Devon Women’s Cricket League

SANDFORD 188 - 6: Lottie Miles 59, Becky Folds 57; Vicky Bowden 2 - 21.

EXMOUTH 82 all out: Vicky Bowden 37 no; Becky Folds 6 - 15, Jackie Snell 2 - 10.

SANDFORD travelled to Exmouth on Sunday, August 14 expecting just another fairly ordinary game of league cricket albeit in glorious sunshine.

An unusual late start meant the allotted overs were reduced to just 30 a side.

Winning the toss Sandford elected to bat first and after the loss of an early wicket, batted on steadily averaging four an over.

Lottie Miles took advantage of a bowling change to up the tempo with six, four, six, four off consecutive balls.

With Becky Folds in similar attacking style at the other end, there was a flurry of runs with another 101 runs coming off just nine overs.

Lottie’s innings contained four sixes and six boundaries with Becky finding the boundary on 10 occasions. Once Lottie was out caught, Jackie Snell worked hard to keep the momentum going so that Sandford closed on 188.

In reply, at the end of the fourth, Exmouth were 18 without loss. Four balls later the scorebook read 18 for four!

What we witnessed in these four balls from Becky Folds was not only a splendid display of disciplined bowling but a piece of Sandford history.

The first three were clean bowled and the fourth edged to keeper Penny Price, with the last two balls of the over being recorded as “dots”. (From memory our last hat-trick was against Topsham many years ago as part of Michelle Johnsons five-wicket haul but Becky has now set the bar even higher).

Vicky Bowden tried valiantly to hold the Exmouth innings together but apart from a spirited rear guard action from Anne Marie Kain, Sandford’s depth of bowling attack was just too strong.

A great team effort from Sandford to gain 19 points, but Becky was without doubt the Player of this match.

STOP PRESS

Sandford women are taking part in the DWCA “Wine and Wickets” initiative designed to encourage more women to either take up cricket or return to the game.

A few soft ball cricket sessions have been organised with the next one planned for Wednesday, August 24 at 7pm. All equipment will be provided.

Sandford women have been playing cricket since 1998 and during this time many other women’s clubs have sadly folded. Not only is cricket a great game and we are lucky to still have a loyal core group of players at Sandford, we do need more women of all ages to ensure that we can continue to provide opportunities for cricket locally for many years to come.

We know there are women out there who have played in the past and others who have spent many hours supporting family members/friends/partners playing cricket but never had a chance to take part themselves.

There may also be women who feel they do not have time to commit to playing on a regular basis or only want to have a go for a bit of fun. It’s not a problem.

Please take that first step and get in touch - it might be the best thing you ever do!

For further details (or to register an interest in taking part in women’s cricket) please contact Jane on 07970 411 791.

JW