There will be blood
Harberton, Devon, 6/24/2022
Strongroom won by 8 wickets
Harberton: 78
Strongroom: 82-2
View the Scorecard
It was a minor miracle that we managed to get a viable touring party down to Devon, given we were haemorrhaging ‘Room veterans to injury (DP, Riaz, Woolhouse), international darts tournaments (Orme), family (Guy, Hem, Fenil), illness (DG) and other life happenings (A.Jones). On arrival we were greeted with torrential rain for 2-3 hours, and which finally stopped at 5:30pm. Remarkably, due to the grounds superb natural drainage, we managed to start on time and played out a full game.
The green pitch was a touch springy, and the dangerous Shephard (who single handedly defeated us last year) was strangled down leg side off Ankit, a key moment of fortune for us. This was not a full strength Harberton XI, and only Thompson (26) managed a decent score in a disappointing total of 78. Wickets were shared between a resurgent Adrian Horne (3-5), Ankit. and Jimmy’s big loopy leg-breaks.
In our chase, Mitch, in his first game since Rwanda 2020, caressed his first ball for a sumptuous cover drive for four that had onlookers purring with delight. One more cover-drive for four followed with the very next delivery, and he was looking nicely set until he top-edged a short ball into his eyebrow where the seam of the ball split his head, triggering a vigorous flow of blood. We subsequently spent 6 ˝ hours in Torbay A&E, and finally four stitches were applied at 2:30am. From what I understand, Vinay (22*) and skipper Ben (20*) took us to victory with comparative ease.
In this image below we see the game underway, under stormy skies, at the lovely Harberton ground.
Written By: J.Gower
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