Devon Dumplings v Exeats

Thursday 13 July 2017 at Knightshayes

Exeats 166 ao DD 170-4

  A fine day saw an Exeats team revelling in the last day of their annual West Country tour. They faced a Dumplings team that represented all ages from schoolboy to very senior. In light of copious hospitality enjoyed, Exeats elected to bat and, after a first-ball catch for one opener, proceeded to bat in a sprightly fashion. Runs poured from Weathy’s bat (37) but wickets fell regularly at the other end.
 A wealth of bowling talent meant short spells for almost the entire team. 14 year old Adam Small behind the stumps was exemplary on his debut, standing back or up, and will hopefully feature in many more games for the club. JP Van Rensberg, the other non-bowler, did take two solid catches that eventually brought proceedings to an end. This was after Patrick Foster (41) and Keith Rutherford (25) had added some late respectability to the score. Bertie Creer and Paul Berman had two wickets apiece and the others bowlers shared the rest equally.
 Dumplings opened with two youngsters, James Horler and Freddie Creer, defending Exeats’ idiosyncratic pink stumps from a pink ball. They provided an elegant and solid start to the innings. The arrival of JP Van Rensberg produced an all-too-short firework display (23 off 9), cut short by a ball hit high on the bat that almost but not quite cleared the boundary. Sam Ewen continued in like vein (57 off 35) and after the departure of Freddie Creer (28), he joined James Horler to take the score close to the target. A fierce brief attack from Jo McShane was topped off by Dan Fogerty, lacing two balls to the boundary to complete the required total. Neither side had used their allotted 40 overs bit approaching rain meant an early finish was timely.
 Following the game Exeats’s captain, Charles Langley, expressed their thanks for the hospitality provided and promised a sterner contest next year. He also presented the President with one of Exeats’s distinctive pink and black ties. 
Exeats 166 all out (Weathy 37, Foster 41, Rutherford 25, Bertie Creer, Berman 2-15)
 Devon Dumplings 170-4 (S Ewen 57no, F Creer 28, JP Van Rensberg 23, Graham 3-50) Devon Dumplings won by 6 wickets