Scorecard

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics v Mystics and Magicians on Sat 02 Aug 2025 at 2.30pm
Erratics Cricket Club Won by 7 Wickets

Match report Match report by Martin Wright.

The natural world is awash with creatures which flicker into life each summer for the briefest of moments, blaze brightly and then fade. Think of the mayfly; the mosquito; or the male honeybee – a fleeting sojourn, and then gone.

Well, in Mystics and Magicians, Nature has a cricketing parallel. It bursts into life with the sole purpose of invading Cornwall, spends a week ravaging hapless teams across that county, concludes with a final dying flourish against the Erratics, and sinks into oblivion for another year.

Being neither mystical nor magical, I’ve not witnessed this cricketing equivalent of the Viking Hordes at first hand, so can only rely on reports gleaned from bedraggled Erratics staggering back over the Tamar, carrying with them tales of drunkenness and debauchery…

Or was that Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Hindu Kush – “Misfits and Macedonians”? One gets confused…

Anyway, the Mystic Horde, with a generous smattering of camp followers, arrived at Teign Valley on a pearl of a high summer’s day. They were joined by a fine turnout of Erratics past as well as present, including Peter Thomson and Paul Molins, as well as rarely-glimpsed family members, including my granddaughters, Orelie and Effie, who took to scoreboard duties with surprising enthusiasm.

The weather matched the ambience: there is a particularly joyous feel to this annual encounter; like a strikingly successful vast blended family, tussling amicably, yet with the result mattering even less (if that is possible) than normal for an Erratics game. That said, the contest is still keenly…contested.

And so it was this Saturday. Skipper Mark Hailwood lost the toss (or possibly conceded it), and Erratics took to the field. For Mystics, Duncan Chave opened with Adi Borley. They were watchful at first in the face of a lively opening spell from Oscar Cammack at one end and a more restrained but still testing one from Mark at the other. It was Mark who made the first breakthrough, having Adi well caught by George Mather off a skewed lofted drive (thereby enabling the opening partnership to fairly be characterised as “Mis-Hit and Musician”).

This brought Matt Borley to the crease, and he soon proved his worth with some powerful attacking shots, searing across the sunburnt grass to the boundary. Duncan too started to find his flow, despite wearing the rigours of the touring week on his shoulders and, indeed, his back, before both he and Matt were eventually dismissed by Phil Power, the former due to a sharp catch by Nigel Rutherford, the latter well taken by Matt Crawford. Sam Cook kept the scoreboard ticking before being bowled by George Mather. Lee delivered a typically miserly, probing, spell, and Oliver Kirby a more generously spirited one – though he did account for Chris Squire thanks to a brilliant catch from Oscar.

Mystics had among their number someone last seen running riot for Erratics on a North Devon tour back in the days of the Old Queen; a cricketing avatar in human form whose heroic exploits had become almost mythical in Erratics’ memories as the years passed: I speak, of course, of the legend that is Shakatak (who when in earthly form takes the almost human-sounding name of ‘David Shackleton’).

His mythic status sprang back into life in the field, with devastating effect when Erratics dared to go aerial – but more of that later. With bat in hand he stroked the ball cleanly, accompanying a more brutal approach from Mat Ogley, before the latter was snaffled as one of two victims caught by Lee off the bowling of Chris Cook, who had earlier failed to dismiss son Sam. Nigel sent down a couple of decent overs to prove he still had it in him to do so, and Mystics closed on a thoroughly respectable 224.

So: 225 to win in around about 35 overs – a target perfectly balanced between a doddle and inconceivable. Erratics openers Rik and Martin proceeded cautiously at first against some decent opening spells from Matt Cook and Tom Joshi-Hartley, before Rik cut loose, repeatedly finding the boundary in what was to be a pattern throughout his innings. Martin was lucky enough to survive, dropped by Keeper Sid on 1, but then managed to find a few boundaries himself, before driving Matt into the infuriatingly safe hands of Shackleton, diving forward at cover.

Matt Crawford was similarly unlucky to pick out Shakatak off Matt Borley, as was Lee, who skied one after a brisk but all-too-brief cameo.

Mystics’ bowlers kept the lid at least partially on the steam engine that was Rik, with Cooks Matt and Sam, along with Fraser Chave, giving little away, but unable to effect a breakthrough.

And throughout, Rik proceeded serenely, sometimes brutally: anything short was summarily despatched with a pull, a cut or a backfoot spank through the covers; anything temptingly full was at risk of being launched over long-on; and decent balls in between met an implacable defence. It was like watching the culmination of all Rik’s potential, all his talent, wrapped into one innings. When his century came – his first ever hundred in any cricket -- the applause rang long and loud around the ground. All but 23 of his 147 runs came in boundaries – a tribute to the bone-dry fast outfield, but also to the studied savagery of his striking.

As Erratics began to close on the target, Rik had the perfect partner in Chris Cook. Patient, watchful, but also ruthless on anything loose, his duel with Fraser was particularly enjoyable: the old campaigner defying the youthful Mystics skipper, even as the latter used all his guile and variations in pursuit of a breakthrough.

It was a close run thing, in the end… The asking rate hovering above six for much of the innings, but a few fine blows from Rik and Chris left us needing just three off the final over, and it was done and dusted with four balls to spare.

And so Erratics retained the trophy for another year, presented with grace and a few fine words as the sun went down.

But the day belonged to Rik: an Erratic batting performance best described, surely, as “Mythic and Majestic”.



Mystics and Magicians Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
7nb 19w 4b  
for 7 wickets
30
224 (36.0 overs)		     
Duncan Chave ct  P Power 29 45 5 64.44
Adi Borley ct  M Hailwood 8 7 2 114.29
Matthew Borley ct  P Power 62 52 10 2 119.23
Sam Cook b  G Mather 25 47 3 53.19
Chris Squire ct  O Kirby 9 15 2 60.0
Mat Ogley ct  C Cook 42 34 6 123.53
David Shackleton Not Out  14 15 1 93.33
Tom Joshi-Hartley ct  C Cook 5 9 1 55.56
Matt Cook  
Sid Thomson  
Fraser Chave  
Jim Thomson  

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Mark Hailwood7.0053153.007.57
Oscar Cammack6.003700.006.17
Phil Power6.0037218.506.17
Lee Grant5.001000.002.00
Oliver Kirby2.0020120.0010.00
George Mather4.0037137.009.25
Chris Cook4.001628.004.00
Nigel Rutherford2.001000.005.00

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
3w 1lb 
for 3 wickets
4
227		        
Richard Lindsay Not Out  147 120 21 5 122.50
Martin Wright ct  M Cook 19 29 4 65.52
Matt Crawford ct  M Borley 0 3 0 1
Lee Grant ct  M Borley 13 11 3 118.18 2
Chris Cook Not Out  44 60 6 73.33
Nigel Rutherford   1
Jonathan Kirby  
Oscar Cammack   1
Oliver Kirby  
George Mather   1
Phil Power  
Mark Hailwood  

Mystics and Magicians Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Matt Cook7.1136136.005.02
Tom Joshi-Hartley5.003600.007.20
Matthew Borley5.0030215.006.00
Sam Cook8.004700.005.88
Fraser Chave9.004900.005.44
David Shackleton3.002800.009.33