Devon Dumplings v The Frogs

The final Dumplings game of the season saw the annual visit of the Frogs to Exeter. With customary
skipper Sam Ewen away in Switzerland, brother James assembled a strong side to take on the
only team to beat the Dumplings on their recent Oxford tour.
Losing the toss,Dumplings were a little surprised to be asked to bat first on a (very) well-used wicket under sunny skies. After much deliberation (Horler and Burns both refusing to bat against the new ball), Shaquan Glasgow and Jeremy Tojy strode to the crease to face the metronomic Marshall and lively Hamilton. Glasgow (8) showed good intent, hitting a couple of boundaries before being well caught in the gully throwing his hands at a full, wide delivery. Tojy (5) fell soon after - he looked to have cleared mid-on, but a bit of backpedalling followed by an outstretched hand by the opposition captain left the Dumps in early trouble at 22-2. Dumplings stalwarts Harry Kandampully and James Horler rebuilt the innings, showing great patience and punishing anything loose. After some typically wristy boundaries, Kandampully (27) was eventually removed by Marshall (2-25) to a full ball that nipped back and wrapped his pads in front of all three. With Marshall then hobbling off after an unusually short 9-over opening spell, it was clear that it would be"spin to win" for the remainder of the innings. Brendan Coetzee (34) went on the attack from the off and was unlucky to pull a high full toss from arch-nemesis O'Gorman to the man on the deep square boundary. In Tallan Burns, Horler found another able partner, and the pair took the hosts past 150 before Burns chopped on for 14. After wearing a few from the spinners, Kian Burns (0) and skipper James Ewen (4) looked to accelerate with little success on a wicket that was, by this point, deteriorating quite quickly. Not for the first time, however, Horler seemed to be playing on a different pitch to everyone else and started to bring out his full repertoire of shots, including several reverse sweeps towards the Squash club. With Horler now closing in on a century, the captain resisted the temptation to declare despite the innings approaching the 50-over mark. After sticking with the set batsman, Billy Buckingham (5) and Alex James (1) were both dismissed by O'Gorman, which brought  "night hawk " Craig Penberthy to the crease with Horler still needing 12 to reach his hundred. Despite Penberthy's  trying fruitlessly to heave Ogden over the pavilion in successive deliveries, Horler (104) eventually reached his century, dispatching an O'Gorman full toss over mid-wicket for 6. This brought an immediate declaration with Dumplings posting 223-9 from 55.5 overs. Pick of the Frogs bowlers was (as usual) O'Gorman (5-64), who was almost unplayable at times. 
The new ball was shared by Bridestowe seamers Tallan Burns and Craig Penberthy. Tojy took the gloves with Horler understandably a bit tired. With the first ball of the Frogs innings, Burns found a good length and hit the seam, catching the leading edge of Shaw's bat,  Buckingham taking an excellent diving catch at cover. A couple of balls later, Lawrence retired hurt after Burns got the ball to rear up off a length and wrap him on the gloves. The second over, a maiden from Penberthy was slightly less eventful, but still it was clear that uneven bounce with the new ball was going to make survival tricky for the Frogs. Burns then removed the dangerous captain Carson with a beautiful delivery that angled in and nipped away off the seam to just catch the edge of the bat and be safely pouched by Tojy. Gray managed to cut a short wide ball to the boundary, before another Burns delivery misbehaved, again taking off and this time hitting the batsman's helmet. After calling for a concussion check, the umpires consulted to consider if the pitch was safe to continue with the score at 8-2. Both captains were included, with Ewen offering to bowl spinners or, to be extra safe, himself, to allow the game to progress. The tourists felt that it was not worth the risk and, since Devon is yet to produce a slower bowler than the skipper, the players shook hands for a sad and very unusual abandonment.
Scorecard: https://devondumplings.play-cricket.com/website/results/6271369 
- well batted James Horler !

Thanks to Lynne Whitfield and Tim Chapman, our scorer and umpire for the day. It was also
Ladies Day, with Judy Jolliffe and Wendy Hardy providing Afternoon tea for the ladies and
guests. Thanks also to Nick Forbes for running the bar and concocting the all-important Pimms.
Devon Dumplings 223 for 9 dec. (James Horler 104*, Brendan Coetzee 34 – Joe O’Gorman 5-
64)
The Frogs 8 for 2. (Tallan Burns 2-8)

JE