The T20 with Surrey was a very successful new venture at the outstanding redeveloped Exeter ground. With Surrey travelling up to play a two day game with the sixteens it was suggested the afternoon before be utilised and the T20 was the result. This was a very busy week for the sixteens and unfortunately the fifteen and fourteens programmes meant we could not look at potential 2017 players. We did bring in the Under 17s leadership team of Billy Rudolph and Harvey Sargent in the hope that the standards required at this level could be seen by the players at first hand. They both did an excellent job and it was sad to pay a final farewell to then both after the game even if one was off the Newquay. Sandy Allen ran the most intensive warm up of the summer and still some of the squad did not buy into it and respond with the required intensity. Following Ben Hayes side injury Ben Sapiecha kindly agreed to cut short his holiday on the North Devon coast to join us - he did well. Billy Rudolph won his last CAG toss and batted. Harvey Sargent and Ashley Causey reformed their opening partnership that had produced fifty-eight runs in 2015. In 2016 they shared in a partnership of fifteen. Harvey Sargent fresh from a successful outing with Northampton Twos was first out although Devon were three down ten runs later. The captain joined Jamie Khan who has proved to be the sides outstanding one day batsman. The pair put on a truly exceptional ninety-one off just fifty-three balls in thirty-six minutes of the best batting of this type of the summer. Amongst the many Rudolph traits is his outstanding running between the wickets and he was here to demonstrate this quality to the others. Jamie Khan was forced to go to areas not previously explored this summer and to his great credit the pair ran beautifully together. Without Lammonby this side lacks a runner role model which has been clearly evident all summer but particularly over the previous two days when balls were just patted back without the inclination or desire to convert into singles. Khan was first to go, he had demonstrated fully his ability to change a match in an innings of just forty-three minutes facing twenty-nine balls scoring at a strike rate of 186.21 in reaching fifty-four. Devon were now on 116-4 after thirteen overs and Sandy Allen was calculating a final score. Such calculations are fraught with danger as they are dependent on so many unknown's but he was actually nearly right. Rudolph ran Horn ragged and then watched him depart - 133-5 in the fifteenth. The captain was out next over 138-6, it really is vital that the side take on how easy it is to run well. Sapiecha was impressing and watched Devon loose Oxland and Williams in reaching one six four and with Ben Abrahams he took Devon up to a final and competitive 169-8. Rudolph scored thirty-nine, Sargent, Sapiecha and Oxland reached double figures. With a ten minute turnaround Devon were soon in the field to defend the eight and a half an over.
They put on perhaps the best fielding performance of the summer supporting their bowlers well who in turn performed out of their skins! Initially it was all Surrey as their openers put on forty-four in just nine minutes off twenty-four deliveries. Boys who made Surrey's top score of 26 was first to fall neatly stumped by Oxland off James Bovey. Chris Yabsley then took the next three wickets in a space of ten deliveries taking a return catch from Geddes and with the help of Horn removing the second opener Aravinthan. Finally he enticed Genella to hit his own wicket - a first for the scorer in over forty years! The visitors had fallen away in eighteen balls from 44-0 to 64-4. The fourth wicket fell in seventh over. Jamie Khan with a well judged underarm flick then ran out Ratnasabapathy 86-5 at the half way stage. The captain who was ringing the changes then caught and bowled Bhat and thoughts turned to a win! The Surrey under 17s had called up Prince to Taunton to cover a potential concussion but now he was back in Exeter and was unbeaten on nineteen as Ashley Causey cleaned up the four remaining wickets - with catches from Khan and Bovey, a caught and bowled and he bowled the visitors last man. This really had been a most encouraging performance as the sides main strike bowlers had been rested. The Bovey pair of Yabsley 3-24 and Causey 4-12 had bowled extraordinarily well. It had been enjoyable to sample the new Exeter and the deserved compliments flowed about Devon's performance which had been simply outstanding. It is essential that some key messages about intensity, pressure, running and tight fielding had been taken on board - and Boardmasters was where a number of Devonians were heading.
