Day 1
East Woodhay (won toss) 155ao (36 overs) lost to Frogs 276-4 (40 overs) by 121 runs
On Sunday 27th August the Frogs arrived for their fifth annual fixture against East Woodhay CC to kick off the Western Tour. With the rain of the previous day that had significantly impacted the league fixtures (in what was a rather scrawly summer) thankfully abating to allow a full day of cricket.
On arrival at East Woodhay it was a good job that Andy Marshall arrived, as otherwise Elgar would have had a very sad week off at Chez Marshall - more on that later.
Turning to the cricket it was Andy Carson skippering for the day who lost the toss and the Frogs were inserted on another East Woodhay road! It was the skipper that opened up with Thierry Pascal (his first tour in 20+ years!) and after a steady start from East Woodhay the Frogs only took 25 off the first seven overs. However, this lay the foundations the Frogs required as from here the skipper cut loose supported well by Thierry as they scored 59 in the next seven overs and Andy brought up a 52 ball fifty. At the other end Thierry reached 31 before pulling one to square leg at 86-1 from 15. Ben Ward (on his tour debut) joined the skipper and the Frogs progressed nicely to 123-1 at the halfway stage but with the Frogs not forgetting that 250 is a par score!
After drinks, Ben found his way and deposited a six over the pavilion which lost the ball, whilst at the other end Carson continued on his merry way, reaching 100 off 86 balls which now means he has scored a hundred on every day of the week of the Western Tour.
He was dismissed caught mid-off at 174-2 for 115 off 91 balls which brought Tom Marshall to the crease and he was quickly joined by Chris Lawton as Ben was caught for 27 at 185-3 with 12 overs left. Though the Frogs still wanted to post 250 and the rest! Marshall and Lawton ensured this was on course, both hitting excellent lofted straight drives - Marshall hitting a couple of those for six. When Lawton was bowled for 8 it was down to Paddy Searing (who did not get bumped out this year) to join Tom at 235-4 with 4 left. Marshall got to an excellent 50 from 41 balls and then some good running and placement from the pair saw the Frogs post an excellent 276-4 from their 40 overs. Marshall 60* and Searing 18*.
Tea followed and included perhaps the best white chocolate and raspberry cupcake I have ever eaten but the Frogs had to tear themselves away and go and field with a good score on the board.
As per last year the Frogs opening combo of Jono Wright and Jack Ellis bowled nicely and finally one of them was rewarded! After overstepping and having T Talbot-Williams caught at point by Joe O’Gorman, Jack managed to keep his foot behind the line and the same batter miscued a pull to mid-on, where Pascal did the rest. After 12 overs the Frogs had done well to keep EWCC to 57-1 and both Ellis and Wright were replaced by leg-spin. One leg-spinner was keener to have a bowl and it was Jog who got the second wicket bowling a good line outside off and Carson snaffling a good catch at extra cover from a low full toss. At the other end Tom Allen (GT) was into his spell, despite putting on his best grumpy impression and not wanting to bowl! He managed to get a wicket in the next over, bowling Mitchell for 2, and when he had B Talbot-Williams caught at the deep midwicket boundary by Tom Marshall (for a well compiled 58) he had two! The smile was nearly back and the Frogs were in the ascendency at drinks with EWCC 96-4.
After drinks Jog was replaced (only so the skipper got his bowling combos right) by Andy Marshall who bowled an excellent spell and in tandem with GT saw the Frogs take a further four wickets for 16 runs in the seven overs after drinks which put an end to the game. Three of those being bowled and the other off GT was caught by Paddy at midwicket. At 112-8 from 27 the EWCC skipper A Barnes had nearly run out of partners but with S Clements added 37 for the 9th wicket. GT just missed out on a 5-fer, trying to bowl the number 10 but finished with great figures of 8-1-36-4 - not bad for a man not wanting a bowl! After he finished Jog returned and he got the final two wickets. One skied to mid-off and then just as the seamers were about to return for their last two each, Adrian Batchelor skewed one in the air and skipper Carson took the catch at extra cover. Jog finishing 8-0-38-3 and Malc, perhaps with the most economical figures ever seen at East Woodhay (at least in this game!) 8-2-15-2.
This meant that the Frogs ran out winners by 121 runs but still on a very good pitch, just an excellent Frogs performance to start the tour. Elgar (see 2016 tour note) was awarded to Tom Marshall and at this stage I will refer you back to paragraph two of this report! The morning of the game, Tom had inexplicably and inexcusably left Elgar at home! Thankfully he was not driving himself to the game so was able to ring Malc to ensure he was brought along.
Having had food at the local pub, the Frogs were early into the local Spoons and enjoyed some excellent entertainment. The game of fives proved difficult for some e.g. Jono who lost a round despite having checked out five times - not keeping a straight face was proving challenging, the object game proved infuriating for some (bar James Hamilton who got it instantly) and a game of 20+1 was as usual even tougher. GT also managed to shout 10 (with two of his hands in and only one of Poshy’s) but kept both his hands clenched meaning a maximum of five.
However, the highlight of the evening came on the dancefloor. With the Frogs nearing the end at 1am until Joe O’Gorman came running through the Vinyl exclaiming a foam party on the Cameo dancefloor! Words cannot do it justice (hopefully the photo of Jono will) but what followed was perhaps the funniest 30mins of the week as eight of the next day’s playing XI managed to get doused in continual foam (and consequently soaked). A FOAM PARTY! The previous recorded foam party was 1998 in Taunton so 25 years on the 2023 Frogs were pleased to reignite the memories. The eight members then returned to their hotel rooms drenched but culturally better off - showers all round and time for some kip before Day 2.
Day 2
Wiltshire Queries (won toss) 210-4 (45) beat Frogs 206-8 (50) by 6 wickets
Monday morning saw an unintentionally segregated breakfast due to some booking errors from assistant TM. The Carson brothers, Lawton and Mark Williams enjoyed a complimentary full English buffet in the hotel while the remaining tourists ventured, as always, to Spoons.
At Tidworth, skipper C Carson lost the toss and was asked to bat, which after being on the wrong end of some very close chases in previous years was the preferred choice. Callum and T Mars opened the batting and, after a Sunday net, Callum found some early boundaries and together the opening pair took the score to 46-0 in the 10th. However, off the last ball of the over T Mars followed a wide one to 1st slip for 17 and Carson was set up by the wide to 2nd slip followed by the straight one (bowled) the next over for 26, and so when Chalk was bowled for 0 by a ball which continued down the slope frogs suddenly found themselves 47-3 off 11.
This afforded tour debutant Ben Ward the opportunity to build a long innings with Lawton, and together the two looked to rebuild and reached 84 off 24 overs before Lawton was adjudged LBW. The queries captain felt this was the perfect time to introduce Ninian into the game, the arch nemesis of many batters (note R Lawrence turned up at lunch and didn't play). A number of theories were posed in Wetherspoons the night before as to how to play him including the suggestion of never leaving your crease, however, Ward asked "surely at that pace you've got time to get back in?". Four balls into Ninian's spell Ward was proved wrong, stumped down the legside after some sharp work for a patient 25. This brought Wright and A Carson to the crease (resting after his flat-track Sunday bullying) who negotiated the last few overs before lunch; 108-5.
After lunch the pair continued with Jono playing some gower-esque strokes to show he’s wasted batting in the tail, before being dismissed for 24. Grey senior, who had stepped in for a hungover / dropout son, put on 25 with Carson for the 7th wicket before being bowled by Ninian. This brought Jog (34*) to the crease and alongside Carson continued to accumulate. A few lusty blows from Carson took the score past the two hundred mark and once dismissed (47) the skipper declared shortly after on 206-8, GT stranded on 1* left wondering what could have been.
T Mars and Jono opened the bowling with a tight spell (21-0 off 9), but couldn’t find an inroad. Turning to Jog and Hamilton had an immediate effect, both taking a wicket in their first over with Grey taking a smart stumping. With the queries 33-2 off 14 at tea Frogs could be happy with their efforts.
After tea the Queries steadily ticked along at 3 an over. Whether it was a post-tea sugar drop, fatigue setting in from the excitement the night before, or just a strong pair at the crease who have often scored runs in previous years, a mixture of GT and rotation of the other bowlers couldn’t find a breakthrough despite some probing spells with Queries reaching 179-2. When Hamilton and Jog took back-to-back wickets to leave two new batters at the crease there was a brief glimpse of putting some control back on the game, but no more wickets fell as the Queries comfortably reached their target with two overs to spare after an aggressive Frogs declaration (#TTP).
All that remained was for Elgar to be awarded, which went to Jono for an abysmal performance of fives the night before and “nudging” a wall with his car. Before heading off to Bampton there was a final request from Ninian; “keep bringing more tour debutants to be dismissed”!
Day 3
Devon Dumplings 144ao (33.4) drew with Frogs (won toss) 120-8 (39)
On Tuesday the Frogs arrived at Exeter under dreary skies and with the radar set for a day of light drizzle - it turned out to be very correct. Andy Carson did manage to win the toss and the Frogs elected to bowl as the first lot of drizzle came down at about 1110 but play did start at 1135, only 5 minutes late. The Frogs won the toss and with no surprise elected to bowl. It was Tom Marshall and Jack Ellis that opened up and applied the early pressure as the Dumplings were reduced to 10-2 from 3 overs with one a piece for the openers, both wickets bowled. The first four were in fact bowled with two more for Tom and the Dumplings 42-4 after 13.
It looked like it would become another low scoring game as lunch was taken after more rain at 61-4. After lunch Ellis (7-1-21-1) was replaced by Jono who took wickets in his 2nd and 3rd over and when James Hamilton picked one up in his second it was 75-7. From here though the Dumplings skipper Ewen lead the counter attack and played excellently. He managed to propel the Dumplings to a very competitive 144ao with Jono Wright finishing with the excellent figures of 4-33.
As the Frogs came to bat the weather really did not improve and they sent James Hamilton out to pinch hit with skipper AC. There was an extended tea of 40 minutes due to rain and after the break Hamilton nicked off for 7(27!) and Lawrence joined AC. It was at this stage the rain was really falling and there was a discussion about whether the game should continue. The umpires and captains decided to see how things panned out and the rain did finally abate, but the grey skies didn’t. AC on 25 and moaning/not running with a sore foot - shouldn’t have inside edged drives onto the same part of the foot on Sunday played a tired shot and chipped to mid on for 23 but really needed to double it. Rich Lawrence at 3 also made 23 and played some glorious shots but he too was dismissed and when Paddy (17) went an over later it was suddenly 76-4.
The Frogs had been circumspect on a tricky pitch with even more rain on it and had not scored overly quickly. So when Kieran Grey (6), Owen Marshall (13) went and Joe O’Gorman (1) went the Frogs were in a bit of bother. However, with Tom Marshall and Callum Carson at the crease there was still a chance, needing 47 from 11 overs with 3 wickets in hand.
However, it was so hard to force the rate and with 27 to get in 3 overs Callum (13) tried but was caught slip. This brought Jono in to join Tom for the last 16 balls and the Frogs shut up shot and drew, 24 short of the target.
An excellent game of cricket against an excellent Dumpling side on a pitch difficult for scoring runs. However, the Frogs will look to perhaps conceding 20 too many or none of the top 4 really pushing on.
Elgar - Elgar was awarded to tour manager AC for his antics during and after the lunch break. With a 5 month sabbatical including a trip to India for the Cricket World Cup it was an important day as tickets for India vs England were due to be released. A reward was offered of £20 to any frog that could help the manager secure a ticket but due to the slow nature of the website the skipper for the day was still in the queue at the end of the lunch break! So GT was summoned as 12thers to don his whites! To AC’s delight but very little other excitement a ticket for Lucknow (A) was secured but with AC missing 30 minutes for this he was awarded Elgar.
Day 4
North Devon 216ao (37.5 out of a max. possible 46) lost to Frogs (won toss) 278-6 dec (42.4). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OkJdpH8-fU
After receiving Elgar the night before, there was concern amongst some members of the tour party when AC turned up at the ice cream hut empty-headed. Other notable off-field mentions during the day include GT ales at the fish shack and the President sporting a bucket hat (photo seen below) .
Wednesday saw the triumphant return of Walshy and Malc after dispatching Surrey in the over 50s cup and also the addition of debutant tourist Wayne Whitson, who had agreed to travel from Maidenhead to Instow and back in a day! Under fair skies Callum negotiated an invitation to bat and, after the tour party photo, stuck to a very common Frog’s opening partnership of Carson (C) and Pascal.
NDCC chose to open with spin from one end and were initially able to restrict Frogs to a fairly pedestrian start for Instow, who were only 21-0 off 8. However, they couldn’t make the breakthrough as Carson and Pascal began to find their stride and had sped up by the time drinks arrived after 20 overs; 101-0. At this point Cal instructed a change in the batting order and promoted KG to 4, in the hope of giving Frogs a couple more overs than last year to try and take the 10th wicket.
Pascal was the first wicket to fall for 53, sharing an opening stand of 137 (another 100+ Carson / Pascal partnership…). Wayne then joined Cal in the middle and, perhaps at a disadvantage after the long drive, was caught on the crease LBW to the promising young leggie for a run-a-ball 8. At this point Cal was expecting to see KG appear from the pavilion, but what’s that? Past (Rich) and present (AC) tour supremos had been meddling with the batting order and usurped Cal by sending Rich in?!
However, Rich (46) knew what to do after many innings at Instow and by “minding the fielders Richaaaard” ticked along at a positive rate alongside Cal, until the latter departed for 83 in the 31st over – also LBW to the young leggie. A hundred had arguably been thrown but the love of cricket had returned. This finally brought KG to the crease with Frogs 164-3. KG quickly set the tone for the next (and final) 10 overs of the innings by planting the 3rd and 5th ball he faced for 6. A rapid fire 36 off 14, as well as contributions from Owen and Paddy (who had waited patiently to be captured by his personal photographer that formed part of his entourage) ensured Frogs scored 100 off the last 10 overs. Cal declared on 278-6 in the 43rd over leaving NDCC 46 overs to reach their target, which at 6rpo could be very doable.
Not in any way related to events in previous years off Walshy’s bowling, a cordon of Owen, Wayne, Rich and KG awaited the opening batters - one of whom had plundered runs in the H off T Mars over the years. The 2nd innings could barely have started better as Hamilton (9-2-51-1) took a wicket 2nd ball, expertly caught by Wayne diving forwards to his right at 2nd slip.
Opening the bowling at the other end was Jack (5-0-15-1) who, opting for a JPL runup, took a wicket in his 2nd over. At this point Dunc left the field (having forgotten to wear a box to keep!) To prevent falling behind the over rate and risk the wrath of the umpire, Wayne opted to take the gloves and literally nothing else while keeping for the rest of Jack’s over! NDCC progressed without further danger to 44-2 off 11 and so Cal turned to Owen. Owen welcomed KG into leg-slip with a leg-side longhop, before reverting to the “remove a jumper” tactic and subsequently took 2 in 2 to finish his first over.
At the other end GT entered the fray, and bowled well but without the success of last year. He was still the fan’s favourite for his repertoire of run ups, including one of his lob hero (captured in GIF form), in front of his fans at the pavilion end. Owen’s exemplary performance continued by taking 2 more in his 3rd over thanks to some sharp work behind the stumps by Dunc. After 4 overs he had figures of 5-22! The fifth wicket was thanks to another expert grab by Wayne, snatching one from just above the turf at slip. Although this left NDCC at 85-7 the 1st teamers had now either turned up or were batting, including the number 8 who had smashed a Devon Premier League record with a 77-ball 150 the year before.
Said batter continued ominously, as the rate remained under 7 an over on a ground where anything past the infield against a touring side on day four of tour is a boundary! However, GT continued to go and under 5s and it was he who brought some security back to the game, taking wicket number 8 with the zooter in the over before drinks – gee what a ripper! This led to another iconic GT moment, pointing with pride at the off stump he had pegged back.
Owen, using the advantage of runs to play with eventually won the battle against Moore, dismissing him caught and bowled for 60 (off only 34!). Frogs may have thought that at 147-9 the end was nigh but, with another 1st team player at 11, things weren’t plain sailing as despite an asking rate of 6.5rpo the scored crept to 160, 170, 180, 190, 200, 210 while the rate had only got to 8rpo with 8 overs left – surely Frogs could get over the line this year?!
Fittingly, it was Owen who took the final wicket. The number 11 had reached 40, but in attempting to put one over the pavilion could only find the edge and it was (your boy Y) Wayne that AGAIN took a reaction catch in front of his face to secure the win. Catching at Instow has sometimes been a struggle and so turning up and snaffling all 3 chances should not go unnoticed. Owen had returned match figures of 10.5-0-77-7 and was probably responsible for Frogs getting the win, but we all know batters don’t care about bowlers’ efforts and so man of the match went to Cal… Our thanks as always go to the groundsman for providing us with a super cricket pitch!
Dinner at the boat house followed, where nominations were heard for Elgar. A turn around in fortunes had seen two of the tour party entourage both “suddenly” and “conveniently” work out some of the evening games, much to Owen’s dismay. However, further questioning found the two people guilty of conspiracy and so Elgar was rightly awarded to Lauren and Zara!
Day 5
North Devon League XI vs Frogs - Cancelled
As dinner concluded at the Boathouse on the Wednesday evening, news came through that Thursday’s game vs North Devon League XI at Valley of Rocks had been cancelled. The forecast was right and there was very heavy rain overnight and the next morning so it was definitely the correct decision but a shame for the tourists. It left the tour organisers scrabbling for ideas but with indoor bowls and pitch and putt high up the research agenda, especially as the previously used Indoor Bowls centre at Barnstaple and pitch and putt at Exeter were known to have closed down. However, there was good news in the morning as two very productive phone calls from Tour Supremo were made and activities were organised.
The first visit was to the Mid Devon Indoor Bowls Centre in Tiverton and we must give them a big shout out for their hospitality and for accommodating us at short notice. Readers of the 2018 tour report will realise there is quite the love for Bowls amongst the Frogs and a fabulous two hours were enjoyed by all.
Twelve players played pairs bowls on three rinks with differing pairs in all three rounds that were played with some varying standard but all actually quite impressive! Matched by the bowls club hospitality.
The gold medal match in the third round was between the best players from the first two rounds which saw Thierry Pascal and Andy Carson play against Tom Marshall (who with AC had beaten Cal and Rich 13-1 in the opener) and Kieran Grey. It was a very tight game but after three ends the score was 3-1 to Pascal and Carson, who had enjoyed a two point end in the third thanks to a couple of excellent Pascal deliveries. The final end saw some very high quality bowls with the Grey/Marshall bowling first. After Marshall bowled their pairing’s second of four to within a foot on a long distance jack (exceptional bowling) and with Grey also in close they were two up early. Carson took on a bit of a risk to smash Marshall’s bowl out the way, stepping up with a driver at pace that was executed to perfection, to Tom’s utter disbelief and disappointment. With a bowl left each Marshall/Grey were still winning by a point (needing two to force a decider) but Grey did nestle in to about five feet out giving them the two they needed. But Carson with the last bowl produced an excellent forehand which snuck within Kieran’s to seal a 3-2 win for Pascal and Carson who ended up “champions” of sorts.
All the morning did though was reignite the love for bowls amongst the Frogs and again a huge shout to the MDBC for having us!
The afternoon saw a pop to Spoons for a quick lunch and then on to par 3 golf at Chumleigh but upon leaving the MDBC something was left behind on the way to lunch! Tom Marshall not checking his passengers and leaving GT in the car park in the drizzle!
Arriving at Chumleigh the morning’s rain had passed and the Frogs went out in groups of “expected” ability.
Group 1 - Theirry Pascal, Jono Wright, Callum Carson, Kieran Grey
Group 2 - Andrew Carson, James Hamilton, Richard Lawrence, Tom Allen
Group 3 - Stephen Walsh, Joe O’Gorman, Tom Marshall, Marc Williams
Group 4 - Owen Marshall, Yasmin, Zara Siddiqi, Lauren Hoare
An excellent afternoon was enjoyed by most(!) and a massive thank you must go to Chumleigh Golf Club for looking after us. The scores were as follows (for those that completed 18 holes):
Par 54
67 - T. Pascal
69 - A. Carson
70 - C. Carson, J. Hamilton, S. Walsh
71 - J. Wright
76 - K. Grey
80 - J. O’Gorman
81 - R. Lawrence
82 - M. Williams
Elgar was awarded to Jono for the day as a result of bringing his own golf clubs, bag, everything else and being the best golfer and ending up coming 6th! TMars somehow avoiding Elgar for leaving a passenger in the car park!
The evening was excellent as the Spelt managed to find space for the 10 Frogs that wanted to dine and the others enjoyed fish and chips from the local fish bar.
Day 6
Somerset Stragglers 181ao (37.5) lost to Frogs (won toss) 234ao (39.4). 40 over game
Frogs once again won the toss and elected to bat. A Maidenhead pair of KG and Paddy opened the batting, although this didn’t last long as KG was caught behind in the second over. Callum joined Paddy at the crease, with the latter having to at times play shots off the front foot more accustomed to a tennis court to deal with the steep bounce. The pair put on 50 before Paddy was caught for 11. Aware of the circumspect start to the innings Cal started to have a few hoicks as he brought up his 50, but was stumped shortly after for 60, having got over excited and targeted a six to the short boundary one too many times.
This resulted in a Lawrence / Pascal partnership, which hadn’t been seen on a Frogs Tour since the early 2000s. Unfortunately, Rich did not have the same success as Wednesday and it was Pascal (41) and T Mars (35) who took Frogs past 150 in the 30th. In a similar manner to Instow, Frogs were able to score freely in the final 10 overs, though this time it was Jog despatching his first ball for 6! Having been supported by some strong running between the wickets by Wright and Allen, Jog was bowled (35) with two balls left in the innings to set the Stragglers a target of 235. The skipper felt this was probably par, given the short straight boundary, the depth / hitting power the Stragglers often have, and the 6th day of fielding to make up for!
In the second innings Walsh and Wright led from the front with the new ball. A strong opening pair for the Stragglers struggled to get Walsh and Wright away, who bowled excellent spells and returned figures of 8-0-15-0 and 8-2-21-2 respectively. T Mars then followed up with four tight overs to maintain the pressure and push the rate to ~8rpo at the halfway stage.
At the other end Jog was brought into the attack and had immediate effect, dismissing opener Elstone with his first ball as Thierry settled under the miscued six hit attempt on the ring at mid-on. However, the new batter then took a liking to Jog and the relatively short straight boundary, so after a couple of sixes in his second over Jog was happy to bring his bowling on tour to a close.
There would be very few, if any, tourists that would be more strongly backed under the high ball than Owen and so when the ball was skied and Owen called for it at point the scorers had probably already started to fill the book in. Unfortunately, the amount of time to think was possibly his undoing as the chance went begging (cue laughter from his brother).
With the pressure the seamers had built, GT was able to take the aggressive wicket taking approach without worrying about runs. He dismissed the often-dangerous Cooper (caught C Carson) however J Matravars continued to target the short straight boundary as he had briefly done off Jog. It was GT who had the last laugh though - one attempt too many resulted in another catch for Thierry as GT finished with 4-61 from his quota.
From the pavilion end Malc, refreshed by his pre-match yoga session (see photo below), bowled a miserly spell (7-0-30-2) and it was then left to Owen to take the final wicket – Stragglers falling 53 runs short. Elgar was awarded to Owen for his dropped catch, noting a success off field day to being the tour to an end. It was a successful tour with the record of; won 3, drew 1, lost 1.
Speaking of off field events the purpose of Richard’s morning trip to the heritage railway became apparent as the tour managers were presented with a selection of ales (but no GT from the Instow shake shack) in appreciation of their efforts.
Carol Quinn and Mark Williams were also presented with wine and flowers, the very least the Frogs could do to thank them for tremendous work for scoring and umpiring during the week.
So another tour drew to a close, with a final pit stop at the services on the M4 for a burger or sandwich, ideal preparation for the final league game the next day.
From the Tour Managers, a huge thanks to all of those from the Frogs that made themselves available, Carol for scoring, Mark for umpiring and all our loyal spectators (of which there were plenty), which enabled another hugely successful week. A special mention to all our accommodation providers in Bampton and Andover, who looked after us so kindly yet again.
A final thanks must go to all opposition clubs, their groundstaff and volunteers for hosting us again in such tremendous fashion. We look forward to doing it all again in 2024.
Tour Leading Performances
Batting
A Carson - 100 vs East Woodhay
C Carson - 83 vs North Devon
T Marshall - 60* vs East Woodhay
C Carson - 60 vs Somerset Stragglers
Pascal - 53 vs North Devon
Bowling
O Marshall - 7-77 vs North Devon
Wright - 4-33 vs Devon Dumplings
Allen - 4-36 vs East Woodhay
T Marshall - 3-34 vs Devon Dumplings