The three days in the Cotswolds, most certainly on the pitch were special ones so it was unfortunate that there was to be a sour end to our first Championship away trip. The Inn for all Seasons provided one of the best ever breakfasts on the circuit but was located on the main A40. We ate at the Duke of Wellington in Bourton-on the Water an old paddling haunt of the coach and they looked after us well. Finding Clubs to host now three day cricket is not just a problem in Devon and Gloucestershire are fortunate to have access to the Great Rissington ground. The one drawback is that it is impossible to have a ground team present for all of the match and there did not appear to be access to rollers. However the outside caterer was a huge plus with a chocolate fudge sweet of the highest order. The Gloucestershire parents did a brilliant job in cooking and serving the food. After the disastrous game against Worcestershire it was absolutely essential that Devon put on a decent performance and the return of Harvey Sargent, Joe Hagan-Burt and Tom Lammonby boosted everyone's confidence that we could put on an improved display. The forecast for the first two days confirmed by the radar was for light showers on the first day and heavier on the second - so it proved to be. Billy Rudolph called correctly and his side batted. Sargent could have been caught first ball but went fourth bowled 0-1- thoughts want back to Exmouth. Noah Wright, who was suffering from a severe case of tonsillitis necessitating a trip up from Paignton with the prescribed drugs, and Joe Hagan-Burt put on eighteen for the second wicket but the Plymouth all-rounder fell in the seventh over 18-2, time for George to have a walk. There was then an hour's rain break, Devon then put on three vital partnerships first Tom Lammonby, who was playing just as a batsman, and Wright put on 68 off fifty-four balls. The joy, and it is a joy, of having Lammonby in the side is his ability to find gaps and his running. The pair batted well together and Lammonby's ability to keep the scoreboard ticking over at a decent rate frees his partner of scoreboard pressure. It was fifty and out as Wright laid into Belcher to sky a return catch. Time wise this was not ideal as it exposed the captain to nine pre lunch deliveries. Wright had scored at the outstanding strike rate of 124.39 hitting nine fours, his share of the sixty-eight partnership was forty-seven a vital innings. Lammonby and Rudolph took Devon up to 160 in fifty-seven minutes when Nelson struck in balls and Rudolph cut loosely to spoon a simple catch. He had needed to hit it. The pair had put on seventy-four of which Lammonby had contributed thirty-eight and Rudolph thirty-five. These two are the best runners in the side and they looked a class act. Harry Ward joined Lammonby who was due to play for the ECB Development side the following week against Ski Lanka but was deprived of the opportunity by a small fracture in his back. Rain again interrupted play and play would now go on seven thirty. Following the return to the field the two hundred was passed and Ward and Lammonby were compiling a potentially match winning partnership. The two fifty came up in the fifty-fifth over and Devon were well placed at tea on 252- 4. The three hundred was raised in the sixty-sixth over and Lammonby was well past his second hundred of the summer against Gloucestershire, the under rated batsman Harry Ward was past his first fifty of the summer. With full bonus points secured it was now a matter of timing the declaration. The pair took Devon up to 329 when Wards fine innings came to an end for an outstanding sixty-five, the pair had put on one hundred and sixth-nine in just one hundred and thirty-five minutes off one hundred and sixty-nine deliveries. It is hoped that Ward will now score the three figures he is capable of before the end of the season. Kasi Szymanski fell in the seventy-third over - 337-6, Sam Maunder went second ball and with the demise of Tom Lammonby in the seventy-seventh over Devon declared on 340-8. An outstanding batting performance. Gloucestershire faced eighteen overs without loss putting on fifty-nine. Devon then travelled straight to the Duke of Wellington. This had been an excellent days work.
The previous year at Brislington Devon Under 16s had been in a similar overnight position and then took early wickets and with his eighteenth delivery of the morning Jack Gibbs had Palmer caught by Noah Wright. The openers had put on sixty-nine and Devon had devised a plan to put the home side batters under pressure. Forbes and Garrett put on seventy-one off one hundred and three delivers for the second wicket when the promising under 14 left arm spinner, Hancock, brilliantly caught and bowled the dangerous Forbes. After forty-one overs the home side were comfortably placed on 140-2. By the time lunch was taken the balance had changed as the captain had picked up three wickets leaving Gloucestershire on 175-5. He first bowled Garrett and then in successive balls trapped Webb and Hooper in front. Rudolph was demonstrating the benefit of gun barrel straight bowling. His figurers at lunch were 3-16. In the fourth post lunch over Rudolph struck again picking up his third leg before. The captain was in the middle of one of those very special spells. Matt Petherbridge joined in eight balls later with another leg before. Gloucestershire were now eight short of a second batting point and Devon had now picked up their third bowling point. Rudolph took his fivefor by now bowling Drissell. The ninth wicket partnership gained the second batting point and added twenty-nine and at tea Gloucestershire were 225-8. Ten balls after the interval nine wickets were down Max Hancock whose twenty overs demonstrated what an asset he will be had Belcher caught by Wright and then the captain finished the innings off with the help of a neat slip catch from Sargent. His outstanding figurers were 16.2-5-30-6 are the fourth best under 17 return. Devon were one hundred and twenty-four ahead. We had received a royal visit from the Coaches parents and it indeed was good to see them both.
The Devon openers put on sixty-seven before Wright was dismissed in the twenty-fourth over. Devon were on 91 when twenty-three minutes were lost to rain. Another two runs were added when Sargent was leg before for a eighty-two ball fifty-seven. There were seventeen balls before close of play and Tom Lammonby declined a night watchman and Devon were two hundred and twenty-two ahead at close of play. Again it had been a long day and we went straight off to Bourton on the Water.
The tactics for the final day were discussed and various approaches considered as it transpired Devon played the near perfect hand. They took out twenty-three overs adding another one hundred and fifty-three runs. Hagan-Burt and Lammonby added one hundred and thirty for the third wicket in just seventy-five minutes, it was exceptional batting. The sides pointless run out came in the forty-ninth over when Hagan-Burt went for a second, He had batted for ninety-two minutes facing ninety-nine balls and was fifteen short of another deserved hundred. His partner who was on target for his third ton of the summer against Gloucestershire then played one of his least successful leg side shots to be caught by Drissell for sixty. The home side will have been very relieved to have seen the back of him. It later transpired that he had been playing with a stress fracture in his back and this is possibly the end of his season. Once Lammonby was out it was important that Devon did not take up too many balls and Billy Rudolph brought his side in at the end of the fifty-third over with Gloucestershire needing three seventy-five but more realistically Devon needed to pick up ten wickets. It was important that they made early inroads into Gloucestershire's top order and hope the spinners would sort out the rest. This virtually is what happened. The home side survived the eighteen balls before lunch then Kasi Szymanski sorted out both the openers juggler Harry Ward caught Palmer and Harvey Sargent Forbes - 27-2 off nine overs. The captain took his seventh wicket in the twelfth over,, surprise surprise another leg before - 37-3. A bigger surprise was that Devon took their own first run out of the summer a brilliant piece of work from Harry Ward - 44-4. It became 79-5 when Hancock took his first wicket with another fine catch this time from Hagan-Burt. Harry Ward will be disappointed with his first spell but Max Hancock then had the home sides top scorer Garrett well held by Sam Maunder. Maunder now over his post operation blues was back to his best adding another dimension to the side in the field. Matt Petherbridge return to his old self was confirmed by another leg before - 119-7. The long handle was now out and Gloucestershire now reached tea on 140-7.The eighth wicket put on an annoying fifty-five but Devon now had field settings never seen previously at this age group as they went for the kill. Petherbridge trapped the annoying Drissell, his thirty-two had most certainly infuriated. 174-8. Harry Ward now returned to the attack and bowled a peach to Wormwell and Hagan Burt, close in, held a stunning one handed catch 197-9. Max Hancock in his twenty-first over then held a second exceptional caught and bowled and it was all over. George had walked at least four wickets and was tired but everyone else were truly delighted in what had been a near perfect three day performance with everyone around the bat at the end. Poor Oli Reed was the bowler to suffer and not get some overs in but he patrolled the furthest boundary brilliantly.
We stopped at Gordano's and met up with the Cornwall Under U17s who themselves had had a successful trip, Sandy Allen who had ensured we were ahead of our opposition throughout the game got everyone home at a reasonable time and then thirty-six hours later an email arrives.
