Match
Stoke Gabriel Vs Kilmington - 26/07/08 - Away - Francis Clark Devon Cricket League - C Division - 1st XI
Line Up
Steve Tolley*
Bill Alcock
Rob Baker
Dave Bolland
Mark Newman
Jamie Day
Paul Collings
Adam Newman
Adam Castle
Nick Sandbrook
Mark Jackson
Result
Stoke Gabriel win by 6 Wickets
Report
Nick Sandbrook
reporting from the Maurice Beaviss Memorial Ground, Kilmington
Stoke Gabriel's
rollercoaster of a season continued at picturesque Kilmington on
Saturday, in a return to the scene of the horrific massacre of 2007,
where their promotion dreams were shattered by the rampant villagers,
which led to the team bus being overturned by enraged supporters, and
the ensuing three nights of violence in the parish, dubbed the "Aish
Riots" by journalists.
Stoke finally laid to
rest the Kilmington hoodoo, aided notably by returns to form
from boundary botherer Steve Tolley, and medium pacer Nick Sandbrook,
with valuable contributions from Robert Baker, Adam Castle and a crowd
pleasing Jamie Day cameo.
With a midnight
departure, Stoke's wagon train wound into East Devon without the
tactical majesty of skipper Neil "Fingers" Robinson, who was in Cheriton
Fitzpaine attending a march against the abolition of slavery, leaving
his Lieutenant, The Irvine Mattress to lead his troops into the Maurice
Beaviss Memorial Ground, greeted by a hostile home crowd, whilst a
wicker effigy of Sean Dwyer still smouldered high on the hillside.
Against all odds, the
Mattress won the toss, and soon inserted the hosts to bat on a track
hardened by a rare day of sunshine. Australian sensation Mark Jackson,
buoyed by eleven wickets his previous two outings, and Sandy, dismayed
by eleven wickets in his last two seasons, seized the new ball, and
began the offensive.
Sandy, back from a
whirlwind visit to Hollywood where he has agreed to take the lead role
in a film charting Brad Pitt's life, for once struck early, removing
Hellier for 4 with a caught and bowled that sent his finger spiralling
into orbit, and soon after sent Cook back to the hutch for 1, caught at
mid off in the reliable hamper sized digits of the mattress. The former
Totnes seamer was beating the bat with such a degree of regularity that
Social Services were called, and with Jacko extracting lift and pace,
Kilmington were reeling at 27-2 off 8 overs.
However, home skipper
Ian Gooding was proving a competent foe, and the removal of Cook sent
Gooding's sibling Tim to the centre. So often Stoke's nemesis, the
Barbarian began where he'd previously left off, bludgeoning the ball
around the arena, his Claymore flashing with every swipe, much to the
disgust of Monkey in the covers. The Mattress removed his opening
attack, and opted for Bubba from the Pervert's Den Road End, and Davie
Bolland from the Church End with little success. Hawk's offered a
decidedly expensive spell which sent scoreboard operative Dave Worth
desperately calling for more ink, and with Bubba seemingly under par
following some lusty brotherly hitting, the skipper turned to leading
wicket taker Adam Castle. Clopper's initial spell was indifferent, as
both batsman tucked into the buffet to reach half centuries, which led
to the recall of Jacko and the switching of 3 bats to the P D End.
The Mattress, aided by
enigmatic vibemaster Paul Collings from mid-wicket attempted to lift his
side's spirits, and at 143-2 with 16 overs remaining, Kilmington once
again looked set to destroy Stoke's season. Then, across the dry air,
the sound of bugles calling and Armagnac swilling around an absurdly
oversized snifter drifted into earshot. The crowd encircling the pitch
gasped and parted in a cloud of cheroot smoke, as an elegant ivory
sedan chair was hoisted across the boundary ropes, and from within, the
skipper Robbo, his brocade neckerchief flapping in the breeze, hailed
his supporters, as it weaved across the pitch.
Spirits lifted,
Clopper struck, sending Ian Gooding packing, stumped, for a well
crafted 67, following good work from Billy Alcock. Sandy returned, and
although initially dispatched into the confines of number 32's garden
party, dusted the salad dressing from the ball to tear through the
lacklustre Kilmington middle order, seeing Wickrantarine and Dixon
caught brilliantly in the deep by Monkey and Jacko, before ending Tim
Gooding's reign of terror for an aggressive 88, to record his first five
wicket haul for his adopted club after 312 games. Long soon followed,
caught Mattress, bowled Sandy (6-49), before Clopper's Anthrax laced
dandelion leaves proved too tempting to the Kilmington stragglers, as
the home side inexplicably dipped to 212 all out in the final over,
which included another smart stumping, this time by Adam Newman,
deputising for the Fish, who was off nursing a sprained fin.
Stoke's reply started
confidently. With veteran Kilmington swinger Maurice Beaviss absent
following his decision to tour with reformed 70's rock band Jefferson
Airplane, Kilmington's attack lacked it's usual threat, and The Mattress
and The Fish, in his trademark wide-brimmed straw sunhat, began
to confidently settle into the best opening partnership since 1986. Ben
Noble, with ten Stoke victims in the last two meetings lacked his usual
bite, and the svelte Seeward struggled miserably on his call into 1st XI
action, as the score raced to 74-0 before the Fish fell to Tim Gooding,
for a solid 18.
Luggy Jnr, his stature
somehow genealogically appropriate, trotted to the arena, and
immediately stamped his authority on the proceedings, confidently
dispatching the selection of loose deliveries to all corners of the
park, with his best innings of the season to craft a mature 61, in a
partnership of 143 with the Mattress, that confirmed his status as one
of the most promising batsman in the Aish Parish. As Kilmington wilted,
Luggy raced past Tols in a beligerant innings containing 8 boundaries,
including a superb hook shot, rocking back nonchalently, into the
Community Centre, before he fell, somewhat harshly, LBW to Dixon. With
just 35 required from 10 overs, Stoke were cantering home. Tony Hawk
backtailed to the dancefloor, his trucks freshly oiled, his calculator
at the ready to record his ever increasing average, until disaster
struck when he fell without scoring, In despair, the skateboarding
allrounder chained himself to the stumps and refused to accept his
demise, until he was coaxed back to the pavilion with an offer of some
free bearings and a Barrington Levy bootleg.
Hawk's was soon
followed back on the pavilion trail by Tols. The veteran scrumpy-fuelled
run accumulator (42) recorded his 3,245th half century since 2001 with a
vintage 85, rolling back the years with an innings of patience and
courage, before fatigue set in, and he fell, inexplicably, to Seeward
LBW, with Zimbabwean beauty Julie, showing her contempt for the decision
from square leg.
At 198-4, silence grew
over the Stoke support, and as Monkey (8*) waited patiently in the
middle, his quartz zircona earrings glinting in the sun, the Mattress
unleashed the beast. Bubba burst from his shackles and rampaged to the
square, and soon the game was won, as Bubba launched Seeward high into
the Pervert's Paradise and beyond, to close on 12 not out (1 ball, 0.1
mins), in his most competent innings in a Stoke shirt thus far, and to
end the contest.
A superb chase and
victory, from Stoke, who once again have propelled themselves onto the
fringes of the promotion race. Consistency and importantly a winning
team mentality is the key now for Robbo's Army, and with the Mattress
soon to jet off from the battle to France, it's essential the Stoke Army
pull together going into the final month of the season. Next Saturday
they host Championship favourites Clyst Hydon at the J E Eastley
Memorial field, in another must win game, which could see the return of
the skipper to the fray, in front of a capacity crowd.
Pimms
Moment: Luggy Jnr's hook shot
into the Community Centre - Majestic
Too
Many Churchwards Moment: PC,
disgusting behaviour in emptying the beer garden at the quaint Old Inn
Tavern, Kilmington
Scorecard
1st Innings - Kilmington
| Batsmen | How Out | Bowler | Total | ||||||
| 1 | R Hellier | Caught & Bowled | Sandbrook | 4 | |||||
| 2 | I Gooding | Stumped Alcock | Castle | 67 | |||||
| 3 | D Cook | Caught Tolley | Sandbrook | 1 | |||||
| 4 | T Gooding | Bowled | Sandbrook | 88 | |||||
| 5 | I Wickrantarine | Caught M Newman | Sandbrook | 1 | |||||
| 6 | G Dixon | Caught Jackson | Sandbrook | 15 | |||||
| 7 | A Long | Caught Tolley | Sandbrook | 2 | |||||
| 8 | S Thomas | Caught & Bowled | Castle | 0 | |||||
| 9 | R Cook | Not Out | 17 | ||||||
| 10 | B Noble | Bowled | Castle | 0 | |||||
| 11 | C Seeward | Stumped A Newman | Castle | 0 | |||||
|
Overs |
46 |
Extras |
18 |
Total |
212 | ||||
| O | M | R | W | |
| M Jackson | 11 | 3 | 49 | 0 |
| N Sandbrook | 13 | 2 | 49 | 6 |
| D Bolland | 6 | 0 | 40 | 0 |
| J Day | 4 | 1 | 17 | 0 |
| A Castle | 12 | 3 | 50 | 4 |
2nd Innings - Stoke Gabriel
| Batsmen | How Out | Bowler | Total | ||||||
| 1 | S Tolley | LBW | Seewood | 85 | |||||
| 2 | B Alcock | Bowled | T Gooding | 18 | |||||
| 3 | R Baker | LBW | Dixon | 61 | |||||
| 4 | D Bolland | Caught Thomas | T Gooding | 0 | |||||
| 5 | M Newman | Not Out | 8 | ||||||
| 6 | J Day | Not Out | 12 | ||||||
| 7 | P Collings | ||||||||
| 8 | A Newman | ||||||||
| 9 | A Castle | Clueless | |||||||
| 10 | N Sandbrook | ||||||||
| 11 | M Jackson | ||||||||
|
Overs |
Extras |
30 |
Total |
214/4 | |||||
| O | M | R | W | |
| B Noble | 7 | 1 | 35 | 0 |
| C Seeward | 9 | 0 | 51 | 1 |
| T Gooding | 13 | 0 | 46 | 2 |
| R Cook | 8 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
| G Dixon | 7 | 0 | 29 | 1 |