Slow going in grinding victory
Harberton, Devon, 6/10/2016
Strongroom won by 6 wickets
Harberton: 114-1 [N.Tobias 44*]
Strongroom: 115-4
View the Scorecard
We all arrived in Harberton in good time, bar Olly Moore who was cycling in from elsewhere in the South Hams, courtesy of some extended paternity leave. In terms of the touring party, we were exactly 11 - with some late withdrawals from David Gower (illness), Will Davies and Adrian Horne (house extensions) and James Schneider (political activity). However, we also had the return of The Orme, after a two year absence.
The weather conditions were unusual for Harberton - there was no crosswind, and the sky was cloudy and still. Harberton won the toss and batted, and unusually for a 20 overs game, finished on 114-1. The surface was damp, slow and bouncy, and the ball difficult to time. Wing (31*) in particular played and missed many times, and Noah (44*) was the pick of the three Harberton batsmen to bat. Tim Moore achieved some good pace and bounce, but unfortunately Joe received a nasty injury to his thumb as he absorbed a firmly smashed drive off his bowling. Olly Moore finally appeared, cycling up the field, and both teams weren’t quite sure how decent a total 114 was in these conditions.
As it was, Jon (29*) and Harry (35) put on a solid platform of 50 for the first wicket, and although Harry’s dismissal (a smart stumping by veteran gloveman Bill Scott) prompted a drop in the run rate and a flurry of wickets, we got to the total with seven balls to spare. Jon Seager bowled nicely and tossed it up above the batsmen’s eyeline. However, we were determined to get our first tour win since 2014.
As usual we had a great evening in the Church House Inn, and a cooked breakfast the following morning.
Written By: J.Gower
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