered bouncer chipped to mid-on, his second a great ball caught behind by Matt Allin, then 2 clean bowled takes his tally to 4. Fordy's pressure gets him a couple of wickets for himself, both caught at long on by Josh King who ends up with 3 good catches. So with 1 wicket to get  and Martin starting to tire he has to dig deep and find some extra energy, and the first ball of his 12th over gets slashed towards backward point but unbelievably Fordy plucks it out of the sky handing Martin his first and very well deserved 5 wicket haul, finishing with figures of 11.1 overs, 4 maidens, 5 wickets for 32 runs. So with some good bowling and tight fielding, Seaton are all out for 142.

Mike Young and Matt Allin begin the run chase after tea and get off to a solid start before Mike snicks one down the leg side and walks. Webby comes in at 3 and settles atraight in. After a small rain break we continue our pursuit with Matt and Webby looking good and keeping the score ticking along. Matt then edged one to slip after making 42 and is replaced by Will Barratt who supports Webby for a while until missing a straight one. Fordy comes in at 5 with only 16 runs needed to win and does just what he needed to do, but unfortunately with only 2 runs needed Webby splices on to point and leaves the field with 49 but a very good knock all the same. Josh in at 6 gets a shocker of an LBW decision, leaving Dan Barratt to finish off with Fordy who guides one through cover for 4 helping us to a 5 wicket win and 19 points.

So it was a good win this week and a win that see's us mid-table and safe from harm. Congratulations to Martin Stewart on taking his first 5-fer in a terrific spell of bowling, the first I believe of many. Well batted Matt and Webby who set up the win and well done everyone for a good team performance. So with a good team spirit and nothing to play for we can enjoy our last 2 games and I'm sure we'll pick up some good points to help us finish in a respectable position in the final table.

Next week we are away to promotion chasing Hatherleigh.

Chris

Sat 13th Aug 

Early Day..............

Game 15, a long trip to struggling Cockington. Jack Hockin comes back in with Fordy off with pheasants, John Weeks makes his 1st team debut. Once again we travel in the rain but luckily as we head South the skies clear and we arrive at a dry Cockington.

Somehow I lose the toss, but amazingly we are asked to bowl, a decision I think based on Cockington not having a full team yet.

Pete Waterman starts things off with Matt Bettiss at the other end. It was clear from the start that Cockington were under par and it wasn't long before Matt claimed a wicket as Dan Barratt takes a good catch at mid-off. Pete bowled well beating the bat on numerous occasions finally being rewarded with a wicket ending with 1- not many off 9 overs. Cockington struggled as wickets fell regularly with Matt finishing with figures of 4-35 off 13, frustratingly not being able to get the 5th. Martin Stewart bowled too well for them bowling 5 overs with 3 wickets for 5 runs, great figures that could have been even better if he hadn't bowled 5 wides! Josh finished things off needing just 2 balls to take the final wicket leaving a 10 man Cockington all out for 55 in 27.2 overs.

So we set about the challenge of 56 to win off 64 overs. Matt Allin and Mike Young start well batting cautiously but scoring off the bad balls. Mike then fell victim to the poor wicket, spooning a long hop to cover for 20. We then lost another quick wicket leaving us with a maximum of 19 points available. Matt didn't want to drag on the inevitable so struck a few boundaries to get us within 2 to win. A wide levelled the scores, then Will Barratt hit a 4 for the win in only 9.5 overs.

So, a well needed win but not one we'll remember for the right reasons. Cockington are obviously a team that are struggling, which is a shame, but we still had to win the game and we did this easily. Apologies to those who travelled to Torquay and didn't get a game but another week we would be glad not to get a go. Next week we face Seaton at home and a win here will surely see us ok for the rest of the season enabling us to enjoy our cricket and play as we all can do!

Chris

Sat 6th Aug

Lewdown too strong...again...

Game 14, an away trip to an unbeaten Lewdown. Not an easy week for selection but with 2 available spaces, Dan Barratt and Pete Stevens step up.

So we leave Bideford in very heavy rain to arrive at Lewdown to quite pleasant conditions and a dry wicket. So after deciding this week to lose the toss we were put in to bat.

Matt Allin and Mike Young open up this week to face a much talked about bowling attack, things started fairly well until Matt edged one behind bringing tactically placed Pete Stevens in at 3. Our plan seemed to be working with Pete showing no respect and getting after the bowlers until receiving a suspect caught behind decision. Will Barratt came in at 4 and after a gritty few overs settled in with Mike in a great, well timed partnership of 103 in 23 overs setting the innings up for a potentially good score. Unfortunately Mike (62) and Will (50) fell in successive overs and with 15 overs left no one else really got going. Dan Barratt showed determination against the quicky, Josh was unlucky to be run out via the bowlers hand at the non strikers end and after a couple of boundaries I got caught on the line trying to force the issue. So we end up being all out with a total of 169.

So we take to the field with the idea that early wickets may give us a good shout as Lewdown's lower batting order hasn't really been tested this season. It took just 3 balls to make the breakthrough with their opener trying to take a quick single to Josh at cover who only needed one stump to hit and claimed the run out by a couple of yards. 4 overs later Josh was in the action again at cover, taking a catch off Matt Bettiss' bowling. But once again after being in a good position we begin another wicket drought with Lewdowns overseas striking the ball to all areas. Only Martin Stewart showed any force with the ball in a good spell of 3-34, this though wasn't enough as a couple of dropped catches gave them every chance to get the runs which they duely did with overs to spare.

So with a 5 wicket defeat in a performance for us containing plenty of ups and downs. Mike and Will batted very well, Martin Stewart bowled well and generally the fielding was good apart from some dropped catches and dropped heads.

With the bottom end of the table tightening up we have it all to play for for the rest of the season, starting with Cockington next week.

Chris

Sat 30th July

Close finish..........

Game 13, at home to 2nd placed Clyst Hydon. James Starkey is back in place of Fergie. With a terrential downpour on Friday evening the wicket was predictably damp so it was clear once again that bowling first was the obvious choice after winning the toss, so that was exactly what the Clyst captain did!

Matt Allin and James Ford open and unfortunately neither stay around too long, both falling to Clyst's overseas bowler. Mike Young looked good until taking a very tight single of which he was on the wrong side of a run out appeal. Will Barrett in at 4 with a job to do and it seems he's up to the job. Not much support for Will until Josh King comes in at 7, the pair batting very well together in a partnership of 94, a partnership that saved the innings. With a couple of overs to go Josh was caught trying to boost the score for a ery good 42. Will carried his bat in an excellent knock, on a difficult wicket, for 62 helping us to a reasonable total of 151-6.

After another first class tea we took to the field in good spirit. Early wickets was the order of the day and it wasn't long before Matt Bettiss struck, caught at cover by Josh, a scenario thats becoming quite familiar. With Pete bowling tightly at the other end we put pressure on them in the first 10. But as is all too consistant with us this year we struggle to take the next wicket, as Clyst move on to 114-1, but with overs ticking away and spirits still high in the field we have half a chance of the winning draw. Martin Stewart bowled a great spell down the hill going for only 28 off 8 overs. Josh replaced him and also bowled well and claiming a wicket for 25 runs including 2 maidens. Fordy bowled 11 good overs for 1-44. Pete came back on at the end for a couple to end with 1-20 off 8 overs, but by now unfortunately Clyst had managed to scrape over the line with just 2 overs to spare.

So a second consecutive defeat coming at a bad time with next weeks game being away to Lewdown who have won every game they have played, but they have to slip up at some point, so why not against us, with a good fielding performance and the team seeming to gel we will go to Lewdown positively.

Just another mention to Will's innings in which he showed grit and determination and with Josh's help gave us a fighting chance, just a shame we were on the receiving end of the knock out blow.

Chris

Sat 23rd July

Josh in form... Everyone else struggle........

Game 12, away to Stoke Gabriel. I'm back this week, Jack Hockin's in and Fergie comes in for James Starkey. After another long journey we arrive at Stoke Gabriel to a damp looking wicket. After winning the toss we put them in. Things went fairly well for us in the field with some early wickets, Pete bowled extremely well with figures of 1-5 off 6 overs, Matt Bettiss good for 2-44 off 11. Martin Stewart with the exception of a few wides was also good with 1-52 off 11. I had 1-24 off 6 overs, Fordy then finished the overs with 4-39 off 11, and with a run out at the end we managed to bowl them out for 167 with an over to spare.

After tea we went out to bat and this unfortunately is when it all went wrong with only one positive to take from the innings, Josh King came in at 6 with the score on 40-4 to bat brilliantly for 50. Jack Hockin was the next highest scorer with 12. So with the top order failing to make an impression and the tail end failing completely we were all out for 110 and had to walk away with a dissappointing 6 points.

So a bad day at the office as you might say, but not totally negative, we did what we needed to do in the field, we bowled well, took catches and fielded well, with the exception of a couple of loose overs in the middle which cost us a few runs. But obviously the problem was the batting, we struggled against a team that bowled well but were a lot more 'up for it' than we were. If someone could have formed a partnership with Josh it may have been different but in hindsight doesn't get results.

We will need to be on our game next week when we entertain Clyst Hydon, a team with a strong bowling attack!

Chris

Sat 16th July

I was not available this week so sorry no blog, but a losing draw away to Ivybridge and a good job of covering by Matt Allin.

Sat 9th July

Matt's ton seals win.....

Week 10, the first game in the second half of the season, at home to Ashburton. With me away for selection Matt Allin fills in and puts us out a good team with Pete Waterman and Matt Bettiss back and James Starkey playing his first game for us this season. Familiar pitch conditions greeted us, with rain again through the week the wicket was nice and green, so imagine my surprise when I actually won the toss! The decision to bowl was an easy one.

The returning Pete and Matt opened up the attack bowling well early on with Matt dismissing both openers and Pete also claiming an early wicket to restrict Ashburton to 33-3. The visitors middle order knuckled down for a while, Josh and I bowled some tight overs  with me taking a wicket thanks to a superb one handed slip catch by Will Barrett. Mike Young bowled 5 good overs for 22 before Pete and Fordy saw the innings through. Pete took another wicket to end with figures of 2-38 off 12 overs while strike bowler Fordy took another 3 for 35. So with the help of a few slip drives and even more dropped catches, Ashburton finished on 181-9.

We came out after tea with a change in the batting line-up, with Matt opening with Will after his good hundred last Sunday. They put on 49 for the first wicket before Will was trapped LBW for 19. Mike came in at 3 to bat with Matt, who once again on a wicket still favouring the bowlers, was playing a watchful/patient innings, putting away the bad ball when it arrived. Mike looked set intil he edged one to gully for 36. Webby came in at 4 with 57 still needed for the win and with Matt in such good touch it was clear he was going to try and see it through. The pair batted well against a fairly good bowling attack picking up runs steadily. By now we were getting close, as was Matt to a century, with 12 needed to win he needed all of them. Webby must haved sensed this giving Matt all the strike and in a fitting end to a great knock he got the runs for his ton and more importantly for our win.

So a good win with good bowling to start and a very nicely timed run chase to finish. Only one thing could have improved things slightly and that would have been to hold more catches, a problem that cost us a point. But overall a very good performance with Matt allin being the stand out star of the day with 3 catches behind the stumps and an unbeaten hundred.

Following the match we held an evening at the club for our South African Mike, in which he cooked us some SA sausage that inspired the comment of the day from Josh King, I quote 'I think that is cows penis you're eating' to which it was pointed out to him that cows don't actually have a penis 'don't they?' he replied. With some fun and games and plenty of drink by some (well mainly Fordy!) a good night was had by all.

Next week we make the trip to Ivybridge in a game being led by vice captain Matt Allin in my absence.

Chris

Sat 2nd July

Long journey not worthwhile.

Week 9 and our longest trip of the season, 2 1/2 hours to Kingsbridge. With pete not back in time to travel and Matt Bettiss not available, Dan Barratt fills the vacant bowling position and George Laing comes in for Fergie. Glorious weather showed us a perfect looking batting track so it was no surprise Kingsbridge elected to bat after i lost the toss again.

 I started the innings with the ball while Josh opened up the other end. It was a fairly decent start with the wicket not playing quite as truely as it looked but with a lightening out-field anything half timed went to the boundary. Josh bowled a good 7 overs to be replaced by Martin. I bowled steadily to be rewarded with figures of 4-51 off 13 overs. Martin bowled well at the other end to claim 2-49 off 13 including an amazing catch by Webby at gully, getting his hand under an almost unreachable catch to palm it up and take the rebound. Fordy bowled well again to finish off one end with 3-22. Dan Barratt finished off the other end with 3 good overs, and with a run out in the final over Kingsbridge were all out for 177.

  We came out after tea with confidence knowing that with our depth in batting we SHOULD be able to get the runs needed. Things didn't go at all to plan with us failing to even look like getting the runs crashing all out for 108 with only Matt Allin(31), Mike Young(17) and George Laing(11) managing double figures. So a 69 run defeat and only 6 points.

 It was a long way to go to be beaten by a side i felt we should have taken control over, but thats cricket and it goes to prove you can't be complacent, no matter how many batsmen you have in the team you still need to get the runs. With the mid-lower table being so close it makes next weeks game an important one, at home to an already beaten Ashburton.

Chris

Sat 25th June

Week 8, at home for a local(ish) derby against Hatherleigh. Will Barratt, back from Uni plays his first game of the season for us and Fergie replaces Dan. Heavy rain Friday afternoon and evening and overcast conditions once again made the toss very important, and guess what? ....yes I lost it again! Of course we were asked to bat.

We got off to a reasonable start, Matt went for 8 but Fordy and Mike settled to take us to 63-1. Fordy then went to a good catch for 31 and Mike got bowled for 27. Not really anything else to report on the innings other than a little cameo at the end by Matt Bettiss (18no). So we finished off 115 all out, probably 40/50 runs short.

After teawe went out positively knowing we had to take our chances. Matt Bettiss and I started fairly well with Matt taking an early wicket. But then we had another of our wicket droughts with Hatherleigh moving on to 74-1 with 30 overs left to go. Fordy did his usual and claimed 3 wickets for 26, Josh bowled very well down the hill and got himself a wicket. Alex Crisp bowled a couple of tidy overs and with a run out as well that was about it. Although we bowled well in the later stages of the innings it wasn't enough as Hatherleigh eased to a 4 wicket win.

Some positives to be taken from this game, we fielded well and took our catches, unfortunately we didn't get that many, and we fought right until the end, if we'd have managed a few more runs on the board we would have had a very good chance of winning. With 1 more game before we finish the first half of the season there's still plenty of opportunity, so we will make the long drive to Kingsbridge next week looking to redeem ourselves.

Chris

Sat 18th June 

Back to back wins............

Game 7, an away trip to Seaton and with Sam Allin off travelling and Pete Waterman on holiday Jack Hockin comes in and Alex Crisp makes his first team debut. So with an unpredictable weather forecast and a wet North Devon we set off on the long journey to Seaton not knowing how much of a game we were going to get in. We arrived in good time to damp but promising conditions. Once again it seemed a crucial toss to win and it appears Seaton's skipper shared my misfortune with the coin as on this occasion I actually won and obviously decided to put them in.

With Pete missing, Matt Bettiss opened procedings with me at the other end. Things went well from the start with pressure from both ends forcing alot of false shots.  This pressure paid off as I finally made a breakthrough, clean bowling one of the openers. Matt then soon claimed another from the other end with Fordy taking a sharp catch on the drive. Matt finished his spell after 9 overs with 1-36 to be replaced by Martin Stewart, I continued to bowl all my 13 overs claiming 2 more wickets to finish with 3-24 off 13 overs. Fordy came on at my end and with some good pressure at the other by Martin he soon got in on the action with Mike taking an easy catch in the deep. Josh took over from Martin to bowl the last 4 his end while Fordy bowled through bagging  another 2 finishing with 3-20 off 10. So at the end of the innings although we only managed to take 7 of Seatons wickets our tight bowling restricted their total to 147.

After tea Matt and Fordy went out to begin our run chase. Seatons bowling attack seemed reasonably tame but with the wicket still doing a bit it wasn't going to be easy. With Fordy giving way to Mike after 8 overs it was down to Matt to knuckle down again and for Mike to do what he does best. This was the last partnership we needed as Matt 58no and Mike 63no saw us home with a very solid and sensible pair of knocks giving us a win and 18 points.

So our second win in 2 weeks, but a much more convincing one with all aspects of our game coming together well with the exception of our catching which could possibly of gotten us all 20 points if we had held on to a couple of tough chances, but all in all a very good win.

Things look promising for us at the moment and with 2/3 more players becoming available over the next couple of weeks we should be putting out 2 good teams every Saturday. Next week we have a home game against our most local opposition Hatherleigh in a game we are looking to keep up our form.

Chris

Sat 11th June

 A well needed 20 points

Game 6, at home to bottom of the league Cockington, Sam Allin and Dan Barratt replace Ian and Jack. With a mixed week of weather i was keeping an eye on the forecast and friday night the forecast was promising, so when it started raining on saturday morning we just had to hope it would clear up! Luckily clear up it did but with a now fairly wet wicket it was an important toss to win. Once again, continuing my form with the coin I lost and was asked to bat.

 Matt and Fordy to open again, and as expected there was plenty in the wicket for the seam bowlers making it tricky to get the ball away early on going at only 1 an over for the first 7. Fordy and Mike both fell to deliveries popping off the pitch. Matt looked determined not to give anything away looking watchful and solid, he was then supported well by Webby who also played sensibly to drag the innings back a bit for us making 28 in a stand of 95 with Matt. Sam Allin came in at 5 and carried on where Webby left off with a good 25. Matt had by now started to play shots and scored quickly, unfortunately he was run out but not before scoring an excellent 102 turning the innings around and securing us full batting points. With the tail adding a few we managed to reach a total of 220.

 After tea it was all change for the opening bowlers with Pete starting up the hill and Matt Bettiss down. It was a good start with Pete taking 2 early wickets in a great spell and Matt claiming 1 putting Cockington on 5-3 off 8 overs. Martin Stewart then bowled 8 good overs down the hill taking 1-32. Cockington's skipper Andy Hele had by now batted them back in the game needing 90 to win off 13 overs before Fordy once again worked his magic, dismissing him, caught and bowled. All we needed to do now was to take the last 4 wickets in 8 overs. Pete came back on for a couple more good overs finishing with figures of 2-12 off 10 overs. Fordy continued with his nagging line and length taking a couple more wickets to finish with 4-32 off 10. Josh King then came on down the hill to finish off, and finish off he did taking 2-2 off 2.1 overs with the 2 runs being wides from his first 2 balls.

 So there we have it, 20 points and a good win although not a tottaly convincing one. Don't get me wrong, 20 points is great but i feel we maybe should have dominated this game a bit more, but onwards and upwards and lets continue the winning form next week when we travel to Seaton.

  Chris

Sat 4th June

Game 5, a home match against league leaders Lewdown. Jack Hockin playing his first game for us this year and Ian Hayter comes in to add a bit of experience in the middle order. With the sun shining all morning it looked set to be a good day for cricket. Once again I lost the toss and once again we were put in to bat.

Fordy and Matt started the innings off to face yet another pacey over-seas bowler, this time a big South African. After a few overs some light but persistent rain came from seemingly nowhere and what started off a good dry wicket now had a nice wet layer on top, enhancing Lewdown's seam bowling attack. Unfortunately for us they used this to their advantage and bowled us out for just 96, Webby the only batsman to make any impact with 32. Matt Bettiss had a good go at the end with 15no.

With us only lasting 29 overs we had to go straight back out to field for 35 mins before tea, and with any rain passed by and the wicket dried out we could only hope for some quick early wickets. This did not happen and we went in for tea with Lewdown nearly halfway to the total. After tea we set about trying to get some wickets with an attacking field and regular bowling changes, unfortunately by the time Lewdown reached our 96 we had only managed to take 2 wickets, 1 for Josh and 1 for Martin, giving us just 1 point for our efforts.

We were completely out played by Lewdown plain and simple! I'm sure we will take all the lessons we can from this game and carry them forward to next week when we entertain bottom side Cockington where we need to cash in, as I'm sure we will do.

Chris

Sat 28th May 

Mike and Pete hold out for draw

Game 4, an away match to an in-form Clyst Hydon with Webby not available this week George Laing made his Saturday firsts debut. After driving most of the way in the rain we arrived to a dry but rain threatening Clyst Hydon. I inspected the wicket which resembled a strip not of this continent, dry, flat, cracked and hard, so with the potential of rain interuption I decided after winning the toss to bowl first.

We started the innings in light drizzle with a change in the usual opening pair, Martin Stewart given the new ball alongside Pete. A 20 minute rain break after a couple of overs saw the match reduced to 44 overs per side. Martin bowled well on a wicket which suited back of a length even with his spike-less boots on a damp surface. Pete bowled tight line with enough pressure to claim one of the openers fairly early on. Unfortunately this began another one of our wicketless patches with myself, Matt Bettiss, Josh and Dan all bowling reasonably well finding edges but no fielders! Fordy then once again came on tempting the batsmen into shots claiming himself another 3 wickets. Clyst finished on 276-4 a good score but on a flat pitch was quite acheivable.

Matt and Fordy opened up to face Clyst' rapid Sri Lankan. Matt fell early with Mike an at 3. Mike looked to be the only batsmen able to cope well with the Sri Lankanpace and bounce as wickets tumbled around him. George Laing came in at 8 and made a decent 23 giving some support to Mike who was looking in gret touch. But when Clyst brought their quickie back on for his last 4 overs it looked like their plan was going to work, taking 3 quick wickets. So with us 9 down it looked like our chances of a losing draw were dead and buried, that was until Pete Waterman came to the wicket with 12 overs to bat out. He offered great support to Mike who managed to take our score up to 200 for an extra point. Pete's grit and determination managing to bat out 24 balls was superb enabling us to scrape a losing draw and 9 points. But the real star and saviour of the match was once again Mike Young who's maturity and positivity saw us to the end in a magnificent knock of 103no.

So to sum up, to get 9 points out of a game which at one stage looked to be long lost was a good effort. We still need to address the problem of not taking early wickets as I'm sure if we can expose the oppositions tails we can get through them easily. also we can't keep relying on Mike with the bat, we need to strengthen the middle order and us senior players need to make runs. This I'm sure will happen with the quality of players in the side and when it does we will be a team no-one will want to be playing.

Next week we are at home to promotion favourites Lewdown, a good chance to bounce back on home soil.

Chris

Sat 21st May

Reality check for the 1st's 

Game number 3 for the Saturday 1st team at home to Stoke Gabriel, another tem we knew little about. With no obvious solution to our vacant batting position Fergie stepped up from the seconds to take it on. Once again the wind was up and the pitch was dry and hard and again the ideal thing for us would have been to bowl first, but fortune was not on our side as I lost the toss and was asked to bat.

Fordy and Matt started things off again in light drizzle which made the ball nip about. Stoke had a very decent opening bowling attack but Matt and Fordy seemed to equal it in an opening stand of 71 before a bit of confusion between the wickets saw Fordy run out fro 25. Matt went on to make 53 but his departure started the decline of the innings with the next best partnership being 40 for the 9th wicket between myself (23) and Martin Stewart (18no). Martin and Pete managed to see the overs out helping us to a reasonable total of 188-9.

After another fine tea (but possibly too much) we took to the field thinking that if we bowled well and took our chances we had a very good chance of a result. This plan didn't seem to take affect with the first four seamers not really looking like taking a wicket (except for a dropped catch by the captain). With Stoke past 100 after 20 overs without losing a wicket it was time to bring the spinners on to try and buy a wicket. Nothing went our way and heads dropped, all we could do was keep going and try to take a few wickets. With a change of ends for Fordy, Martin Stewart came on downhill for what I think was the spell of the day, beating the bat at least 4 balls an over, this pressure forced errors at the other end enabling Fordy to take 4-49 off 13 overs, Martin finished with figures of 0-24 off 10.2 overs, a tremendous effort. With the help of a run out Stoke were 5 down but unfortunately walked over the line with3 overs to spare, after being 145-0 it was a good fight back for us but the lack of early wickets obviously cost us the game, a problem I think we need to address.

So with a defeat to our name we have to re group and come out fighting next week in our away fixture to a tipped Clyst Hydon, but with the players we have I'm sure this won't be a problem as long as we get the basics right!

Chris

   Sat 14th May

 Game number two in the Devon league and a chance to add to last weeks points at home to an unknown Ivybridge, and being a batsmen short in form Dan Barratt was asked to step up from the seconds.

 Any earlier forecast rain had moved on so with the help of a brisk wind the pitch was dry and hard. Following the previous weeks sucsessful run chase i decided that if i won the toss we would put them in, unfortunately i lost and was asked to bat with an aim to set a good total.

 Matt and Fordy opened up but didn't stay around too long, Fordy caught behind in the first over and Matt caught in the slip in the second. Mike came in at 3 and Webby at 4 with 44 overs still left to bat. Both soon settled and were going well until Webby went for a good 39 in a partnership of 110. With Mike already past 50 Josh came in at 5 and offered good support with 23. Dan came in at 6 and looked solid before getting a slightly suspect LBW decision. Now it was my turn to try to add some and by now Mike had made his way to 99, after a few balls I watched Mike drop the ball into the offside for his first hundred. I struck a few boundaries for my 30 before mis-timing one back to the bowler. Matt Bettiss then came in to see the last 3 overs out with Mike who by the close of the innings had managed to go on to 145 not out  in a superb (almost chanceless) knock. So from a bad start we were able to post a great total of 276-6, now all we had to do was bowl them out on a flat wicket.

After tea we came out positive with Pete opening downhill and me uphill. Pete once again bowled with precise line and length beating the bat with ease, going for only 12 off 6 overs. I also bowled tightly beating the outside edge a few times, going for 14 off 6. With Ivybridge needing 182 to qualify for losing draw points it was clear at this stage that this was their aim. So bowling them out was going to be even more difficult. My only plan now was to keep rotating the bowling and put pressure on them. Matt Bettiss bowled well for no reward. Dave Smale made the first breakthrough in a decent spell. Martin Stewart bowled well after a shakey start claiming a wicket for himself. But the only two bowlers to make an impression were Mike and Fordy, bowling in good areas drawing the batsmen in with figures of 3-24 and 3-45 respectively. So frustratingly after 46 overs Ivybridge finished on 200-8, leaving us with a winning draw and 15 points.

It was a good performance all round with a lot of positives. This game proved that the toss is going to be important to win at Westward Ho! and if we find ourselves needing to bowl sides out we'll have to devise some form of tactics and take chances when they come. Still 15 points is a good result so well done guys and another mention to Mike for a great knock.

Next weeks match is home to Stoke Gabriel so lets keep the points rolling in.

 Chris

 Sat 7th May

The Devon League finally kicked off this week with an away match at newly promoted from the D division Ashburton, a team and pitch we knew very little about. With some last minute adjustments to the team we had a good line up so all we had to hope was that the early weather forecast wasn't going to be true.

We arrived at Ashburton in good time in light rain but nothing to concern us too much and after inspecting the wicket, which had clearly taken a bit of overnight rain, it was obvious we wanted to bowl first, luckily I won the toss and we did just that.

Pete opened up our Devon League campaign with the first over and was immediately in the groove. I started from the other end and after a tight spell Ashburton were under pressure on 28 off 12 overs. Pete then made a breakthrough leaving him with figures of 1-9 off 6 overs. Josh then replaced Pete, and considering a couple of hours before he wasn't quite sure what day it was and could barely talk following a night out with his rugby team, he bowled a good spell taking a wicket with his first ball - a good catch by Fordy in the gully. Matt Bettiss took over from me and bowled a good line and length in a containing spell. But with the wickets not coming it was time for something different, so on came the spinners. Dave Smale, playing his first game for our Saturday 1st team for 26 years, used his experience in a very good spell of bowling claiming 2-28 in 11 overs. But the star of our bowling attack (much to the frustration  of the earlier bowlers) was James Ford, his accuracy and variation was spot on ripping through the bottom order bagging himself a 5 wicket haul and finishing with figures of 6-21 off 7 overs. So after being 100-2 Ashburton slipped to a final total of 136 all out.

So after tea we set about the task in hand and as we had just proved it was not a batsmens wicket, so we knew it wasn't going to be easy, but needing less than 3 an over we could afford to play cautiously, a concept seemingly lost on Matt Allin who got off the mark with a cover drive for 6 and looked to take the attack to them, which was not a bad tactic, unsettling the bowling early on. His opening partner Fordy looked more content to wait for the bad ball and duely put it away when it arrived. Matt went for 16-lbw trying to work one off his legs. Mike young came in at 3 for his first Devon League innings and looked good from the first ball. Fordy miscued one to cover to return to the pavillion with 27. Sam Allin replaced him at 4 and looked solid before coming undone to a seaming delivery. Webby came in at 5 shortly to be replaced by Josh at 6 who played a good watchful innings for a few overs then decided to up the scoring rate, hitting 3 quick boundaries, unfortunately departing soon after for 18. With only 12 more needed to win it was my job to see it through with Mike, I did this with absolutely no contribution, watching Mike  strike three 4's to take us over the line with 18 overs to spare, and take his score onto 56 not out, a tremendous effort on such an unfamilier wicket for him, well batted Mike!

So there we go - off to a winning start, with 19 points. Well done to everyone who played and well done to Josh for even waking up!! Some massive positives to take forward into next weeks match at home to Ivybridge, where hopefully we can keep the momentum going.

Chris