Scorecard

Yarcombe & Stockland v Erratics Cricket Club Erratics on Sun 05 May 2019 at 2.00pm
Erratics Cricket Club Won by 3 wickets

Match report Mark Hailwood reports:

It always makes for a nice change to travel east for an Erratics game, something we seem to have done quite often so far this season. I have a particular fondness for the drive to Yarcombe and Stockland, largely because of the long straight stretch of Stockland Hill that was surely laid down by our Roman oppressors all those millennia ago as they struck out south and west to found Isca. I haven’t been able to confirm it definitely is a Roman road, but I don’t let that stop my imagination as I steer the Focus along the ridge-top causeway, picturing Roman legionaries trooping steadily along in their sandals, with their commanders straining to remember which one is the turn off to Stockland...

Most of the Errati-troops managed to navigate their way down from the ridge to the village in time, where Chris Ferro - holding Imperium for the day - led us into the field. It’s a nice, compact little ground, nestled into the landscape with a touch of the amphitheatre about it, and a splendid array of boundary-lining trees. The bird life was in full voice, which wasn’t to everyone’s liking: Martin Weiler found it a distracting racket. This reminded me of the time Penny told me she doesn’t like going to Dartmoor to walk any more as it is ‘too busy’, and prefers Exmoor instead. You know you’ve lived in Devon for a long time when birdsong and ramblers feel like hustle and bustle...

Anyway, to the cricket. Scott and Hailwood opened the bowling to good effect, with the latter securing an early leg before dismissal with a ‘Roman roader’ of a delivery (dead straight). They were followed by the pairing of John ‘He Always Surprises Himself, and Sometimes the Batsman’ Curtis, and debutant Rithvik Gutha, the latest in a fine tradition of Indian postdocs to represent the Club. A pleasingly orthodox seam-up action and nagging accuracy were hallmarks of a very encouraging first spell of 8-2-19-1. Ben Pullan finally arrived from Sussex, via Yarcombe, to send down a couple of overs of his newly developed leggies, and was rewarded for his travels with his first and second Erratics wickets. Cameos from Chris and Duncan completed the bowling endeavours, which had played out against a Y&S batting effort that ebbed and flowed: dangerous partnerships alternated with flurries of wickets to ensure a series of momentum shifts that made for an altogether intriguing innings.

At Tea – including scones served with a choice of cream on first or on top, a nice touch in this divided age – they had set us a target of 160 to win from 40 overs. Modest but not easy on a typically sluggish early season track encircled by a deep-pile outfield.

That Ben Pullan ‘its ‘em ‘ard dun ‘ee? In no time he had forced his way to an authoritative 36, before missing one. As he and Duncan got things moving nicely John Curtis tried to drown out the birdsong with a hummed rendition of the Game of Thrones theme tune – in anticipation of the pen- penultimate episode the following evening - which sparked some speculation on the knightly credentials of the Erratics batsmen. Ser Duncan of House Chave (Sigil: a cricket bat with a low middle adorned with a pair of studio headphones. House words: ‘I’d rather not bowl’), was undoubtedly our one in shining armour, who played with his characteristic blend of patience, wisdom and selectively applied ruthlessness to anchor the innings. Ser Mark of House Hailwood (Sigil: a cricket ball sporting a manbun. House words: ‘Did I tell you about my hat-trick at Ashburton?’) was rather less impressive at number 3, scratching around for rather too long for a meagre 3 runs. When he eventually departed to a mishit attempt to hit out the rate had started to creep back up after our strong start, and the knights that followed were charged with, well, leading a charge.

It was, however, difficult to score quickly on this track, and as the ball aged it wasn’t getting any easier. The representatives of House Kirby came and went, and Ser Martin of House Weiler – ‘The Knight of the Long Handle’ – featured all too briefly, as did Rithvik, despite looking promising for a few balls. In the end it was down to the steady hand of Lord Commander Chris of House Ferro (Sigil: a calculator wearing a faded cricket hat against a tartan background. House words: ‘I’ve made myself available’) to accompany Ser Duncan the Enduring (95*) over the finish line with only a few balls to spare. It had always looked likely, but Y&S made us fight, and it never looked a certainty.

Post-match we made our way to nearby (well...) Dalwood, via a road that would have had the Romans turning in their graves (you can see why they gave up at Exeter: even the greatest empire of the ancient world couldn’t stomach the prospect of building straight roads through Devon). The 13th century Tuckers Arms was a delight to this alehouse historian, as were our jovial hosts throughout the afternoon. After sharing a quick pint with them in an increasingly chilly beer garden it was time to head back west, accompanied by a beautiful sunset on the A35.

Yarcombe & Stockland Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 10 wickets
0
159 (36.3 overs)		     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Mark Hailwood8.0030310.003.75
Rob Scott8.002800.003.50
John Curtis6.0047147.007.83
Rithvik Gutha8.0219119.002.37
Chris Ferro2.00321.501.50
Duncan Chave2.001500.007.50
Ben Pullan2.301226.004.80

Erratics Cricket Club Erratics Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 6 wickets
0
163		        
Duncan Chave Not Out  95 11 4 1
Ben Pullan Bowled  36 4 2
Mark Hailwood Caught  3
Jonathan Kirby Bowled  2 1 1
Martin Weiler Bowled  3
Rithvik Gutha Caught  1 1
Gabrielle Kirby Bowled  0
Chris Ferro Not Out  11 1 1
Rob Scott  
John Curtis  
N.O. One  

Yarcombe & Stockland Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
No records to display.