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Enjoyable friendly ended by the weather

Box Score

Jul. 22, 2009

Today showed how far All Saints have come since last season.  With an injury on Saturday to John Cole and a further two players pulling out hours before the start of play, (dubiously one being James Trott after being spotted emerging from a night club worse for wear in the early hours of the morning) the Saints still managed to field a very competitive team of 11 players.  This shows a big improvement on the previous season, when fielding a full side proved a struggle week after week.

On a wet and windy afternoon and fearing the worst, the captains agreed to reduce this friendly to 30 overs per side, expecting to be on and off the field because of the rain.  After winning the toss skipper Fraser Wallace elected to have a bat.  He chose Michael Nunns and James Wallace to open up and they didn’t disappoint.  In blustery conditions they turned a steady start into solid platform adding 90 runs in 16 overs.  Looking to run everything, Wallace (27) kept rotating the strike allowing the more aggressive Nunns to find the boundary with regular ease.  Nunns reached his half century after creaming a cover drive to the fence.  Wallace was then comically stumped after missing a full toss and slipping when trying to regain his ground.  Promoted up the order Dave Boyland came in at three.  Boyland and Nunns continued the excellent start, with Boyland also managing to find the boundary effortlessly, emphatically drilling a six back over the bowlers head.  Thorncombe brought on the pick of their bowlers, J Barfoot, to tie up the final six overs from one end.  First Nunns, and then Boyland, managed to dispatch Barfoot to the fence, with Nunns blasting a six and four in one over.  Just a couple of balls later Nunns went for one too many and was castled by a full delivery from Barfoot.  This brought to an end an excellent innings of 79 from Nunns, who probably felt his maiden century was there for the taking.  The in-form Richard Keylock was then run out for 2 after a lack of communication meant both Keylock and Boyland were stranded in the middle of the wicket. Boyland managed a few more boundaries before he also succumbed to Barfoot.  Pete Blagdon and Shaun Wells-Burr were unable to add too many more in the closing stages, with All Saints finishing on 153 for 4.

At tea time the heavens opened.  When the rain eased off a pitch inspection proved inconclusive and left the captains undecided about whether to try and start the second innings, but further showers meant no further play was possible.  The All Saints players were dismayed at this, as the much anticipated return of the popular and ever enthusiastic bowling maestro Stephen Morgan would have to wait for another day. 

The game was played in a friendly spirit, with relations very good between both sets of players.  The two sides agreed to try and arrange a 20-20 game one evening later in the season with suggestions of a barbeque and drinks.  The Thorncombe captain even invited the Saints to an ale festival at the ground the following Saturday.