The Salopian no. 157 - Winter 2015

70
OLD SALOPIAN NEWS
day at Malvern when injury struck!).
A document recently circulated by the
Cricketer Cup committee detailing the
records of the 32 schools over the past
5 years shows the Saracens currently
sitting 2nd in the league table. This
reflects the consistency of the present
squad of players and the quality of
cricketers presently being produced.
On that basis, hopefully another win
cannot be too far away…
Saracens’ Devon Tour 2015
The annual cricket tour to North
Devon was yet again an overwhelming
success. In keeping with trends from
the previous few years, we were
delighted to welcome back a strong
group of recent leavers and that was
bolstered by debutant tourists Sam
Welti, George Hamner and last year’s
captain of cricket, George Lewis. This,
combined with the key ingredient
of ‘senior pros’ who between them
boast an extraordinary wealth of tour
experience, meant that 2015 truly was
an unforgettable tour.
The first game of tour was on Monday
with the first of two consecutive oneday
games against North Devon CC.
On a damp wicket the Saracens were
asked to bat first against a formidable
North Devon XI which included Craig
and Jamie Overton, who have both
just played a full season for Somerset.
Despite debutant George Hanmer
being dismissed first ball, by lunch the
Saracens were in control at 110-2 with
Sam Welti batting nicely and Richard
McKay, who was dismissed just before
lunch, getting the tour off to a flyer!
Some good bowling meant it was slow
going after lunch and the Saracens lost
quick wickets. A partnership between
Henry Lewis and George Thomason
steadied the ship and, with some good
hitting as the time for a declaration
approached, the Saracens finished on
225-9 declared.
Enter Steve Barnard with some
extremely hostile fast bowling, reducing
North Devon to 20-3. The Sarries were
on a roll. The game then went through
a slow phase, but when the Saracens
struck at 110-5 it brought the Overton
brothers together. When they quickly
put on a stand of 60 the game looked
over; but when George Lewis bowled
a leg-stump full toss that Jamie Overton
hit straight into the safe hands of Scott
Corbett, it was back in the balance.
Some quality fast bowling from Barnard
backed up by wily spin bowling from
Scott Corbett and George Lewis did
what was required and North Devon
were bowled out 5 runs short.
The Monday evening was a fantastic
affair and buoyed by our win the tour
was delighted to welcome back many
an old face. Most notably it was an
absolute privilege to see Sir Eldryd
Parry back in Instow. North Devon
CC kindly played host to 50 Saracens
young and old.
After the euphoria of Monday’s win,
and the celebrations to boot, there was
a certain lull in the camp on Tuesday
morning. North Devon fielded a slightly
weaker side but it still included Craig
Overton and the club pro. North Devon
batted first in the scheduled 40-over
game and after some effective new
ball bowling from Will Mason and Sam
Welti, at lunch the game was delicately
poised at 100-4. Two more quick
wickets followed, with Mark Prescott
and Matt Gregson bowling well. This,
however, brought the North Devon
combo of Craig Overton and the South
African pro together. It was the pivotal
part of the game, but the less time
spent discussing it the better. It only
has to be said that the final 17 overs
saw North Devon reach 335-6, leaving
the Saracens a mountain to climb. The
charge was led by Will Mason, who
batted beautifully for 119, and he was
supported with an extremely mature 50
from Steve Barnard. However, needing
120 from the last 10 overs and despite
a late flurry from Matt Gregson and
George Lewis, the Saracens finished 20
runs short. Despite the disappointment
of our well-documented winning streak
against North Devon coming to an end,
it was a fantastic game of cricket with
well over 600 runs scored in the day.
With Wednesday comes the fixture
against the Somerset Stragglers at the
picturesque ground, Valley of the Rock.
The Saracens won the toss and elected
to bat first in a 30-over game. Mark
Prescott got the team off to a flyer with
a fluent 63 and he was ably supported
by the in form Mason. However, some
good spin bowling combined with
some careless shot selection meant
the Saracens stuttered in the middle
overs and lost a flurry of wickets in
quick succession. Fortunately tour
veteran Ben Chapman showed his
experience and, batting with the tail,
guided the Saracens to a competitive
165. Despite Valley of the Rock being
an immensely fast-scoring ground, we
felt early wickets could bring us right
into contention. George Thomason
obliged! He took 4 wickets in 5 overs
in what was a superb spell of bowling.
The Stragglers responded well and
dominated from then on, making
great use of some mediocre bowling
and extremely short boundaries. The
Stragglers won, having lost 7 wickets
and with 2 overs to spare.
After a long week and two close
defeats, it could perhaps be said
that the wet and gloomy Thursday
morning that greeted us reflected the
mood in the team. The usual Thursday
arrangement is the T20 day played
between the Saracens, North Devon
and the Brasenose Strollers. However,
in light of the bad weather, the decision
was made for the Saracens and the
Strollers to play a straight 40-over game.
The Strollers batted first and it did not
take them long to take advantage of
the weary unit that was the Saracens.
Despite some good spin bowling from
Steve Barnard, the Strollers amassed a
total of 255 which was an enormous
feat in the conditions. The Saracens put
up a brave fight and although finishing
30 runs short, there were notable
batting performances from George
Lewis and George Thomason, who
both played exceptionally well in the
circumstances.
Overall on a results basis it was a
slightly disappointing week, with 1
win and 3 defeats. However, every
game was extremely competitive and it
was a week enjoyed by all who came.
The Saracens openly welcome anyone
who would like to come to Devon
on the 2016 tour (week beginning
Monday 8th August).