Captain's Tour Report 2017
by Andrew Carson
A missed opportunity
Touring party:
Frogs: A. Carson, C. Carson, R. Chalk, E. Epstein, J. O’Gorman, C. Lawton, J.McCarthy, A. Marshall, O. Marshall, T. Marshall, R. Shenkman, S. Slabbert, A. Sykes, M. Williams, J. Wright
Tour entourage: R. Lawrence, T. Wilding, K. Carson, A. Marshall, G. Prain, J. Chalk, H. Cawker, K. Rodger.
The Frogs enjoyed a very successful tour, helped by five sunny days, winning three out of four games. The one defeat coming at Instow by the narrow margin of one wicket due to a last wicket partnership of 37 that frustrated the Frogs!
Match results: WWLW
Day 1
On Day 1 the Frogs arrived at Tidworth and unlike the year before they were greeted with sunshine and some late August early morning dew. After a long drive down on Saturday evening from the North, tour managers Andrew and Callum Carson were pleased to see all attending Frogs arrive on time!
Skipper Andrew Carson won the toss and elected to bat first and opened up with new tourist Alex Sykes. The pair started well but the dew meant boundaries were hard to come by and there were three all run 4s and three 3s in the first eleven overs, much to the skipper’s disgust! At that stage the Frogs had progressed nicely to 33-0, of which Sykes had 24. The Queries changed the bowling but Sykes continued to score freely as Carson watched and nurdled at the other end. Sykes reached his 50 at just over a run a ball and took the opening stand to 77 in 16 overs when Carson went LBW for 20.
Richard Chalk came in to join Sykes sporting his new Frogs helmet for the first time on the Western tour, an item which has left Chalky’s Bat feeling a little less loved this year. With Sykes going well at the other end, Chalky could take his time to build an innings, taking 11 balls to get off the mark, only 1 more than Carson. His composed innings off 9 off 31 balls provided good support for Sykes in a partnership of 41 which lead the Frogs to 118 in 27 overs. At this point Chalk smashed one behind (the shnick heard throughout Wiltshire) and then proceeded to protest the decision and moan for some hours to his teammates. Some things never change. At the other end Sykes was still playing excellently, putting away the bad ball at will and doing lots of running between the wickets, although by now the outfield had started to quicken up in the Wiltshire sun and boundaries were slightly easier to come by. Sykes’s attacking nature was in evidence throughout, again demonstrating what an excellent addtion to the Frogs he has been. Tom Marshall came out to join Sykes shortly before lunch but he too fell LBW for 5 from 15 balls to a straight delivery, a poor dismissal for the specialist slip fielder. At lunch the Frogs were 130-3 from 32 overs with Sykes 83*.
As always against the Queries, the lunch was excellent and much enjoyed by all the players: timed cricket is all about the cheese and biscuits (see reference later in the Day 1 report)! After lunch the Frogs pressed on the accelerator as Shenkman joined Sykes at the crease. Shenkman, another new Frogs recruit for 2017 and on his first tour, played an excellent innings, he was very strong through the offside especially square of the wicket on the drive and the cut. At the other end "Psycho” Sykes continued his assault on the bowling, cutting and pulling at will and driving over pitched balls through the covers, bringing up an excellent and richly deserved first Frogs hundred in the afternoon sun. When Shenkman was bowled for 34 from 30 balls the score was 182-4 from 40 overs. Sykes was joined by Slabbert, who continued where he left off from the last tour, trying to hoick everything over midwicket with his hockey shots (slightly harsh). He and Sykes added the finishing touches to the Frogs innings with a partnership of 53 in 7 overs, Slabbert ending 27*(29) and Sykes a fantastic 124*(112). The Frogs declared on 235-4 from 47 overs and then set to work trying to dismiss the Queries.
As the Frogs went out to field Slabbert was given his nickname for the tour: ‘Big Vern’, his floppy South African sun hat and bustling fielding movements both contributing to the new epithet. Big Vern was kept very busy on the large side of the boundary, which must have been a good 100 yards. Jono Wright and Shenkman opened the bowling and both started tidily with the Queries edging along to 5-0 from the first 5 overs. Jono then picked up the first wicket of the tour, bowling the left handed Wilkins for a duck from 17 deliveries. Having had problems earlier in the year with his run-up (Harmison-esque we are told) Jono has found some late season form and bowled a very nice spell. The early season mishaps are apparently nothing to do with his love of a good drop of red, a trait shared by a number of tourists.
The Queries then developed a steady partnership as the Frogs changed the bowling and brought on Owen and Andy Marshall. As the senior bowler, Malc has had many years perfecting his trade and bowled steadily. That experience has greatly increased this season having played 437 games and bowled 8,000+ overs in his summer off! In comparison Owen showed the exuberance of youth from his wide angled, almost leg-spin-like, run up and tried a host of slower and quicker deliveries... it was therefore Malc that made the breakthrough and the Queries were reduced to 45-2. A second wicket should have come for A Marshall bar a drop catch -- an absolute dolly -- from Tom Marshall at slip. After years of moaning at his Dad for dropping the occasional slip catch, Tom had done the exact same, much to Malc’s frustration. However, in the same moment the batsmen decided to run and Tom reacted quickly to pick the ball up, spin and throw the stumps down at the bowler’s end to partially redeem himself -- although not in the eyes of his father. The Queries were now 55-3 from 26 overs.
The Queries then developed another good partnership as Malc and Owen continued to bowl. At 91-3 from 35, Jog was introduced and he made the breakthrough, bowling Streatfield for 53 leaving the Queries were 118-4. They then lost three quick wickets and fell from 136-4 to 139-7 from 49 overs as Epstein’s mix of medium dobbly allsorts paid dividends. He took 2 in 2 balls include the Queries captain, the dangerous Campbell, hitting an almost double bouncing long hop straight to Big Vern at square leg. There were rumours that whilst grazing on the boundary, Big Vern had some cheese and biscuits hidden under a sprinkler head on the outfield, but these rumours were not confirmed, nor in fact denied.
Back to the cricket and the Frogs were frustrated by an 8th wicket partnership which grew to 52 from 10 overs as the Queries looked for some quick runs. Owen Marshall was reintroduced to the attack and should have had a wicket. Neale skied the ball towards midwicket and Andrew Carson backpedalled to try to take the catch. Instead of turning round and watching it over his shoulder like a normal person, Carson continued to backpedal...and then backpedalled some more...and then some more... (ed: At this point Andrew would like it be noted that there is a slope from the square down towards the far boundary that Big Vern had been patrolling, and that this contributed to the ball getting away from him. Quite how the gradient of the outfield affects the flight of an airborne cricket ball is unclear.) By now (with Carson still backpedalling) the Frogs were waiting with bated breath as comedy was clearly imminent. Carson actually got back far enough but, for reasons unknown, windmilled one hand backwards at the ball instead of two and proceeded to complete a spectacular drop, crumpled in a heap. A truly marvellous effort that from North Leeds' 1st XI captain! The Queries finished on 191-7 from 59 overs at the close and declared their innings closed overnight, Epstein with his bag of allsorts and O’Gorman with his bag of tricks finishing with two wickets each.
Elgar – see note from 2016 tour reports – was awarded to Tom Marshall, who has been suspiciously quiet on the Day 1. Firstly his batting flattered to deceive, missing an attempted block just before lunch. Secondly his fielding, also unfortunately flattered to deceive, for the aforementioned dolly being dropped and a number of attempted stops which looked suspiciously like rolls out of the way, pulling the hands away at the last moment. Thirdly his bowling...flattered to deceive, a slight ankle niggle meaning he didn’t deign to attempt an over. This might be slightly harsh but it must be noted that T. Mars. does not look cut out for only batting and fielding -- a smile wouldn’t go amiss! And of course, when in doubt, Elgar should be awarded the person it will most annoy.
At the end of the day an excellent BBQ was enjoyed by all before heading off to Andover for the first night’s stay. A number of the touring party experienced the Andover nightlife and were slightly worse for wear the next day. Some tour members experienced more of the nightlife than others, Jog managed to return home after a mere 30 minutes – the uni Jagerbomb days are a long time ago...
Day 2
Day 2 began with some of the tour party experiencing some rather sore heads. Although all did make it to breakfast at 'Spoons, some had been in the same establishment mere hours earlier! With the Queries having declared overnight the Frogs had a lead of 43 and a new opening pair headed to the crease for day 2. Chris “Poshy” Lawton who had been absent from the Sunday due to a hangover from a Saturday wedding (controversial scheduling to say the least) strode out with Callum Carson to open the batting. Unfortunately Poshy fell early for 3 from 25 balls, with his weight sitting a little on the backfoot, a full ball was driven aerially to cover where the sub fielder for the Queries (Shenk) took a straight-forward catch. Chalky came out to join Callum and the pair of them were circumspect in the beginning of their partnership, adding 38 in 11 overs, as the Queries tried to make most of the early morning dew. However, as the partnership developed runs started to flow for the Frogs. The Queries turned to the experienced McGregor to try and pick up a wicket but Carson took a liking to the bowling: hitting the first six for the Frogs of the tour in McGregor’s third over. At this stage the Frogs were well placed at 83-1 from 22 overs with Carson 42*(72) and Chalk going well on 27*(39).
During the first session, the Frogs tourist enjoyed a high quality game of bowls in the glorious Wiltshire weather, including perhaps the greatest hole in history, as the jack rolled over the course for about two minutes at snail's pace down the bank, onto the road and towards the gate to the A-road! Midway through the session two more tourists arrived: Marc Williams and Richard Lawrence. They showed up in time to see some excellent batting from the Frogs as the partnership between Carson and Chalk began to flourish. Both batsmen started to open their shoulders and took a liking to the bowling as Carson took 22 off an over from McGregor which included three more 6s. The first of these brought up Callum’s 50 from 80 balls. At the other end Chalk was going similarly well and reached an excellent 50 from 54 balls which included a big 6 towards the pavilion. The pair had put on 117 (which would turn out to be the largest partnership of the tour) in 21 overs when Carson attempted to launch another six but could only sky a catch to the bowler, by the time he departed he had amassed a well-compiled 72 from 87 deliveries. In the next over Chalk departed for 52 from 58 deliveries and left the Frogs 144-3 from 28 overs. Joe McCarthy joined Eytan Esptein and the pair put on 21 before Eytan was dismissed for 12. The Frogs were looking to get towards their declaration target. “Psycho” was the new batsman to join McCarthy but after his Day 1 heroics he only managed 3 before running himself out. Owen Marshall (8*) and McCarthy (14*) added the finishing touches and, after both tried and failed pathetic reverse sweeps, the captain had seen more than enough and the Frogs declared on 183-5 from 36 overs. Leaving the Queries 228 to win from what turned out to be 53 overs.
Another excellent lunch was enjoyed with a beer for those not too hungover from the night before. After lunch the Frogs set about trying to take the 10 Queries wickets to win, Tom Marshall opened the bowling but due to being soft an ankle ligament injury could only manage an over before having to be taken off. Jono opened at the other end and it was the bustling bowling (in the Tim Bresnan mould) of “Psycho” that replaced Marshall. The two of them bowled well in tandem and Sykes produced an excellent spell which saw the Queries opener edge to Andy Marshall at slip only for the chance to go down. The seamers had toiled without reward and with the score at 39-0 from 11 the Frogs turned to spin. Only 2 runs came from the next 5 overs as a (still) hungover O’Gorman managed to find his areas instantly and Malc was soon introduced. It was Jog that produced the first breakthrough and managed to get a second in the over with a perfect googly, his figures read 3-3-0-2. At 41-2 from 16 the Frogs really squeezed the scoring and the Queries moved to 56-2 from 23 overs before Malc got the third wicket, caught and bowled as the young Queries batsman tried to press the accelerator. “You always catch them off your own bowling” Sykes was heard muttering!!
After tea, a very interesting passage of play began as the Queries captain Simon Campbell came out and played a very good counter-attacking innings. He and the opening batsman put on a partnership of 62 from 11 overs with Campbell striking a number of excellent boundaries. The bowling was changed as Owen came on but he was unable to make the breakthrough with figures of 5-0-33-0 as he bowled throughout the partnership. Jono, stationed at long-off, did miss a couple of chances off O’Gorman’s bowling, much to Jog’s frustration, “I’ve had enough of him there”. Additionally Joe McCarthy, who earlier had batted well, had one of those days behind the stumps! A couple of missed chances but Jog was really fizzing them through and it wasn’t easy keeping. The game was well set up with the Queries needing 122 off the last 20 overs, however, as the partnership developed dangerously, the runout of Campbell was to prove the moment that turned the game on its head for the Frogs. As the Queries skipper turned and ran to the danger end for a second run it appeared if he would make his ground easily... only for his partner to remain standing in his crease! The runout proved critical as the Queries slid from 118-3 to 126 all out. Chief destroyer was Malc who took 9-4-10-5 with his accurate "off-spin" as four off the last six Queries batsman fell for 0. With the Queries 126-9 it was Slabbert “Big Vern” who came on to bowl. Two balls: dot, stumped! The Frogs had won by 102 runs with 12 overs left in the game.
As always the Frogs very much enjoyed the game at Tidworth in the glorious Wiltshire sunshine, thanks to the Queries for hosting us and for the fantastic hospitality as always! We very much look forward to returning next year.
After the game the Frogs made their way down to Bampton to check in to the B&Bs and enjoy a great dinner at the Swan. A slightly quieter night was enjoyed after the antics of the Sunday night in Andover, however, Wright and McCarthy started the week as they intended to continue: sampling a number of red wines and brandies!
Elgar was awarded before the departure to Bampton to Jog, with the main reason being the fact he departed the Andover festivities rather early due to having one too many drinks and having a slightly upset stomach…these match reports will not delve further into the ins and outs! Suffice to say that any dismissed batsman during the day had to trudge past a rather Jager-soiled pair of shoes and trousers drying on the steps. Elgar could have been awarded for Malc as he left the tour on Monday night to return for a Middlesex over 50s game but Elgar wanted to stay and watch the cricket on Day 3, a wise choice this turned out to be…
Day 3
Tuesday, as always, saw the Frogs at Exeter Cricket Club to play against the Devon Dumplings. Going with history in the fixture, the captain on the day Callum Carson chose to field first as the Frogs prepared to chase the usual sizeable score set by the Dumplings. Generally a very high scoring game this, but this was one of those bizarre mornings where everything went right for the Frogs. The game was set up by a fantastic opening spell by Robert Shenkman. All tour we tried to think of an Englishman with a similar bowling action but struggled, the best I can do is a combination of South Africans: a slight Andrew Hall to start, followed by a bit of the Andre Nel and Makhaya Ntini left hand lean in the delivery stride and release... but unfortunately all at the pace of Keith Parsons! However, the opening spell on a very good pitch at Exeter was one of the best seen there by a touring Frog.
Shenk took the first 4 wickets to fall after Jono chose the wrong end (of course) and bowled into the wind. The first was a pearler, a ball on a good length that the batsman left only to see it nip back and hit the top of off stump. Shenk took wickets in his second, third, fourth and fifth overs as his nip backers at skiddy pace caused the Dumplings batsman all kinds of trouble. His four wickets included the aforementioned bowled; two caught behinds for Williams, who had a good day behind the stumps; and another pearler bowling the Devon Dumplings second overseas Van Rensberg, completing figures of 7-0-22-4. He was well supported at the other end by Jono who tried manfully get out of first gear into the wind as the slips and keeper moved ever closer towards the batsman. Keeper Williams started 20 yards back but by the end of the spell was standing up to the stumps with slip not far behind! Wright did bowl well and had probing figures of 7-2-18-0. Two bowling changes were made which saw Ian Austin/Chris Lawton trundle in from the pavilion end and Eytan Epstein bowl his “mediums” from the other. It was fair to say that Eytan’s figures mirrored those from other Frogs bowlers in previous years at Exeter and 3-0-23-0 saw him promptly withdrawn from the attack: the cries of anguish on releasing a wayward delivery did not appear to bother the batsman! From the Pavilion End, Posh found a nagging line and length immediately, apart from the third ball of his opening over, which was a rank long hop... however, it found the fifth wicket for the Frogs as it was sliced to Jog at backward point and Posh had started with a wicket maiden. At this stage the Dumplings were 45-5 from 15 overs in the first hour and drinks were brought on to the field.
After drinks Jog was brought into the attack and the Dumpling no. 6, S. Read tried to build a recovery until his partner was bowled by Posh to leave the score 64-6, Posh was in the middle of a great spell and bowled with great rhythm, his arm thurst high into the air in similar style to Jasprit Bumrah. They were favourable bowling conditions for the Frogs with occasionally drizzle although the Exeter pitch was as good as ever. In Posh’s next over Read was dismissed due to a spectacular grab as first slip from A. Carson who flung himself away to his right to grab a stunning catch one-handed. This was much to the surprise of the rest of the Frogs side after his attempt on Sunday. At 71-7, Jog got to work and promptly cleaned up the tail but not without some bizarre Frogs fielding. Firstly at mid-on Tom Marshall got into a good position to take a high catch before looking suddenly uninterested and withdrawing his hands, only for the ball to brush his arm! Very next ball, the same batsman who had completed two from Tom’s blunder, hit a forcing shot towards short mid-wicket, this time captain Callum Carson appeared to move out of the way but stuck out a left hand in which somehow the ball nestled, “that’s how you do it Tom”! Jog finished the innings bowling the last two batsman to see the Dumplings dismissed for 81 in 28.4 overs before lunch. The Frogs tourists were as bemused as anyone -- the first session is normally a very high scoring one for the Dumplings!
After lunch the Frogs sent out the two younger Marshalls to open the batting and, bar a chance from Owen in the first over, they knocked off the runs in a very composed fashion to see the game finished by 3pm and a Frogs victory by 10 wickets. Tom ended with 40*(45) and Owen 26*(41) although the scrawny pair may have been very difficult to distinguish between for the scorers. Tom Wilding arrived after lunch to join the Frogs tour as a spectator (a misfield early season breaking his hand and putting him out all season, an unfortunate reason to miss a year of cricket). It was good to have Tom though in spectating capacities and he was as startled as anyone to see the score!
With the extra time in the day the Frogs decided to make good use of it and return to the pitch and putt course previously frequented on tours where this game has been abandoned due to bad weather! Despite the course missing a hole due to a road being built through part of it, the Frogs very much enjoyed their afternoon. We learnt that Callum is as boring as ever, laying up on 80 yard holes to avoid the water, that Tom and Joe are not pros (first two shots of the day in the drink), Eytan and Jog are better than expected and that Posh takes his golf too seriously. No hole was longer than 100 yards but Posh (or the "Biddestone Bumrah") decide to bring his whole bag around, multiple balls, a green chart, his chauffeur to be caddy and a selection of different tees to use with his wedge. In all seriousness it might have only been one wedge and his own shoes that he used, but the quote of the day also came from Posh. After flushing a shot well past the green and cries of “wrong club” from the groups behind the quote came “what do you expect with these guns” as Posh flexed his biceps! Eytan “Greg Norman” Epstein managed to win and with Simon “Big Easy Vern” Slabbert in second. Unfortunately the two Marshall Brothers proved utterly pathetic and shot more than double the par of 54, the only time they would reach three figures all tour!
Elgar was nominated that evening in Bampton to Richard Lawrence for an unfortunate accident involving his car and a small wall at the garage which required a trip to the bodywork shop the following morning!
Day 4
Day 4 saw the Frogs arrive at sunny Instow on the north Devon coast. As is customary, the Frogs enjoyed an ice cream on the beach and wandered along to the cricket ground. After an extended version of one hand one bounce, a game that Callum is always annoyingly good at, the Frogs won the toss and elected to bat. Unfortunately due to some late dropouts NDCC only had 9 players and so two of the touring Frogs very kindly volunteered to play for the opposition, Robert Shenkman and Callum Carson. Shenk took to playing for the opposition like a duck to water and within 2 overs had nicknames for all his new pals -- excellent badgering.
The Frogs didn’t start the innings as well as hoped, as the flat and bouncy track at Instow is generally a batsman’s paradise. McCarthy was bowled for 0 in the first over and Carson hit a full toss to wide mid-off and was dismissed by spectacular diving catch leaving the Frogs 24-2. Slabbert was next to go, given LBW, and when Tom Marshall knicked off and then saw a spectacular juggling catch by NDCC keeper, Russ "Wild Thing" Young, the Frogs were in all kinds of trouble at 34-4. The Frogs started to rebuild through Poshy and Williams who put on 28 before Posh was bowled by Mark Lathwell’s nephew for 19. This was the only bat that Williams had on tour and he played well until, on 28, he tried to wallop a full toss out of the ground only to sky it and see it dropped. Opting not to capitalise on his reprieve, next ball he drove flat footed (J.V-esque) and nicked off. The Frogs were 88-6 at drinks and staring down the barrel. Williams came off and bemoaned the lack of a personal drinks break an over early but with just six balls to the official drinks break he had been told to get on with it. Unfortunately the Frogs are not yet a professional outfit with water carriers and team masseurs! Jono is currently working out how much we need to win on the EuroMillions so we can all become professional wandering cricketers!
It came down to Owen Marshall and Richard Chalk to repair the damage, a little like in 2016! Owen was the more aggressive of the two and pushed Chalky between the wickets. Owen batted superbly, playing a really composed and mature innings, a true mark of his development as a cricketer. The partnership had taken the Frogs out of a sticky situation but they were still a way behind a good total. Owen, realising this, tried to up the ante and reached his half century from 59 balls. However two balls later he pushed to mid-on but Chalky, slightly sitting on his bat at the non-strikers end, stood firm and having already run three-quarters of the way down Owen had to turn and get back: a mission that proved too much and he was dismissed for 51. Jog came in and showed that although he rarely does bat, he does have talent with the willow (those playing at the Hogs can vouch for that), as he put Shenkman’s first ball to him over cover for four (to cries of “put the rubbish in the bin!” from Owen) and executed an unorthodox "charge down, pirouetting hook" against the young left arm quick. At the other end Chalk tried a big hit but was caught for 21 from 51, tied down from accelerating earlier by some good NDCC bowling. Jog was joined by Jono and the added 13 in the final 2 overs to take the Frogs up to 178-9 from their allotted 40 overs, Mr O’Gorman run out last ball for an entertaining 21, Jono a useful 21*.
With the Frogs below par, as per the previous year, the bowlers set about defending the modest target. In the glorious end of season sunshine the tour entourage of Lawrence, Wilding, Prain, A. Marshall, K. Carson, J. Chalk and Mr Keith Rodger (accompanied by Bruno) watched on. They were generally encouraging bar some small bits of abuse from the younger members of the entourage!! (Though to be fair Jono really can’t throw!) The Frogs started well with Jono slipping out of second gear as he bowled another tidy opening spell, well backed up by Bumrah Poshy at the other end. Callum opened the batting for NDCC and tried to deposit Jono straight back over his head but could only miscue the ball high in the air, where Jog made an easy catch look difficult but clung on. At the other end Posh trapped the no.3 LBW and when A.Carson held a catch at gully NDCC had lost 3 wickets in 10 overs and were on the back foot. Just as a partnership started to develop, we saw the best bit of fielding of the tour from final ball of Jono's spell. The batsman pushed the ball back towards him and Jono moved quickly to his right. As the daydreaming non-striker was turning to regain his ground, Jono picked up the ball and threw the stumps down with an Ian Harvey-esque back-hand flick to leave NDCC 53-4 off 13. The Frogs were well and truly back in it!
With the runrate never a problem for NDCC the Frogs knew that wickets were the order of the day. With the fall of the 4th wicket Shenkman came to the crease and unfortunately for the Frogs played a very composed innings, staying uncharacteristically silent as he weathered a verbal barrage from his erstwhile teammates. At this stage with Malc and Jog bowling the scoring was kept in check and in Malc’s third over he picked up a wicket via an excellent catch from Big Vern. The ball was skied out towards deep midwicket and Vern ran in and dived to take an excellent catch just off the turf. This left NDCC 80-5 at drinks and the game very much in the balance. The partnership between the NDCC captain and Shenk was to prove a pivotal one, as Shenk batted well, picking up singles when available off Jog who was in the middle of an excellent spell. At the other end Slabbert replaced Malc and though he thought that he had Shenk stumped it was controversially given not out by the umpire: with Shenk on 22* at the time, this was a crucial moment. The Frogs were still in the game when O’Gorman picked up his first wicket to leave NDCC 115-6 from 27. It was at this moment that the NDCC captain came in to join Shenk and looked to take the game away from the Frogs. Owen Marshall was brought on but Shenk moved on to 40 and took the NDCC total up to 146-6 with 9 overs to go. But there was a twist in the tail as Shenkman was caught behind off Slabbert, which opened the door for the Frogs. When Big Vern bowled the number 9 second ball and McCarthy, with a good bit of fielding, then helped run out the number 10 two overs later the Frogs were favourites again with NDCC 153-9 from 34 overs.
It was down to their skipper and NDCC wicketkeeper Russ Young to try and take them home. Slabbert nearly picked up a fourth and final wicket as the WIld Thing slashed at one which hit keeper Williams (who had an excellent day behind the stumps and only conceded 4 byes) on the shoulder and deflected out of reach of the diving Carson. Their skipper then hit a boundary off the last ball of the over to leave NDCC requiring 20 from 6 overs with one wicket reaming. The Frogs turned back to O’Gorman and with Young on strike fancied their chances as he professed to having got ducks in his previous two innings! However, he took 8 off the over to reduce the target to 12 from 5 overs. With Slabbert bowling at the well set NDCC captain the field was spread wide, second ball Slabbert was dispatched over extra cover for 4, 8 to win. Two dot balls followed before the origin for the title of this report “a missed opportunity” came. The NDCC skipper tried to hit Slabbert into the car park and got a good piece of the ball. All the Frogs fielders watched, as did the umpires and NDCC batsman, as the ball soared towards long off where Mark Ealham, Ian Austin, Andrew Hall Jasprit Bumrah Chris Lawton was stationed, with Lawrence, Wilding and Prain on the bench behind him. As the ball got closer to Posh he got himself into a good position, hands level with his eyes, reversed cupped, ready to swallow it and give the Frog’s a third win from three.... Unfortunately for Posh the ball hit one of his hands, didn’t stick and trickled over the rope for four. One of those things, but moments on which games are won and lost! This left NDCC needing 4 to win, overs left not a problem, one wicket in hand, with the senior batsman on strike and one ball left of Slabbert’s over. A long discussion then followed between Slabbert and Carson in which it no real conclusion was reached and ended with the skipper saying “I don’t know, let’s just leave it!”. As it happened Slabbert managed a dot ball as the NDCC skipper left a ball that was just acceptable and not called a wide. O’Gorman bowled the next and the Frogs fancied their chances against Young but they were proved very wrong, first ball, a bit of a long hop from Jog, was swatted over mid-on for 4 and NDCC had won. A great game of cricket and a special moment for the Wild Thing to hit the winning runs but a disappointing end for the Frogs (though if we take Shenk’s score we can claim a victory of sorts!). After the game, as is now customary, the Frogs enjoyed an excellent meal at the Boathouse in Instow and dissected the game! Malc was awarded Elgar for his disappearance for a 2nd over 50s game of the week (poor form) but as he left it was passed on to Posh for the aforementioned clanger. We very much look forward to returning to Instow and NDCC next year!
Day 5
The final day of the tour was at Valley of the Rocks at Lynton and Lynmouth. The Somerset Stragglers won the toss and elected to bat on a typical Lynton and Lynmouth wicket. A wicket that perhaps ex-Somerset pro James Reagan would not be used to playing on as fifth ball of the day he chipped to mid-off to be caught by Owen Marshall, much to the delight of Jono Wright. Stragglers captain Jack Cooper and other opener R.Stephens formed a good partnership of 55 before that man Mark Ealham got into the act. First he accounted for Stephens who was well caught, low down at short extra by Tom Marshall. Then D. Quick, who looked as if in partnership with Cooper they might help the Stragglers accelerate, skied one to Owen Marshall who took an excellent catch tumbling at mid-off. On the stroke of lunch Owen took a caught and bowled from a very slow looping full toss, much to the bemusement of the batsman! This left the Stragglers at 90-4 at lunch with their skipper Jack Cooper on 44*.
After lunch, Owen continued and took his second wicket which saw the batsman try and cut one, only to hit his stumps in the process. Poshy continued from the Atlantic Ocean end after the resumption and bowled an inviting half tracker to the Straggler’s captain, however, it was not as quick off the pitch as Cooper thought and he could only manage to pull it straight to McCarthy at square leg for his first and only catch of the tour! This left the Stragglers in a precarious position of 97-6, however, the Frogs had agreed that two of the Stragglers could bat again, though not the ex-pro Reagan! Owen continued to enjoy bowling from the Atlantic Highway Road end and took the 7th wicket to fall, a sharp catch by captain A.Carson at midwicket.
Posh had completed an excellent spell of bowling and with figures of 8-0-38-3 and was taken out of the attack for pilot Slabbert. His flight control saw the ball touch down perfectly on the desired spot on the landing strip. His unsuccessful LBW appeal was a highlight of the tour, we do hope he is clearer when addressing the passengers on his aeroplane! The Stragglers had put together a partnership of 13 in 7 overs before Owen won an LBW decision to take his fourth wicket but was removed from the attack by the captain with excellent figures of 10-1-24-4. His spell showed the virtue of giving the ball some extra flight with the breeze, a good lesson for the young off spinner. Slabbert picked up the 9th wicket, caught by Posh and it was then time for Chalky to have his first over on Frogs tour for many many many (many) years. From his fifth ball Chalky picked up the final wicket, with the batsman dragging on and the Stragglers were dismissed for 123.
The opening pair for the Frogs were Tom Marshall and Callum Carson, they put on a very steady partnership of 66 from 14 overs. Jog who very kindly offered to sub field for the opposition, dropped Callum from an absolute dolly at mid-on, much to this disappointment of his new team mates and the bemusement of Jog himself. Tom was also dropped as the Stragglers missed a couple of opportunities. Tom was dismissed for 52 at a run a ball with Callum not out on 11 from 27 as it appeared as if Tom was wanting the strike. With the departure of Marshall, Carson opened his shoulders but next to go was McCarthy for his second duck in 2 days! Carson soon followed for 29 to leave the Frogs at 83-3 from 18 overs, requiring 41 from 27 overs. Not a particularly strenous ask, however, half the side were at the top of the rocks enjoying the view before captain Carson went up to chivvy a few of them down to get changed! Big Vern and Shenk were the two batsmen and Big Vern managed to mow a 6 into the field leaving the Frogs 107-3 before he was given LBW to young F. Stephens who bowled a great spell of left arm spin at the age of 13, taking an impressive 2-42 in 9 overs. With the Frogs requiring 4 to win Shenkman gave Stephens his second wicket, bowled trying to reverse sweep to the largest boundary, when will these modern batsmen learn! It was left to Jono to complete the game with a 6 and he finished 10* with Chalk 0*, the Frogs had won by 5 wickets with 22 overs to spare.
The 2017 tour was a great success and no time was lost due to rain, bad light or mist unlike previous years! The Frogs nearly completed the elusive 100% winning record but it wasn’t quite to be at North Devon. As always a great thanks to all those that came and made the tour a great week, and a thanks to the clubs/B&B owners that hosted for their hospitality. We very much look forward to returning in 2018.