Exmouth marks the spot
The man plays!
By Griockle
August 8 2010
My first visit to the Exmouth 'stadium' and a beautiful setting it is to, just behind the sand dunes at one end of the parade and we have WI-FI!! I'm not sure how long it will last for but we'll try and give you as much as we can. No Suppiah today, Max Waller will play and Charl will rest for tomorrow.
v The Unicorns CB40 @ Exmouth Sunday 8 August 2010
Commentary - None on today
Welcome to wi-fi enabled Exmouth!! The toss has been made and Somerset have chosen to field. The side is;
Trescothick, Kieswetter, Compton, de Bruyn, Hildreth, Trego, Buttler, Waller, Phillips, Thomas, Kartik
It's a bit of an ampitheatre with a significant slope up to the boundary at the Pavilion end and less of a hump at the sea end. At 1:30 the place is 2 to 3 deep all around the boundary and has a definite festival feel about it.
No sign of Radio Somerset I'm afraid it may just be updates on the half hour and only Radio Devon are present for those. If we'd known we might have been able to do this ourselves - it is a poor show if this game does not get the same coverage as the rest in this competition!! Especially with it's more local nature.
Alfonso starts from the Pavilion end to Thompson. He gets off the mark but that is all that comes in the first over. Phillips opens from the sea end to the big hitting Thompson.
Lots of activity from the Somerset side in the field. Alf is straight on the money and Ben is extracting prodigious bounce from his end. Thompson manages a second single in over number 2 but is then found out by the first ball of Alf's second and feathers one to the keeper. The Unicorns are 2 for 1 after 3 overs and after the first boundary from Knappett (the new batsman) they reach 11 for 1 after 5 overs . Knappett, the keeper, is willing to belt it a bit and does the majority of the scoring to push his side to 24 after 8overs. He has overtaken Murtagh and gone into double figures.
Pete Trego is introduced for the 9th replacing his VC. Knappett seems to like his bowling because he is straight driving the first ball but directly to ZdB coming infro the boundary. Good middle of the bat shot. Trigger then gives him a short ball and he takes the bait pulling him to Buttler on the boundary, who confidently takes the catch and the Unicorns are 24 for 2. This however brings out Mike O'Shea - the suggested 'real' prospect in this side and he looks good as he deals with the rest of the over and faces Zander who replaces Phillips at the sea end. After 10 overs they have 28.
The bowling change does not release the grip that the leaders have on this game. Both Unicorn batsmen are finding it hard to pierce the infield and the level of encouragement given to any good piece of fielding suggests we are up for this one. Murtagh tries to get out of the grip in the 12th but simply gives the ball to Compton who says thatnk yo very much, passes the ball back to the bowler ZdB and in comes the Unicorn captain Keith Parsons at 31 for 3.
Max Waller is introduced from the Sea end for the 14th and goes for 3 to move the score on to a pedestrian 37 and that prompts Kartik to be partnered up with the yong man from the Pavilion end in the 15th. O'Shea does look like a man who knows which end of the bat to use and he takes a shine to Max and takes his side over 50 with a straight hit past the bowler. This is compounded when KP give MK the charge in the 17th and straight sixes him to the Pavilion end. The work of O'Shea prompts Banger to bring Trego back on at the Sea end to counter the Unicorns who seem to be settling in a little more as we move toward the halfway mark.
But Kartik is a patient bowler and in the 19th he tempts Parsons to fence at one that moves away from him and he is picked up at slip by the Boss for 20 64 for 4 and in comes Park. It is O'Shea who holds the Unicorns fate in his seemingly capable hands. He does look a class above the rest of the line-up and guides his side to 71 at the halfway stage with 4 wickets down. The good thing is that our boys are sticking to their task and although he is defending well, he is not scoring at will and the score is rising at about 3 to 4 an over under the control of Kartik and Trigger. Immediately I say that Zander is introduced at the Sea (Pete doesn't look all that comfortable and there are those who question that this is an enforced change because the man is not fully fit). 85 for 4 at the start of the 24th.
It is a good change from Somerset's point of view because Zander has Park trying to flip a short ball over the infield with a sort of pull shot. What it ends up being is a skied lob into the hands of Peter in front of the Pavilion and Park leaves the field at 87. In comes another local boy Neil Hancock. It is fitting that O'Shea takes the single that gets the Unicorns to 100 during the 26th over.
Kartik ends with 8/0/1/34 but it's not a problem because the skipper re-introduces Waller at the Pavilion for the 31st over. He tempts O'Shea to smack one down Kartik's throat with his first 116 for 6 and the end to an excellent innings of 40. They cross so Hancock faces Max next, he tries to cut one that comes back at him and he is the second victim bowled Waller! 116 for 7 does not become for 8 as Sharpe keeps out the hat-trick ball and an excellent over ends with 2 wickets and 1 run added.
The wickets continue to fall in the 31st as Sharpe nicks one to Kieswetter off de Bruyn (3 to him today) and it is 117 for 8. Querl arrives to try and keep Somerset in the field for a little longer but it doesn't look promising.
Progress for the Unicorns is very very slow as ZdB ends with the excellent figures of 8/0/3/27 and they close the 34th over with 119 to their name. The 'home' side take their powerplay with the introduction of Peter Trego at the Sea End (I don't think the two things are connected :-). Querl and Saker have moved the score on to 128 and then on to 134 as the last 4 overs re-introduce Phillips from the Pavilion end followed by Alfonso from the Sea End for the 37th. Saker is keen to get on with things and starts to give everything the long handle - there is little else he can do. Zander drops him running around to extra cover at 140, they take a single and the next ball is flipped past the keeper for four to bring the over to and end and the Unicorns to within a big boundary of the 150 mark.
Alf does not take over at the Sea end, Trigger continues (so either his niggle was just that or there wasn't one). The 150 does indeed arrive to a 'wave the bat and close my eyes' "periscope" shot from Querl. Pete ends with 8/1/1/26 - another set of tight figures. Neil Saker finally goes to Phillips for a beligerant 17 at 153 caught behind by CK.
We finally bring Alf back for the 40th with 158 on the board and the job of keeping the required run rate under 4 an over but Querl is swinging and flashes very very hard at a ball that flies over the field to bounce once before passing the rope. This has been a valuable tail end knock by him. The two men keep their wickets with Querl on 28 and Miles on 4 and a total of 166 to chase. Alf ends with figures of 5/0/1/22. Ben finished with 6/1/1/26 and Max had a very good day 5/1/2/24.
The Reply
Saker will open from the Sea End, Marcus plays and misses at the first but does not play to the second which angles in and takes the bail off the top of his off stump. Somerset 0 for 1. Nick Compton marches out sooner than he probably expected and takes his side to 4 for 1 off the first 6 balls.
Jonathan Miles opens from the Pavilion to Craig Kieswetter he goes for a very credible single. One could see this as a great opportunity for these two Somerset batsmen to get some time at the crease batting us out of this problem and establishing an innings with a smallish total to get. This should allow them to take their time and get some time at the wicket - something both of them need. We shall have to see how that theory goes as Craig 'chinese' cuts one diagonally across his stumps in the second over.
The Unicorns are also very active in the field. O'Shea nearly dies to stop the first possible boundary, throwing everything in front of the ball and pulling off a most impressive stop. They have to be like this defending just over 160 in a 40 over game. Nevertheless the pressure is on from the start and the visitors only have 7 after the second over. However, Craig seems to be ready for the fight and provides the first boundary of the innings off the first loose ball Miles delivers to him. He then does the same to the next loose one which is dispatched like a shot from a gun. We end the fourth over on 18 and back on track, run rate-wise.
During the sixth over Craig takes a shine to Miles and moves the score on to 32 by the end of it. Parsons keeps faith with his opening pair as our pair consolidate to 36 for 1 after 9. The BBC lline for not having commentary here is that they could not get a line from Exmouth. This seems very strange as presently the two gentlement from BBC Devon are giving an update to Cheltenham about the position here - how are they doing that? Via jungle drums? A chain of bonfires? Carrier pigeons?
The tenth over sees Miles receive more stick including a Compo maximum. Saker has presently gone for 9 off his 5 while the youngster at the other end has conceded the rest of the 43 for 1 we have scored in the first 10. This does not last though as two balls into the 11th Kieswetter carts Saker almost on to the beach with a huge six. The 50 arrives off a scampered single. Compo also seems to think he can now hit out, though his four is not as controlled. 55 after 11.
This onslaught prompts the introduction of Hancock at the Pavilion for the 12th. Everything goes swimmingly until Craig holes out to Quel from Hancock for 30 at 67. Zander is the next man in but not for long as he seems to play on to Hancock next ball and the wickets lost increases while the score stays the same. "Send in Hildreth" we all cry! Which is good as he is the next man in! With a reassuringly solid Nick Compton, he starts to get this game working for the visiting tea, he moves towards a very good 50 while Somerset move towards 100 with 15 overs to go. O'Shea provides the hundreth run with a wide to James. At 108 Nick goes to a valuable 50 off 66 balls with 4 fours and a six. - the backbone of the innings so far from a man who needs this kind of time in front of bowlers.
The sun goes away for a while at the end of the 20's the lights of the refreshment trailers come into sharp relief. Heavy dark cloud covers the pitch and it seems to bode poorly for Mr Hildreth who is judged in front of a Sharpe delivery in the 29th over with the total on 125. He doesn't look convinced but the "Unic's" (as they unfortunately call themselves) are "cock a hoop" (or maybe not if they are Unics :-), a surprisingly low 29 - thought he'd scored more than that - but valuable nevertheless. We welcome Jos Buttler to the middle and go into the last 10 overs needing 31 for victory.
The batting power play is taken in the 33rd and they bring on Querl - who is immediately smashed over the sea based sight screen for 6 followed by a Buttler single to bring up the 150. Unfortunately, Compo tries the same next ball and gets a bottom edge and is caught in the midfield by Thompson off Querl for 64 off 79 balls with 5 fors and a six. It is a shame he didn't see this game out but his innings has kept the side together and must give him and his team mates a lot of belief in his ability. Peter Trego is the next man in, hopefully to see this game home. His first straight drive for four does suggest he isn't here to hang about. Another drive sees an injury to Sean Park, who dives to stop a ball as the ball hits a lump and his head and the ball meet in mid-air at some speed. He is polaxed and leaves the field for further treatment to be replaced by the 12th man whose name I won't even attempt to write! Trigger doesn't get hold of his next drive off Querl and in mistiming it he gives the ball straight back to the bowler for 7 at 162 for 6 with 4 and a bit overs to go - well he didn't hang about!
Ben Phillips comes in to face Miles needing 5 for the win but the Unicorns are not makiing this easy and we are making it look very difficult indeed. Ben is not the man to end this game as at 164 he is caught in close by Parsons for 1 and we are 164 for 7 sending Alf in to look at ending this! 3 runs needed off 16! And Querl bowls FOUR WIDES!! Game over with 15 balls to go!
Still unbeaten. Still on track. On to Hampshire. Hope this has helped those who couldn't get anything else.
There seem to be some questions about the wicket. Very sticky it seems and both sides did struggle to get the ball away but the Unicorns, as I think I've said before. are by no means a "scratch" side and they held us well with a small total to defend. Very pleased for Nick because he did exactly what was asked of him and held our effort together when it got a bit 'dicey' at times. We carried on with the job and did what was required and came out with the points. Very happy with the end result and thanks to Exmouth for a really nice day.
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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2010:08:09:14:48:38 by Grockle.
Unicorns team
CP Murtagh, JG Thompson, JPT Knappett†, MP O'Shea, KA Parsons*, ND Hancock, NC Saker, RG Querl, SM Park, JS Miles
Somerset team
ME Trescothick*, C Kieswetter†, NRD Compton, Z de Bruyn, JC Hildreth, PD Trego, JC Buttler, BJ Phillips, AC Thomas, M Kartik, MTC Waller
They are having trouble getting anything off Ben and Alf. 20 for 1 after 7. We are really buzzing in the field. Lots and lots of noise,clapping,running etc.
Trigger coming on to bowl from the Pavilion end - replacing Alf.
LoL
Sixty-six Seasons a Somerset Supporter
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:08:07:13:22:04 by Grockle.
LoL
Sixty-six Seasons a Somerset Supporter
Alas, I'll be an internet watcher, as driving and most other activities are off the menu.
Still for all the Devon SCCC members, the weather forecast is quite decent and Exmouth is a lovely venue.
Time will tell, I suppose.
Unsure about internet access so updates from the ground may not occur. I will try but who the hell knows. See you if you're there - very grey over Bicknoller Towers as I leave.
The ground is already well populated (car park space now at a premium) They are expecting a lot. Interesting run up to the pavilion bondary - fielders may need crampons to get the ball as there is what could be called a 'significant' slope.
The upfront news about the side is that Suppiah is not playing and Max Waller is. Compton is in. No Charl Willoughby.
It is sad that the BBC don't see this in the same way they see the other games in this competition. The Unicorns should be given the same coverage!!
I'll update the frontpage as often as wi-fi allows. Jackson Thompson gone for 2 in 3rd over caught behind off Alf
Not only is there no commentary; there is no score on Cricinfo either.
LoL
Sixty-six Seasons a Somerset Supporter
You have to refresh the page yourself.
What is more annoying BBC Somerset is covering the Gloucester match.
It is appalling that there is no cric info coverage, though I think that may be logistics related to the links with the scoreboard.
BUT why is this match any different to the other CB40 games. It seems that Radio Bristol are picking up Radio Devon's updates I would suppose because there is no-one here from Bristol that I know of.
If we'd known we could have probably done the ball by ball but no-one bothered to let anyone know!!
Anyway the frontpage is updating because the ground does at least have decent wifi.
Here's hoping the day is a big success for Exmouth, albeit with the right result for the boys!
BVI Grockle
Can a bowler decide which end to open an innings from or is there an end a game always starts from.
I will be leaving shortly, so perhaps you could arrange for the result to be communicated to Heathrow via jungle drums, a chain of bonfires or a carrier pigeon.
That's a favourite Radio Bristol excuse. They often use it for the reason why they can't do a commentary on some of Bristol's away matches in the Championship. Very poor excuse. They would find a way if it was a soccer match they wanted to cover.
As I say it simply bothers me because we do not do commentary this year because the BBC said they would be covering ALL CB40 and T20 games and that they had split the signal so that Gloucestershire and Somerset ball by ball could be covered without interruption. I'm sure we could have sorted something had we known in advance.
It simply is not cricket I'm afraid :-)
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:08:08:18:18:39 by Grockle.
Who mentioned Bristol City. I said Bristol who play in the Rugby Union Chamionship.
Perhaps Grockle could offer a view as to how well, or otherwise, Max bowled?
LoL
Sixty-six Seasons a Somerset Supporter
Playing against non first class teams is always an accident waiting to happen & the Unicorns have shown everyone they are more than capable.
Good to see Max getting a couple of wickets & JB seeing us home.
Grizzzly
I've been very interested to see how competitive the Unicorns have been. I wonder if talent evaluators have underestimated lots of their players or whether it is more of the case that they have been rather more motivated than some of their opponents?
They seem to me to have been better than Worcs or Glamorgan.
Grizzzly
I think Somerset would concede that they fell over the finishing line at the end.
OLDBOYBA!
Cricinfo did not start reporting the game until it was at least 10 overs old - can you imagine them doing that with Surrey or Worcestershire?
It was a good, well contested game with some good performances on each side in the field and with the ball. Both batting sides found it difficult to get the score moving. Good vibrant crowd as well.
When I last looked at around 11.00 Cricinfo had still not included today's result (of ours and some other matches) on the tournament home page or updated the table.
LoL
Sixty-six Seasons a Somerset Supporter
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:08:08:23:15:43 by Loyal of Lhasa..
I talked to the Devon guys at the end. They were at the game AT THE REQUEST OF BBC BRISTOL to provide updates. It seems that they were told that the ISDN line at the ground was not working - but it worked for them and they spent 19 minutes out of every 20 sitting waiting to update when Cheltenham asked. Both would have happily commentated and the ISDN access would have allowed that to be streamed on the net at least.
The moment the football season starts the Bristol based BBC renages on their arrangement - not surprised at all but as a licence payer I'd love to be able to refuse to fund what is laughingly called my "local" radio service.
Maybe this "tiredness" was one of the reasons why we didn't go for it in the Kent game if there was little chance of a result. Not condoning the decision just trying to understand the logic.
Also, LoL is right (of course) in saying that Cricinfo was struggling for most of yesterday, across all matches and the Test - I assumed they just had the Sunday trainees on. Seriously, BBC also lagged on teletext and BBC Online, which I put down to bad feeds / info from the grounds.
Then again, I wouldn't be that shocked if BR said 'You are resting," and Alf produced a rather curt reply which indicated that he would play on!