The 2015 tour was another successful venture, blessed with good weather and just about full sides.  The Seaton game was abandoned at tea time and unfortunately Budleigh Salterton were not expecting us, but all other matches were completed with five wins, four losses and one drawn.  Perhaps the two most enjoyable and certainly closest games were at the beautiful village grounds of Kilve and Cerne Abbas.  The new fixture at Kilve, thanks to Peter Stone’s invitation, was a great day all round, ending with a one wicket victory, and the tour swan song at Philip Spray’s Cerne Valley was another enjoyable day where we were three runs short at the fall of the last wicket.  Individual highlights of the tour included centuries for Justin Williams and new boy Charlie Everett at Bridgetown and for Guy Bucknell at Kilve, and top wicket-taker Andy Pring’s 5 for 20 at Cerne Valley.

Recruitment of players was eased with introduction of the hub system based around Stewart’s arrangement of three geographical groups of matches.  Sam George, Andy Bolan and Jon Kennedy each recruited a nucleus of players for a hub which, together with other members and guests, enabled the Club to fulfil its fixtures.  We are hoping to work on the same basis this season, but, once again, it all depends on the members maximising their availability and notifying me as early as possible.

You will see from the tour report that Chris Carruthers feels he can no longer manage to get down from Scotland to join the tour.  His presence will, of course, be sorely missed not only as our tour scribe but for his companionship both at and away from the grounds. Chris seems to have been ever-present for some 45 years as a player, captain, umpire, scorer as well as scribe and we wish him well in his well-earned retirement.

 

Martin Oliver

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