Nearly...but not good enough
Budleigh Salterton, Devon, 12/6/2016
Budleigh Salterton won by 30 runs
Budleigh Salterton: 223-7 [B.Carter 47, M.Junk 53]
Strongroom: 193 [V.Venkateshan 60, J.Kelly 46]
View the Scorecard
We were met in Budleigh with very heavy tropical downpours, but as the pitch was covered, we were good to go. Our bigger concern however was the departure of the Moore brothers, who donned their lycra and headed off for a long-distance cycle trip in preparation for their Italian odyssey. This meant we were down to 9 players, but the oppo were also one down, and agreed to lend us a fielder to shorten the disparity.
Dave P lost the toss, and we bowled first. Budleigh got off to a solid start. Grant bowled well, but the outfield was fast and the ground felt large, and Budleigh were able to pierce the infield and find the boundary at least once an over. Some control was achieved by Jon Gower (2-17), as well as taking a tough running catch at long-on off Joe’s bowling. However, several Budleigh batsmen got reasonable scores, and they finished at a strong 223-7 - very close to last years total.
Again, a great tea, as always.
Off-spinner Craze opened the bowling with three silly-mid-on’s in a row! I have never seen this before, and it was quite unusual. Myself, Jimmy and Harry all got off to reasonable starts, but the wily Craze did for all of us with his shrewd changes of pace and line. Thereupon followed a really good partnership by Vinay (60) and Jules (46), which gradually placed us in a good position to chase 224. However, just as this pair were starting to dominate, Vinay somewhat recklessly ran down the wicket, missed, and was stumped. Soon after Jules followed, and our momentum was fatally dented.
All in all this was another very enjoyable fixture. Vinay was voted Best Tourist, and then we jumped in vehicles and joined the M4! A good tour though...
Written By: J.Gower
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