Scorecard

Tale Millers v Erratics Cricket Club Erratics on Wed 24 Jun 2026 at 6.00pm
Erratics Cricket Club Lost by 7 Wickets

Match report Perhaps we should adapt the famous dictum of international football manager Carlos Queiroz? ”In cricket, we never lose. We win or we learn.” In this case, we might ask what we learned from our game at Tale Millers on 24th June.

I understand that in the Good Olde Days of the Glory Decade, the Erratics of Yore would repair to the pub after a game and engage in lengthy analysis of how the game had unfolded, what decisions were made, what tactics were employed, and more. Of course, the principle of “5 and drive” was also applied to this process.

However, it’s a bit of a challenge to find the time to do this after a late-evening finish to a T20 match, so let’s have a go at it with this match report which is informed by comments from and discussion with various Erratics after the game.

Here’s the main bone of contention: chasing a total of 122, Tale Millers struck the second of Mark Phillip’s two overs for about 20 runs, including 3 consecutive, huge sixes. Game effectively over. They won with about 5 overs to spare. Hmm. Cue a range of thoughts, feelings, and then some learnings for make benefit glorious club of Erratics.

Some wondered if the Tale Millers’ assault on Mark’s bowling was in some way not in the spirit of friendly cricket? Was it disrespectful? Was it dispiriting? Humiliating? I don’t think so, and Mark Phillips assures me he was unfazed by it. For examples of genuinely unsporting batting check out Denbury in 2005:

https://erratics.hitssports.com/scorecard/fixtureID_511785/Erratics-v-Denbury-02-Jul-2005.aspx

and Bridgetown in 2026: https://erratics.hitssports.com/scorecard/fixtureID_932231/Erratics-v-Bridgetown--14-Jun-2026.aspx

Compared with these, there’s no case to answer for Tale Millers. I read them as a very friendly bunch, who also serve a great BBQ after the game, with drinks available too. And maybe they were out for revenge, since we beat them by 33 runs last year!

Personally, while I didn't enjoy it, I saw the assault on Mark’s bowling as a typical response to “buffet bowling”:

With apologies to Tom J-H, I’ll remind everyone that Lee battered him just like this in our game against Exwick in 2025, and retired not out at the end of the first over of the game. https://erratics.hitssports.com/scorecard/fixtureID_919687/Erratics-v-Exwick-09-Jul-2025.aspx

You might argue that the game situation was different, but we’ve battered bowlers at other times, as at Valley of Rocks in 2005. In that game we amassed 300 runs from our 40 overs, thanks not least to a rapid century by Matt Cook who mercilessly took full advantage of the “buffet bowling” offered up by a teenage girl. We won by 187 runs. https://erratics.hitssports.com/scorecard/fixtureID_511789/Erratics-v-Lynton--Lynmouth-16-Jul-2005.aspx

No insult intended to either Lee or Matt. Whatever bowling is served up, a batter still has to score the runs, without getting out. They batted brilliantly!

It’s also worth noting that no less a bowler than Fraser was hit for four consecutive sixes at Tale Millers in 2023:
https://erratics.hitssports.com/scorecard/fixtureID_840397/Erratics-v-Tale-Millers-28-Jun-2023.aspx

Sometimes it’s just hard to be on the receiving end. (I expect Ashburton have a particular day in July 2015 that they aren’t keen to recall – just ask Mark Hailwood.) And if the innings of a couple of our batters had not been nipped in the bud yesterday, maybe we’d have had a total that Tale Millers would have struggled to chase down. There’s so much luck involved in a T20, and so little time to take corrective action.

This brings me back to “buffet bowling” again. There are definitely times and places for it, but more often in the longer form of the game:
• A captain might try to buy a wicket, offering up some tempting, loopy stuff that draws a batter into an overly-ambitious shot.
• Or they might want to allow the opposition to score some runs in order to give us a sensible total to chase.
• Or the intention might be to bring someone into the game at a time when a couple of expensive overs can be afforded. There may be other reasons too.

My own loopy, buffet bowling has been used in this way, though luck can intervene. You might want to deduct points for self-promotion here, but at Newton Poppleford in 2022 I closed out their innings with 2 for 17 off 3 overs. https://erratics.hitssports.com/scorecard/fixtureID_805634/Erratics-v-Newton-Poppleford-28-Jul-2022.aspx

Now, if the aim of two captains in a game of friendly cricket is to create a competitive game that can be enjoyed by as many players as possible, the problem with this game at Tale Millers (and with other games we’ve played against different opponents) is a captain having to do this with one hand tied behind their back. By this, the captain being asked to have 10 players each bowl 2 overs.

The purpose of this requirement is to get everyone into the game, and there’s usually some levelling out with batters required to retire (not out) at 25. But I think this should all be subordinate to the aim of creating a friendly but competitive game.

Our team at Tale Millers included several Erratics who will not or cannot bowl, as well as those of us who offer up the buffet variety. It was fine for the Tale Millers side to agree to the "2 overs each" stipulation” because they did have 10 players who could all bowl. But maybe, in future, the Erratics’ captain should feel completely free not to do so, in the interests of having a more balanced game. Maybe our selectors, if they get wind of this “everyone bowls 2 overs“ thing, could intercept it before the game?

Or maybe we should simply care less. We win some, we lose some – maybe more! But if we’re having an evening out playing cricket in some Devon bucolic idyll, maybe we should simply enjoy that?

In any case, it’s all messed up. The more you look at it, the more confusing it gets.

Mark Phillips has best bowling figures of 4 for 23 against Stoke-in-Teignhead in 2023. You never can tell!

Anyway, this is just my starter for 10, as they say. Let’s discuss in the pub.

5 pints of lager and a packet of crisps, please...

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
4nb 23w 2b 1lb 
for 9 wickets
30
122		        
Richard Lindsay b M Hammett 11 11 1 100
Martin Wright b R Harrison 6 14 42.86
Fraser Chave ct A Cook 5 4 1 125.00 1
Hugh Sheridan b A Cook 0 1 0
Matt Crawford Not Out  28 31 2 1 90.32
Mark Phillips ct S Tout 5 12 41.67
Lishoy George b T O'Brian 20 12 3 1 166.67
Will Luscombe b T O'Brian 0 1 0
Tim Fawcett b B Peters 6 14 42.86
Lee Grant Run out  10 8 1 125.00
Jonathan Kirby Not Out  1 1 100

Tale Millers Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Neil Chambers2.001200.006.00
Mark Hammett2.00818.004.00
Albie Cook2.001226.006.00
R Harrison2.00818.004.00
Daniel Crow2.00900.004.50
Shane Tout2.00717.003.50
Jon Pengelly2.002300.0011.50
T O'Brian2.0020210.0010.00
J Hammett2.00900.004.50
Ben Peters2.0011111.005.50

Tale Millers Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
24w  
for 3 wickets
24
123 (16.1 overs)		     
J Hammett ct W Luscombe 10 5 2 200
T O'Brian Retired Not Out  25 19 4 131.58
Jon Pengelly Retired Not Out  31 35 6 88.57
Ben Peters b F Chave 22 7 1 3 314.29
Dave Kittow Not Out  8 11 1 72.73
Shane Tout lbw L Grant 2 5 40.0
Albie Cook Not Out  1 3 33.33
Daniel Crow  
R Harrison  
Mark Hammett  
Neil Chambers  

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Will Luscombe3.0026126.008.67
Tim Fawcett3.001300.004.33
Matt Crawford2.002300.0011.50
Mark Phillips2.003600.0018.00
Lishoy George2.001300.006.50
Fraser Chave3.00919.003.00
Lee Grant1.10313.002.57