WHEN I was sitting at Sandford Cricket Club at 10am last Saturday morning (July 2) I didn’t really believe I would be forwarding a report to the Courier this week.

Chris Theedom and his merry band of willing helpers were sheltering from the rain having their cups of tea and traditional doughnut and the outfield seemed to be getting more and more like a paddy field!

It is probably an appropriate time to pay tribute to all the hard work that is done behind the scenes for the cricketers to just turn up and play.

Come rain or shine wickets are prepared, the outfield cut, the boundary ropes put in place plus much, much more and this willing team of volunteers deserve great credit and the thanks of all players.

A tribute to all their dedication is the honour of the full Devon County Cricket XI wanting to play at Creedy Park and this will happen on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday of next week.

The sun is predicted to shine and apart from a small charge to park a car the fixture is free to watch.

Play starts at 11am each day and there will be a bar, a coffee stand and a barbecue to help you get through the day!

Although the weather eventually improved in the Crediton area it was obvious by mid-morning that no cricket was going to be played and therefore the Second XI and Third XI fixtures were called off.

The First XI made the long trip to Cornwood where the weather conditions were much better.

Winning the toss Sandford asked Cornwood to bat but must have been wondering about this decision when after 30 overs the hosts had raced along to over 170 for 0 and a massive total looked on the cards.

What happened then just goes to prove the fascination of sport.

The opening partnership was broken and the rest of the side caved in for just another 80 runs as Cornwood were bowled out for 251.

Harry Everett, on his return to the First XI due to the absence of three key players, took four for 31 and was well supported by Jackson Thompson three for 37 and Jamie Palmer two for 53.

Sandy Allen was in no mood to hang around and with Ryan Glass the innings got off to an explosive start.

When Ryan was out for 24 Sandy was joined by Adam Small and while Sandy continued to hit the ball to all parts of the ground Adam got stuck in for his supporting role.

Sandy was eventually out for 84 and once Jackson Thompson had come and gone quickly Adam was then joined by the returning Lawrence Walker. The two of them batted with great maturity and got Sandford over the line not only by seven wickets but also with more than six overs to go.

Adam finished unbeaten on 82 and Lawrence on 28.

The First XI are through to finals day of the County 20/20 competition.

In a bizarre quarter-final played at Exeter there was no play due to rain and so the contest was decided by bowling at the stumps, an exercise which Sandford won 4-2.

Fixtures:

Saturday, July 9 - Second XI v Exmouth - 1pm start.

Sunday, July 10 - Monday, July 11 and Tuesday, July 12 - Devon v Cornwall - 11am start each day.

Mike Canning