Today's date is

Sunday 3rd September

Home v Ilfracombe II NDL

With a gale blowing in from the South West and a damp pitch the toss was an important one to win. Lucky old Tim.... After a moment or two's thought the Ilfracombe IInds Captain asked us to bat and so Mike and Peter had first use of the pitch.
The first few overs went without alarm, the ball did keep low and the wind caused a few problems but there was no hint of what was to come following Peter's demise. Playing down the order once again, Charles had hoped that the top order would do the job and that he could while away the afternoon in the lee of the Pavilion. Unfortunately things did not quite go to plan. First Phil then Ben then Mike went, bringing Charles in to join David Carr with a minor crisis on their hands. David knuckled down and batted sensibly with the Captain to rescue the innings and looked about to cut loose when he was sent on his way for 34. Steve and Charles were steering the total towards a match winning one when Charles missed a straight one, Robbie left with no choice but to raise the finger. The tail then contributed some valuable runs, with Eric striking the final ball of the innings for six to leave us on 206 for 9. Forty four of the runs had come in extras, but was it going to be enough? With Robbie rested and no Ted, Will or Nick, our bowling looked a bit thin and somebody would have to step up and perform for us if we were to bring up our 11th league win.

Tea was taken under darkening skies and the pitch started to look damp again as the cloud cover increased, but Ilfracombe were still confident of chasing down what they thought was a below par score.

Phil bowled a very economical spell with the wind, 6 overs for only 17 runs but did not get a wicket. Ben bowled two overs into the wind before Charles switched him to the Urinal End and brought Eric on up the hill. With Ben bowling a very good line and length and assisted by the wind runs were hard to come by from his end. The batsmen tried to score off Eric, who bowled immaculately straight throughout his 9 over spell. This and the increasingly low bounce did for Ilfracombe and brought Eric figures of 9-1-33-4 to go with his pugnacious batting. He also took a great catch running back from short fine leg and then diving to end the match and stands a good chance of retaining the Champagne Moment award at the Dinner (1st of December, Thelbridge Inn).
David Carr took a trundle down the Hill after Ben's spell and was equally miserly though not quite as quick. He ended with 7-1-15-1, taking him even further ahead of Will in the Bowling averages.... ah the joy of sibling rivalry!!
Andy Hartley had great difficulty in flighting the ball into the wind, and so after a couple of overs was switched to the Urinal End, with Mike filling in up the hill. The change of ends made a difference to Andy, who was now able to toss the ball up without it being blown sideways. Mike's seven overs were a little on the expensive side, but he did pick up two wickets. Despite Cheriton's best efforts and some good ground fielding the last wicket was a frustratingly long time in coming, and it was getting darker and darker all the time. Mike was eventually taken off as the gloom descended, the Captain mindful that if we went off for rain or light we would not get back on again. He chose to used himself as the 7th bowler, but Cheriton were spared a second over from him when Andy and Eric combined to end the Ilfracombe innings with them some 56 runs short of the target.

That made it 11 wins, 2 abandoned and only 1 lost in the League this year, a record all involved can be justly proud of. CS

Ben Coe misses out.	Charles playing it straight.	Dave finding the boundary.
Charles.......mmmm?	Charles...that looks a bit better!	Steve& Charles talk tactics.
Steve in familiar pose.	Charles in familiar pose.	Dick reaching for the ball.
Steve hitting out.	Brent.......	.................ah Brent!
Scorecard Cheriton 206 for 9 Ilfracombe II 150 all out Cheriton Bowling P.Cutler 6-0-17-0 B.Coe 6-0-13-1 E.Taylor 9-1-33-4 D.Carr 7-2-15-1 A.Hartley 7-1-18-1 M.Foan 7-0-46-2 C.Sheldrick 1-0-3-0 - - Cheriton Batting 1 M.Foan + Caught 10   2 P.Blight Caught 19   3 P.Cutler Bowled 2   4 B.Coe Bowled 1   5 D.Carr  Caught 34   6 C.Sheldrick + LBW 64   7 S.Stentiford † Run Out 15   8 D.Holmes Bowled 2   9 E.Taylor Not Out 14   10 B.English Bowled 0   11 A.Hartley Not Out 1       Extras 44       TOTAL 206 for 9 Result Won by 56 Runs		Andy in unfamiliar pose! Eric launches the final ball for 6.

Wednesday 6th September

Congratulations to Ben Rice and Jo on the birth of a baby daughter - Molly - on Saturday 2nd September.Best wishes from everyone at CFCC.

Sunday 10th September

Home v Coaver

With Charles taking a rest for this match, it was up to Colin to win that all important toss, however the call went against him and we were sent into the field on what was a glorious late summers day.
I say we took to the field , that is the 9 of us that were there took the field. Roy and Ted did eventually join us, both being held up by excessive horse box activity on the lanes!
Colin likes to use his whole team whenever possible and with this in mind opened the bowling with Andy who bowled an excellent maiden to start the proceedings. Sadly his next over went for double figures as the Coaver openers set about amassing a large total. Robbie trundled in from the Cadeleigh End, but the magic wasn’t working today. As the afternoon progressed it was clear that this was going to be another one of those lacklustre performances by Cheriton. It seems that without the pressure of a league match we relax, possibly too much, and our performance suffers. There were some bright points about the performance however, with some excellent catches taken by the Cheriton players. Will took a running catch which no one would have blamed him had he dropped it, and Colin took an almost comical catch. The Coaver batsman, going for a big hit, skied the ball so high , that Colin and Steve both had time to run towards the ball (and each other), stop, stare questioningly into each others eyes, leaving Colin to stick his arms out just as the ball fell into his open hand.
The best performance of the afternoon was that of Dave’s. He looked sharp in the field, committed himself whole heartedly to everything that was asked of him, and even hit his first ball for 6! He was however playing for the opposition today, and we can only wonder at what he might achieve if he put as much energy and enthusiasm into playing for his own club! Will had the last laugh, bowling his older brother round the legs before he’d had much chance to dent any of OUR bowling figures.
262 for 6 was a decent total by Coaver, and more than we would have liked to chase, but we had enough batsmen to score the runs – or should have. Things don’t always turn out the way they’re planned as Mike and John found the going slow and after they were both out around the 10 over mark we found ourselves way behind the required run rate. Ben steadied the ship with some very elegant shots and Ted did the same towards the end of the innings but we gradually ran out of overs and Ted was last man down in the 38th (of 40) over.
It was still an enjoyable game of cricket despite the loss. Coaver enjoying it all the more than us as it was only their second victory of the season! PC

Watch those feet Roy!	Ted bowling slowly!	Roy's forward defensive..for 6!
Steve behind the stumps.	Ted's leggy shot - front view.	Ted's leggy shot - back view.
I will play it straight!	OK maybe next time!	Andy plays and misses!

Scorecard Coaver 262 for 6 Cheriton 209 all out Cheriton Bowling A.Hartley 8-1-59-1 R.Keight 6-0-33-1 W.Carr 7-0-33-1 C.Heard 4-0-17-1 P.Cutler 7-0-33-1 R.Gavin 3-0-37-0 T.Brigden 4-0-36-1 M.Foan 1-0-12-0 Cheriton Batting 1 M.Foan + Caught 9   2 J.Wilson Caught 0   3 B.Rice Bowled 38   4 R.Keight Bowled 4   5 P.Cutler Caught 27   6 R.Gavin Bowled 38   7 T.Brigden Bowled 61   8 S.Stentiford † Caught 6   9 C.Heard + Bowled 5   10 A.Hartley Bowled 9   11 W.Carr Not Out 1       Extras 11       TOTAL 209 all out Result Lost by 53 Runs

Ted gets another 4!

Sunday 17th September

Single Wicket Competition

The following is taken from the BBC Archers page and explains what a single wicket competition is and how it works.

"The actual rules are the same as for any game of cricket in terms of runs, ways of getting out etc.

Single wicket refers not to the stumps (a common misconception) but to the fact that it is a knockout competition involving individuals rather than teams. You usually start with 16 players, who are drawn to play against each other in pairs. So in the first round Tom (say) plays Roy. Tom bowls an over against Roy batting. Then they swap round. Whoever scores the most runs in their over, or until they are out, goes through to the next round.

After round one, eight players remain and so on until two players are left to contest the final. Sometimes, the semi-finals and final will comprise three and four overs respectively.

Fielding is done by the other players on a rotational basis. So while player A plays player B, ten of the others will field (including a wicket keeper). The other four (usually the two pairs involved in the next two games) will get ready to play, put pads on, do the score book, do the umpiring and make the teas."

Something along these lines took place today at Hayne! As your correspondant missed the first round, he can't explain how things were worked out, and why Rohan played twice. However, as he lost both games the outcome was straightforward - one presumes!
As is always the case with Cheriton Single Wickets, it takes alot longer than everyone expects - especially as the rules change from over to over and round to round!. The weather didn't help, as rain which might have threatened to spoil the day completely, came and went, making for an interupted afternoon.
After a sojourn involving barbecued bangers for tea, it was the turn of the juniors to show us what talent we have waiting in the wings. There are 5 fathers who will need to be on top of their game in the next few years if they are not to be ousted from the starting line up by their respective offspring!
With 5 players it was decided the easiest thing would be for a round robin with 2 points for a win and 1 for a draw. All five showed great promise in all departments, with Jack Goddard, Henry Gavin and Oscar Guscott all winning one match each. Mark English showed he doesn't take after his father and won 3 games, leaving Jim Cutler the winner winning all four of his games. They can all be assured that when the time comes, and older bones are beginning to creak a little too much, they will all be able to carry the mantle of CFCC onwards and upwards.
Once the lads had finished it was back to the final eight to finish the proceedings off. Each player had to face 1 eight ball over as the light was fading fast. The highlight of the round was when Roy a muscle in his leg in his defeat to last years winner Anthony! However Anthony came up against the relaxed and laid back style of Ted in the semis and had to let go of his grasp of the cup. Nick romped to victory over Robbie and the final was set up.
Ted started with a very high shot that looked a 6 all the way. However as I said it was high and was dropping just inside the boundary where Brent was fielding. I'll just say that in the following melee Ted ran 3 runs, he could have got 4 if he hadn't have walked the first one admiring his shot! He posted 16 from his allotted balls which was a decent score. However, Nick milked Ted's bowling, picking up two 6's and a 4 to finish on 20 and claim the coveted prize! PC

Wednesday 20th September

It's official! We are World Record holders!
Andy has had notification from The Guinness Book of Records accepting our attempt at the record. Order your 2008 copy now!
(Please note that Guinness cannot gaurantee including our record in the book.)

Sunday 24th September

Away v Heathcoat

The final game of the season has now been played, that I'm sure of. As to the result, well that I'm not so sure about! Somehow, due to changes of scorers during one of our batting collapses, the number of overs bowled increased by 2, meaning when the sides had left the field we realised that we'd only faced 33 of the allotted 35 overs. The chairman blamed the electronic scoreboard, but I have my doubts!
The match was a little late starting as both teams waited for the stragglers to arrive. Charles lost the toss and Heathcoat decided to bat. The weather wasn't brilliant to start with as showers came and went, but only one forced us to take shelter and even then it was only for a minute or two. Cheriton played pretty well in the field, even Dave who was nursing a hangover and had to put up with the rest of the teams flak - well nothing new there then! All the main bowlers took wickets, with Dave (that man again) getting both the top scorers for Heathcoat, one caught and bowled and the other courtesy of a good catch by brother Will in the deep. At one stage a score of 200 plus looked on the cards, but we stuck to our guns and dismissed them for 154.
After a relaxed and most splendid tea (personal best of the season!) Mike and Darren went out to bat. Darren hasn't played for quite a ferw weeks, following his buttuck injury sustained during the Longest Day game, and although he came into the game fit (as he thought) he had found fielding difficult and was not inclined to run many singles. Who needs singles though! Just hit them for four like Darren does! Mike was the first to fall, caught behind for 22. Phil went in to join Darren who was soon back in the pavilion trying to hit another boundary and getting bowled. Charles came to the crease, and being the gentleman that he is, turned straight back having been caught off the slightest of touches to the gloves. So Eric came in, and he and Phil enjoyed the best partnership of the innings - possibly off the least trying of the Heathcoat bowlers it has to be said. Once Eric was 5th man down and with overs beginning to run out, Heathcoat brought back the opening bowlers and the runs all but dried up.
Who can say what might have happened in those two missed overs. We might have scored 18 more runs, or perhaps, just perhaps, Heathcoat might have taken another 2 wickets! The result really didn't matter as it was a very enjoyable game of cricket, and one we hope to repeat again next year. PC

Phil about to score.	Brent scoring.	Brent scoring more!
Robbie scoring.	Oh dear! David trudging.	Will defending.
Will scoring.	Will scoring more.	Will scoring even more!!!

Scorecard Heathcoat 154 all out Cheriton 137 for 8 Cheriton Bowling P.Cutler 5-0-17-2 E.Taylor 7-0-44-1 W.Carr 4-0-26-1 R.Keight 7-0-36-3 D.Carr 7-2-30-3 M.Foan 1-0-3-0 Cheriton Batting 1 M.Foan + Caught 22   2 D.Meacham Bowled 18   3 P.Cutler Caught 31   4 C.Sheldrick + † Caught 0   5 D.Carr Bowled 0   6 E.Taylor C + B 28   7 P.Blight Bowled 6   8 R.Keight Bowled 3   9 W.Carr Not Out 8   10 B.English Not Out 1   11 A.Goddard - -       Extras 20       TOTAL 137 for 8 Result Lost by 17 Runs

Heathcoat CC

Friday 13th October

The North Devon League AGM has been held and the committee has agreed to 5 new teams joining the league. They are not all new clubs to the league, some are second or third elevens of teams already in the league. This has meant some restructuring to the league format and we now find ourselves in the new Division 4. We have still been promoted but there are now 6 divisions. We are in a league of just 7 teams, so we have entered the NDL Cup which is played in a pool format, giving us 3 extra matches (initially!). The other teams in Division 4 next year are Black Torrington, Bratton Flemming II, Cullompton, Lynton & Lynemouth II, Shebbear and Victoria Park II. In the cup we have been drawn with Ilfracombe, Shobrooke Park and Holsworthy. Ilfracombe finished 2nd bottom of division 1 this year, Shobrooke mid table 2nd division and Holsworthy were diivision 4 champions, so it should be an interesting test for us.
The line up of all divisions is as follows