Guy steals the show with bat and ball
Tucker Oval, East Prawle, Devon, 6/26/2021
Strongroom won by 69 runs
Strongroom: 197-8 [J.Hall 53]
East Prawle: 128 [W.Flanagan 61]
View the Scorecard
And so we worked our way down from Harberton to East Prawle, through the winding sequence of tight lanes and high hedgerows of the South Hams. The campers stopped off at Torcross, where we braved the steep beach gradients and icy temperatures for a mind numbingly cold swim.
As for the cricket, this turned out to be another very enjoyable encounter with a very friendly and accommodating opposition. Rich’s brief innings (9) came to an entertaining conclusion, as he was adjudged plumb lbw, stepping back to pull the female opening bowler, Feest. Jimmy (53) and myself (30) then put on 69 for the second wicket, and while the bowlers beat the bat with some regularity, there were enough loose balls to keep the scoreboard ticking over. In particular it was great to see Jimmy bat in his attractive, fluent style, which made his journey from The North all that more worthwhile. Fenil (30), meanwhile, crafted out a somewhat laboured innings, as he tried to adapt to the vagaries of village cricket and the crafty, veteran bowlers it provides. Then came the highlight of the day - a tremendous cameo from Guy (30*), batting at no.5. Guy hasn’t scored a huge amount of runs in recent years, so this was truly a delight for all to witness, and he batted watchfully, as well as striking a 6 and three 4s. A partnership between Guy and Riaz also provided much entertainment, as the dysfunctional chemistry between these two somehow triggered a breakdown in communication that is typically required for effective running between the wickets. Riaz was eventually run out, much to his dissatisfaction and to everyone else's entertainment. We ended on a very decent 197-8 off 35 overs.
When East Prawle batted, we got off to the best possible start with the opening delivery, as Fenil knocked back the opener’s stumps with a deceptive yorker. Fenil (2-17) was fired up after his batting frustrations, and bowled with genuine gusto. While East Prawle eked out 3-4 potentially promising partnerships, they never quite got their run chase in order, and we eventually won by 69 runs, a somewhat flattering margin of victory. Flanagan (61) in particular batted very well. As for our bowling, we all did enough, and it was particularly good to see Jimmy’s loopy leg-spin back in operation. But again, the highlight of this innings was provided by Guy (2-11), who probably last turned his arm over when the Spice Girls were no.1 and Bill Clinton was POTUS. Guy delighted himself and all his teammates with two LBW scalps, and fittingly took the final wicket to end the match.
The postscript to this match is that heavy overnight rain meant our Sunday match at Budleigh Salterton was cancelled, and our tour was aborted two-thirds of the way through. This was a real shame, as we had a unique collection of individuals gathered in one place, and Guy had one hand on the much-coveted tourist trophy.
As it was, Andy Orme donned his outlandish Rwandan suit for the locals to enjoy and we spent the evening in the excellent Pigs Nose Inn. We will return!
In the image below we see Mario attending to his spikes in front of the EPCC club house.
Written By: J.Gower
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