Sunseekers Cricket Club

Colston's Long Drawn Out Tour Report

Posted Monday, June 13, 2005

Settle yourself with a cup of tea, it goes on a bit...

Well, there were just enough Sunseekers in the end for the return to Devon after a two-year absence, with the late recruitment of Chris Tildesley, your reporter’s prospective son-in-law.
For me, calling in on the Halberton boys remains one of the highlights of the year, and another game played in great spirit, followed by a fine evening in Halberton Club, amply demonstrated why.
Foul weather on the Sunday morning unfortunately curtailed the weekend although at least, this time, the cancellation came early and we weren’t sitting in the digs gloomily awaiting a miraculous change in the weather that was plainly not going to happen, as was the case a few years ago.
The gathering in the Merrimeade, which looked distinctly untouched since the last time we were there (the pub, that is, not the gathering), witnessed Carpo make an early claim for Champion Eater as he polished off most of Brian’s steak and ale pie, chips and peas on top of his own and then called for pudding. Top effort.
Much infantile humour surrounded the late arrival (naturally) of Woodward and Sibson, Bivouac having apparently taken the wicketkeeper via Weymouth. Brian had already availed the landlady in great detail of the facilities he expected and the company he did not wish to keep, which seemed to point the late arrivals towards the sharing of a double bed. Watch out for that beard, Robin.
Down the road, Colston, Chris and the captain were in a most agreeable B&B, although the welcoming host, given the opportunity, would have continued to tell us all about his plans for the place until sometime around the tea interval in the match. He and Mick were both headmasters and there the similarity ended.
At this point, I would like to remind you all again what a service I did to all the tourists by arranging for the skipper to have his own en suite accommodation and, therefore, a bog no-one else had to use. Perhaps the host may now like to add “new drains” to his list of plans for the place.
And so to the game, in which Halberton fielded four or five keen young lads in proper kit, which suggests a bright future for them.
Carpo set off with a crashing square cut for four. It was, in truth, the best shot he played but there were plenty of other good ones in a quickfire 57 before he turned a full toss straight to square leg. Paul Downs played very straight for 21, the captain and Robin reached double figures and 159 from 35 overs looked a decent score.
Chris Tildesley unfortunately marked his Sunseekers debut by getting a solid bat on the first ball he faced and remembering all I had told him about calling and running except the bit about waiting for the ball to beat the fielder before running. Whoops.
Diggle & Son opened up for Halberton with some good running between the wickets, although Big Dave was particularly unlucky in a wicketless opening spell. There was a moment of controversy when big Alan Cork appeared to edge a ball down the leg-side into Robin’s gloves and it was his lad who gave him not out but it would be hard to take against Corky, who said he had no idea whether or not he’d hit it.
Anyway, his lusty blows in a sound knock of 44 and those of the smallest of Halberton’s lads, who made a very good 33, kept the Devon boys in the hunt.
Once both were out, the innings subsided but the final gap of 34 runs made the game look less close than it felt at the time.
And, of course, there was the great highlight of Brian advising the little lad to play each ball on its merits before the lad took him at his word and lifted him for six over the pavilion. Super!
Only in the changing room afterwards did we realise that the old feller had had the last laugh by finishing the game with a hat-trick. Last ball of previous over, first two balls of next. You just can’t keep him down!
Golden Eagle, rather than Barn Owl, was the Cotleigh ale in the club afterwards, where the food was as marvellous as ever.
Chris T, sharing in BB’s jug, declared the Golden Eagle smelled of “wet dog” and tasted little better before returning to his cider. In many ways, I think he will make a fine son-in-law. But I will always have a nagging doubt as long as he thinks the beer from one of Britain’s finest breweries smells of “wet dog…” Rest assured, it was excellent.
And so was the half-a-tour. It is a part of Sunseekers tradition I would not want to lose.