Woodbury24Jun04

Kings first game of their 2004 tour to South Devon was against Woodbury on the day of England's Euro 2004 Quarter Final against Portugal, as a result the match was reduced to 35 overs a side to ensure the game finished in time for the start. However Kings were hit by their lack of players for the match which saw them only able to field eight players, after losing one of their original squad and having been let down by their hosts who had previously committed to supplying spare players.

Having won the toss Kings elected to field first and they got off to a superb start when Nick Tighe struck twice in his first over. First he bowled R Jones and then two balls later he repeated the feat when dismissing Cannon (0-2). At the other end Sones made a good start in reeling off three overs without conceding a run, but two balls into his fourth over the bowler aggravated an injury from the previous week and had to pull out of the attack and the over had to be finished by Dave Miller.

The hosts then started to fight back as J Jones and Cook built a useful partnership by making good use of the obvious gaps in the field. But the Kings eight continued to make the batsmen fight for every run and the introduction of Gordon Young brought the breakthrough when Cook was well caught behind by keeper Smith (71-3). Young struck again when he had Mann caught by Tighe (84-4) and his third wicket came when J Jones fell just four runs short of a half century when Smith once again took a fine catch behind(98-5).

Four runs on and the sixth wicket fell when Tighe took his second catch this time off the impressive Bygrave (102-6). Tighe then returned to the attack and comprehensively bowled Patterson (103-7) and then trapped Alford plumb lbw (103-8) to give the bowler a deserved fourth wicket. A late flurry from H Jones and Cooper helped push the score on to 135 before the overs ran out. It had been an impressive performance by Kings, who bowled and fielded superbly with Tighe taking 4-16 and Young 3-38.

Kings made a good start in response when the third over saw Smale taken for 15 runs, Miller hitting 3 successive boundaries. Smale's next over went for a further seven runs which saw Kings race to 26 off 5 overs. However Smale then struck back when he bowled Bygrave (32-1). With Gordon Young now keeping Miller company the scoreboard continued to move along and the opening bowlers were seen off despite Patterson conceding just 6 runs from his five overs. The change of bowling brought immediate rewards for the home side though when Miller, who had made 25, could only edge R Jones to the keeper (44-2).

There then followed a good partnership when Young and Pipe combined some fine shots with some well taken singles that saw the required rate maintained. But when Pipe was caught behind for a good 20 (80-3) and Young fell for 25 (86-4) the innings was turned on its head. When H Jones claimed the wickets of Smith and Rob Young with the score on 94 it left Kings with just one wicket left to snatch what would have been a famous victory.

Tighe made a valiant attempt to swing the game back Kings way when he struck two powerful boundaries and then a superb six over mid wicket. However when he tried to repeat the feat he lost his middle stump and Kings brave effort was over, just 23 runs short of their target. With the extra batsmen it might have been a different result, but Kings could hold their heads high and despite the defeat Kings could be proud of their efforts.