Scorecard

Stokeinteignhead v Erratics Cricket Club Erratics on Sat 06 May 2006 at 2pm
Erratics Cricket Club Lost by 2 wickets

Match report Half-Full or Half-Empty ?

Jonathan Kirby and Andrew McRae

HALF-FULL

Promisingly, there was a cheerful and complete Erratics team at the ground before 2:00pm. It was raining, however, and there were differing opinions on the prospects of getting anything approaching a game. Stoke-in-Teignhead were keen to play too, so when the rain clouds more or less drifted away, the match got underway at 2:45pm, in spite of the wet outfield and the very grey skies.

Having chosen to bat, the Erratics struggled to get going against a pair of good opening bowlers and some great fielding - Paul Molins was removed by a particularly spectacular catch. The outfield also turned many a boundary into just a couple of runs. Sid Thomson (36) was top scorer with a typically patient innings. Others were as Erratic as ever. In the end, a relatively humble total of 116 was accumulated by a batting line-up that might have scored 180 on a better day.

On the plus side, the rain had held off, and everyone got something of a bat. This was for the first or perhaps the second time this season, of course. No wonder there was a bit of rustiness here and there. Hopefully, there'll be a bit less rust and more polish next time!

Take it from me - the tea at Stoke-in-Teignhead is definitely among the top three of the season. Today was no exception. Howard, the Stoke captain, had said he'd have put the Erratics in to bat if he'd won the toss. Clearly, tea is part of a strategy to disable the side that fields second...

"If the Erratics have a problem, it isn't catching." (Boom boom! Thank you, John Pearson)

If we had held our catches, the outcome could easily have been very different. Peter Edwards took a wicket with his first ball as an Erratic bowler, and then saw two catches dropped in the next five balls. David Pearson bowled well, taking three wickets. Andrew McRae bowled an excellent spell, James Burrows was threatening, and Messrs Molins and Horne contributed effectively. Sid Thomson got three stumpings.

Stoke scraped home with five overs to spare with just a couple of wickets in hand - and very nearly only one. It was a low-scoring game, but a close one. All three results were possible until very, very late in the game, which was played in great spirits. When defending a low total, the important thing to remember that it's always possible for the opposition to score one run fewer. Stoke nearly did - because the Erratics didn't ever give up hope.

And we did actually get a game, thanks to a break in the weather. In fact, the combination of clouds an sunshine over Dartmoor made for spectacular views to be enjoyed by anyone who wasn't fielding or batting with complete attention...!

HALF-EMPTY

‘We were rotten at all aspects of the game, but still came close’ (Peter Thompson).

Erratics 116 defeated by Stoke-in-Teignhead 8/119

Marginally less rotten than the rest of us were Sid Thompson (36 and three stumpings) and David Pearson (three wickets). In addition, Nick Birbeck looked good for a while, Molins, Weiler, and Kirby all clubbed a few runs, Pete Edwards took a wicket with his first Erratics delivery, and Molins and Horne threatened to snatch the game with some spin in the final overs.

Peter tells me we need to attack the ball more in the field. With respect, I’d suggest that we have higher priorities than than. If we can learn to hit straight balls on middle-stump, bowl in such a way that the ball bounces once (and only once) before reaching the batsman, call for catches, and then take some of those catches, we might stand a chance against a team like Stoke-in-Teignhead. I still owe this website a match report on a game at Dunsford last year, when we held just about every catch that came our way, so I know it’s possible to do better.

But let’s be grateful to Stoke-in-Teignhead. They have a lovely ground and they always give us a good match.

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
5nb 8w 5b 1lb 
for 10 wickets
19
116		        
Paul Molins Caught  8
Ken Horne Caught  1
Sid Thomson Caught  36
Andrew McRae Bowled  0
Nick Birbeck Caught  9
Martin Weiler Bowled  14
Jonathan Kirby Caught  13
David Pearson Bowled  9
Peter Edwards Caught  0
James Burrows Bowled  5
John Pearson  

Stokeinteignhead Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
No records to display.

Stokeinteignhead Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 2w 1b 1lb 
for 8 wickets
5
119 (32.1 overs)		     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
James Burrows6.012100.003.50
Andrew McRae8.021500.001.88
Paul Molins7.0028128.004.00
David Pearson6.0032310.675.33
Peter Edwards2.00515.002.50
Ken Horne3.101427.004.42