Sutton CC – Summer Tour of Somerset Cricket Clubs

Contributed by Chris Clapham

After careful planning, Sutton Cricket Club embarked on their first tour in England for 15 years with four matches in Somerset and Devon.

Numbers were decimated just ahead of the tour forcing the cancellation of the proposed opening fixture against Wellington CC which was to be played at Brompton Ralph CC.

I had travelled down on the Friday by train only to witness a 200 run defeat for my beloved Somerset against a fine Sussex side. My Saturday was spent at Monday’s hosts, Taunton Deane, where their 2nd XI were well beaten by Chard CC 1st XI.

On Sunday 21st August, I attended a remarkable Somerset Sunday League fixture where champions, Taunton St Andrews 269-7 off 40 overs wasn’t enough as a young Brompton Ralph CC triumphed by 5 wickets.

We had agreed a 40 over game at 11am at Taunton Deane on Monday 22nd August, as their under 19s were in the Somerset T20 final v Lansdown at the County Ground in the evening. 

However, early rain scuttled that so we played a 30 over match.

Rain stops play at Taunton Deane

We won the toss and batted with Sam Longstone (27), Dylan Waldon (17), Dan Edwards (36) and Rehan Ratna (16) the only ones to reach double figures in our total of 131-10 in 29.1 overs. At 22-4, The Deane were in trouble but they rallied well then fell away again to 114-9 thanks to the spin of Sam Woods, Dan Edwards and Matt Gardner. Deane reached 130 and number 11, Xander Chilcott, just needed to survive the final ball of the 26th over as Harry Smith (14*) looked comfortable at the other end. He went for a quick single, was told no, and he slipped over and was run out by Matt Gardner, after which we had a few beers before setting off for the T20 final which Lansdown CC won by 8 wickets and the quality of the out cricket really caught the eye. A far cry from our under 19s dare I say!

Tuesday was golf day followed by an evening T20 at West Monkton, which we won by 7 wickets.The cricket, which was followed by a BBQ, was a tad one sided with the hosts scoring 113. In reply, Dylan Waldon scored 53 as opening bat and Keith Gilpin 34. Dani Borini bowled a couple of overs and was not the worst bowler on display!

On Wednesday, we travelled to North Perrott, about 22 miles from Taunton near Crewkerne. I think it is fair to say that everyone on arrival was taken aback with the quality of the venue from the pavilion to the outfield and large square. With sheep bleating nearby (George Duckworth was encouraged to make a new friend) and a quarter hour church clock chiming, this was idyllic and the game matched the occasion.

The trip to North Devon saw fatigue taking it’s toll on the depleted party but Josh Blake offered to play a part. The 60 mile trip was pleasant and on arrival we were greeted by a beautiful setting although, unlike the 3 grounds in Somerset, the grass was rather straw-like.

Sutton batted first and looked in deep trouble at 21 for 5 with lots of bounce and turn. Thankfully, Rehan Ratna (86*) and a club debut century for Balajee Ramalingam (116*) saw Sutton to what looked a competitive looking 238-5 declared off 45 overs. Think again! The hosts were top heavy and Ben Howe and Darren Butler both retired on 50s. That enabled Sutton to get a bit of a foothold in the game but Harry Nicholl hit 66 and the hosts won by 3 wickets with lots of overs remaining. Steve Hall took 3 wickets. The only downside on the day was a chilly northerly wind coming off the sea which precluded the post match stay by an hour.

Big thanks to Mike Woods, Matt Gardner, Chris Moore, Bob Foster and Dan Edwards who were acting as tour committee.

Thank you to the clubs who hosted excellently.

The wonderful score box at North Devon CC