I KNOW I have bemoaned the weather before in my articles but after such a glorious spell during Lockdown and with such a truncated cricket season it would have been nice to be able to report that the six weeks of competitive cricket was played in wonderful conditions.

This past weekend followed a similar path to that of four weeks ago as Foanie’s Firsts started but didn’t finish, Shaun’s Seconds probably wished they hadn’t started and Theed’s Thirds had a great view of express trains on their way to London and the North but saw not a ball bowled!

The First XI sat around for two hours and then lost the toss to North Devon who had no hesitation in asking Sandford to bat as the rain could well have caused further reductions to the 28 overs available.

A change to the batting order meant that some big hitters should go in to get the run rate off to a good start and this worked well with Sandy Allen leading from the front with a top score of 59.

He was well supported by Harrison Jones, 33, and skipper Richard Foan who scored 30.

The total at the end of the day was 190 for seven at the end of the innings but that’s as far as the game got with the rain letting North Devon return to Instow without having a bat.

MISTY RAIN

This weekend the side will be looking for revenge over Tiverton Heathcoat, which could then leave them in a strong position to top the group going into the final group match the following weekend against Hatherleigh.

The Second XI pressed the self destruct button for the second week in a row.

The weather at Clyst St George was overcast all afternoon and there was occasionally misty rain in the air but it was never enough to leave the field of play.

Skipper Shaun won the toss and due to the weather conditions asked the home team to bat first.

Rain never came and after their 40 overs Clyst St George had scored 235 for seven.

It is a small ground and with a good batting display should have been a target well within the grasp of Sandford Second XI.

Greg Lewis took two – 21 and Liam Gardner two – 37 and apart from a couple of difficult chances the fielding was much better than the week before.

There were then solid contributions from the top order as Tom Gidney scored 41, Tom Williams 37 and Shaun Hawkins 27.

At drinks, with 20 overs still to bowl, Sandford needed 90 to win with seven wickets still to fall.

PLEASURE OF A GAME

Having watched the test match the week before when Buttler and Woakes got England out of a difficult situation by sticking around before taking some more positive action, I’m afraid to say that the Sandford batters just seemed to think it was possible to win by just being aggressive.

Eight overs later and with still 12 overs available they had been bowled out and lost the game by 58 runs!

The final two games of the mini league probably now have no significance apart from the pleasure of getting a game but lessons do need to be learned before next season if this group are going to successfully compete at the higher level they achieved through promotion last year.

The Third XI made the trip to Cullompton and this pretty little picturesque ground is positioned right alongside the main railway line. But not a ball was bowled and so this weekend they must make the trip to Exwick in the hope of gaining revenge over their opponents.

COUNTY MATCH

The county match between Devon and Cornwall took place under grey skies, but apart from a short break of 30 minutes, was played to a conclusion.

This game gave the first opportunity for Paul Smith to umpire a Minor Counties fixture on his home ground, and it also gave a playing debut to Sandford’s 17 year-old wicket keeper/batsman, Adam Small.

Unfortunately Adam was dismissed for zero in the Devon total of 150.

I have never understood the mechanics of the Duckworth Lewis calculations used when there has been a weather break during an innings so I cannot give you a proper explanation of how the Cornwall target to win became only 147 in 46 overs.

Adam performed creditably behind the stumps and took three catches, but Cornwall scraped home by two wickets in the final over to win what turned out to be an exciting match between two sides, giving some younger players the experience of Minor Counties cricket.

It was great to see nearly 200 spectators who had travelled from all over Devon, Cornwall, and some even further, seated around Creedy Park in front of their cars carefully positioned around the boundary rope.

Chris Theedom and his gang had made the ground look immaculate and they worked hard during the day getting the covers on and off to ensure that the full days play was possible.

Fixtures for this weekend are as follows:

Saturday, August 22: First XI v Tiverton Heathcoat First XI - 12.30pm start Creedy Park; Second XI v Exeter CC Second XI - 1pm start County Ground, Exeter; Third XI v Exwick CC Second XI - 1pm start Exwick Cricket Club.

Michael Canning