Teign Valley v Erratics Cricket Club Erratics on Sat 29 May 2010 at 14.30

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Teign Valley v Erratics Cricket Club Erratics on Sat 29 May 2010 at 14.30
Erratics Cricket Club Won by 26 runs

Match report Match Report by Brian Carpenter

With the Erratics eleven sheltering from the squally rain in the relatively palatial new Teign Valley pavilion, Skipper Thomson braved the elements to go out to the pitch to toss. He returned with the news that we were batting, although I never did find out whether he won or lost the spin of the coin.

Martin Wright and Brian Carpenter were nominated to open and with the rain abating - though it was to return at intervals during the afternoon - they gave the innings a steady start. While the rusty Carpenter, playing his first match since the 75th anniversary game against the Mystics last August, scratched around in characteristically ponderous fashion, the more aggressive and fluent Wright made his way to 17 before the third Valley fielder to receive a chance from him actually managed to catch it. This brought in Jonathan Kirby, who began with a couple of decent shots before deflecting a ball off his pads onto his wicket from well outside leg stump. At this stage, although the start to the innings had been slow, nobody was getting too concerned, but Carpenter’s dismissal for 9, getting a leading edge to the first delivery from the Valley first change bowler, ushered in a typically Erratic collapse. Alan Peacock was bowled for a duck, Sid Thomson was caught off one that stopped, and John Nagle also fell to a catch. The rapid demise of Penny Price and Phil Ellis left us eight down with barely more than fifty on the board, and, although we were playing on a typically capricious Ashton track, it was clear that some serious batting would be required if we were going to post a respectable total.

It was left to Gareth Oughton to stabilize the innings with support from John Curtis and Peter Thomson. Oughton used a profitable combination of lofted chips back over the bowlers’ heads (apparently developed during the winter indoor season) and sliced drives over point to finish undefeated on 32 when the innings closed, Curtis having been dismissed when he wandered out of his crease and the Valley keeper threw the stumps down, and Thomson bowled playing no shot to a straight one.

While our total of 93 was a good deal better than we looked like getting at the nadir of the innings, it was obvious that we were going to have bowl and field very well to defend it.

With the rain returning, the home side’s innings began steadily, although Gareth Oughton, relishing the opportunity to immediately pick up where he had left off with the bat, was working up a good head of steam from the Farm Animals End and was starting to get some dangerous lift from just short of a length.

The Farm Animals End? Well, the ground was surrounded by a range of sheep, cattle and horses, which occasionally interrupted proceedings. For most of the game a single lamb wandered in and out of the dressing rooms, and a somewhat larger sheep stationed itself at deep midwicket during the Teign Valley innings, rather in the manner of the late, lamented Canterbury lime tree (if slightly more animated). Later in the innings a number of cows and calves and a single shire horse decided it was time to wander behind the bowler’s arm, although one of the cows, who clearly attended a cricket-playing school, showed sufficient awareness of cricket etiquette to break its stride at the appropriate moment.

But back to the cricket…

After causing a range of early problems for the home batsmen, Oughton made the first breakthrough, bowling one of the openers with an inswinger, rapidly followed by another couple of the top order, one caught by Kirby and another by Thomson Senior behind the stumps off a steepling late outswinger. In the meantime Alan Peacock had replaced John Nagle at the Pavilion End, and he proceeded to tantalize the batsmen with a range of deliveries which started slowly and lost pace off the pitch. The fielding was also alert and purposeful, and, against this onslaught, the innings gradually but inexorably subsided. The tireless Oughton bowled another couple and had our own Armaan Malhotra caught by the captain to finish with a richly-deserved 6 for 26 from 16 unchanged overs, while the more subtle but still penetrative Peacock benefited from sound catching by himself, Kirby and Wright to take 4 for 30. Teign Valley were all out for 67, leaving the Erratics victors by 26 runs.

Despite the weather, which was changeable, chilly and often wet, this was a really enjoyable game to play in, and, especially, to win. Moreover, in this age of fitness training and energy drinks it was a gratifying throwback to see Gareth produce an outstanding all-round performance fuelled only by coca-cola, beer and fags.

Sir Ian Botham, circa 1981, would surely have approved.

Saturday 29th May
v Teign Valley @ Lower Ashton

Brian Carpenter (report)
John Curtis
Phil Ellis
Jonathan Kirby
John Nagle
Gareth Oughton
Alan Peacock
Penny Price
Peter Thomson (capt, wkt)
Sid Thomson
Martin Wright
====
Paul Campton
Armaan Malhotra

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Batting

Player Name		Runs
extras TOTAL :	8w 3b 2lb for 10 wickets	13 93
Brian Carpenter	Caught	9
Martin Wright	Caught	17
Jonathan Kirby	Bowled	3
Sid Thomson	Caught	7
Alan Peacock	Bowled	0
John Nagle	Caught	8
Penny Price	Bowled	0
Phil Ellis	Caught	1
Gareth Oughton	Not Out	32
John Curtis	Stumped	1
Peter Thomson	Bowled	2

Teign Valley Bowling

Player name	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Average	Economy
No records to display.

Teign Valley Batting

Player name		R
extras TOTAL :	for 10 wickets	0 67 (31.3 overs)

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Bowling

Player Name	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets	Average	Economy
Gareth Oughton	16.0	6	26	6	4.33	1.62
John Nagle	5.0	2	12	0	0.00	2.40
Alan Peacock	10.3	0	30	4	7.50	2.86

Photos and video of Teign Valley v Erratics Cricket Club Erratics on Sat 29 May 2010 at 14.30

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