Harberton again provides great start to the tour
Stonehills, Harberton, Devon, 6/7/2013
Strongroom won by 60 runs
Strongroom: 138-3
Harberton: 78-6
View the Scorecard
We all managed to get to the ground on time this year, thanks to cars setting off from London a bit earlier, to avoid ‘laning’ at insane and dangerous speeds. However, we were missing some big characters from previous tours - namely Orme, Woolhouse and Hem Patel. But we had 10, and it was a very friendly affair against a team many of us knew well.
Harberton had a superb new pavillion to greet us, and there was a ‘quiet’ toss where it was agreed that we would bat first, as touring etiquette often determines. But above all, it was a stupendously attractive evening, with blue skies and a nice breeze coming off a very visible Dartmoor on the horizon to the west. After the wash-out of last season, it made a very pleasant change. In fact, Harberton’s delightful ground was looking lovely in every way, and the playing surface was neatly prepared - much superior to many of the grounds we play on in London.
The two drivers (JG and Alex) were given the honour of batting first, but neither troubled the scorer particularly. Fortunately, Will, Jules and James all biffed some attractive 30s (all retired), and veteran Guy slapped a quick 13 to pull us up to a decent total of 138. Guy’s dismissal was notable for the first time I have seen a human being out by effectively ‘bumming’ his stumps. Such is the exaggerated backwards crouch of Guy’s stance, and elaborate back-lift, he stepped back as the bowler released the ball and ‘buttocked-off’ the bails. Harberton had a nice mix of youngsters and veterans (the oldest at 74), and Dennis, Hutchcroft and the evergreen Trigger were the pick of the bowlers from our assessment.
Harberton found the going tough. Ogvile did hang around for quite a while (to the mild irritation of a few onlookers), and the only batsman to really get on top of the bowliong was Culf, who scored a fine, unbeaten 30. David Gower and Joe Rahman were the pick of the bowlers. But all of this didn’t really matter. It was just a glorious evening to be in this superb setting.
Written By: J.Gower
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