Thursday 14th May 2009 - Newton Poppleford
A grey evening at Newton Poppleford – scene of big defeats on both visits since the Lympstone club was revived – was not the brightest way to start the new season. Lympstone won the toss and chose first use of what light was left, only to be a wicket down to the second ball of the match. Opener Jonno Lee compensated with an undefeated 36 as the drizzle just about held off, and with good support from Robin Tolson and Ben Ingham, the villagers amassed a respectable 124–9 from their 20 overs.
As dusk turned to night the home side made a hesitant start against the bowling of Moyle boys Josh and Jack. A mid order burst put Poppleford back into the chase and with three overs and five wickets left they needed only 27. An over to go and the target was 10 - bowler Ben Ingham being handed the task of containment. With only three runs from his first four balls, the villagers’ victory seemed back in the bag, but the penultimate ball was dabbed gently for an all run 4, whilst the Lympstone players hunted for it in the darkness. The home team tried it again from the last ball of the match, but this time our fielders found it in time and it was victory to the visitors by a single run.
Match report 21st August 2008
21st August saw the club’s final game of the season at Woodbury, with the opposition provided by Faber Maunsell of Exeter. Batting first, the opposition were limited to a total of 67 for 8, with all the runs coming at the top of the order and wickets shared equally among the Lympstone attack, who bowled economically and on target. An athletic close-in catch by Paul Jordan, performing a gymnastic manoeuvre complete with tuck and half pike to take the ball in his fingertips, was a highlight of Lympstone’s tight fielding display. In reply, the Lympstone innings got off to a solid start with opener Jamie Cooke’s accumulative batting, before a mystery bowler wreaked a trail of destruction in the middle order, extracting pace and bounce to claim four wickets in quick succession. Total collapse was only averted by the timely intervention of Charlie Lenygon and Ben Ingham, who steered the team to victory with an over to spare.
With the season disrupted by horrendous weather, the club can be more than happy with an overall performance much improved on last year - two victories, three losses and two tied games. The team can be sure that continued success awaits in the 2009 season - weather permitting!
Ollie Creighton
Match reports 26th June - 15th August 2008
26th June saw the popular annual game against the Harefield XI at St Peter's School thrill a large and enthusiastic crowd. Batting first, the opposition posted a challenging 153 for 7, with villager Charlie Lenygon scoring a mighty 54. Toby Ingham was the in form bowler for Lympstone, conceding only six runs off three pacey overs, with David Hall, John Goss Custard and Ed Maltby also in the wickets. To the soundtrack of the village band, Lympstone could only reach 121 in reply, with highlights including a brutal 34 clubbed to all corners of the ground by John Brewer (including 28 in boundaries), and 31 not out by Chris Cooke, who at one stage had a line of nine slip fielders behind him.
Licking our wounds after the Harefield game, Lympstone took on the University of Exeter Erratics on 10th July at Woodbury. With two evenly matched sides, the game was eventually tied with both sides scoring 114. David Wright struck with the ball on his debut and energetic fielding combined with sharp work by wicketkeeper Tim Gittins saw three opposition batsmen run out. In the Lympstone innings Ben Ingham and Jonno Lee scored freely with the bat while opener John Morris anchored the batting performance with a technician’s 28.
A 40-over Sunday game on 3rd August against Argyll Road at Woodbury was abandoned in monsoon conditions after 24 invigorating overs. This was unlucky: bowling first, Lympstone were in a commanding position, with opening bowler Ben Ingham swinging the ball wickedly and provoking a flurry of wickets, while the game also saw the Paul Downes spin attack bought out of retirement.
The Sunsets were the opposition for a 20-over game on 15th August, when a brief respite in the weather witnessed a splendid match that ended with the club's second tied game of the season. Bowling tightly and accurately, Lympstone limited the opposition to a total of 91, with Charlie Lenygon in the wickets and pacemen Charles Morris, Ben and Toby Ingham and Paul Jordan making scoring difficult for the opposition. On a stunning debut opener Jamie Cooke (26 not out) led the way, with contributions by Jonno Lee and Ollie Creighton laying a strong foundation for the Lympstone Innings. Solid accumulative batting from Ben Ingham and Charles Morris saw Lympstone close in, seemingly inexorably, on the total, although a subsequent tail-end collapse saw us thwarted. With a single run tantalisingly needed to win off the last delivery, stumps were shattered and the villagers were left thinking what might have been....
Ollie Creighton
Lympstone Cricket Club against Heads and Quicks at Newton St Cyres 14th May 2008
20:20 match, with compulsory retirement at 30 runs and 4 overs maximum per bowler. Lympstone batted first and reached 77 before the first wicket fell. The openers did very well: Greg Richmond - 30 (retired); Jonno Lee - 30 (retired); Robin Tolson - 29; Toby Ingham - 27, not out and scoring off every ball. Lympstone finished after 20 overs on 147 for 4, our highest score since the Club was re-formed in April 2007.
Heads and Quicks only did slightly better – but enough: 148 for 3 off 18 overs! Greg Richmond was our outstanding bowler with 2 wickets for 10 runs from 4 overs. We just lost but, never mind, such a good batting performance was very encouraging and we look forward to the next match, whenever the weather permits.