The one minus point of this game was the loss of five wickets for just 36 runs. The only unlucky one was keeper Sam Smith. Devon was now struggling to reach 300 let alone 350 plus. Benton was still at the crease on 49 and the pressure was on Craig Donohue and Benton to pass the 300 within the 102 overs. Benton reached his deserved 50 (140 mins; 116 balls) the archives will be scoured to find the last occasion that four Devon batsman reached 50 in a seventeen’s innings. In the vital one hundredth and second over Benton took a single first ball to 296, ball two was a wide 297, ball four Donohue teed off but had not chalked his cue and ball five a classical cross batted swipe sent the ball somehow straight for four - 301 pressure over. The final seven balls were blocked we wanted to use the heavy roller next day. A vibrant rugby volleyball with the sixteen’s fully put in their place and time to consider the days play. The succinct and articulate comments from Captain Dan Hardy and Coach Jack Porter were really enlightening as they summed up the day perfectly. We had learnt to bat sessions, we must bat on and all the way down, we could and should have scored more and tomorrow was going to be a difficult day. Genuinely impressed with the input of both.

Heavy roller for seven minutes utilised, the plan was to use up four or five overs and get to 320. On a second beautiful day the game plan went nowhere. A maiden to Benton, two wides to Donohue, an allegedly unplayable ball to Donohue off bail removed (he could not claim any doubt on this one) and Devon were in the field. Donohue wanted the lacquer off the new ball so he went for 29 off five and Hyde bowled well up the hill. What was obvious to all was that Gegg and Gayle, the Gloucester openers were a class act and 380 would not have been sufficient let alone 303! Things ere now going downhill, Benton now an key bowler in this line up limped off a beneficiary of the Barton/Paignton feud as Whittle had taken him out in the warm up to cause a strain. The more mature spectators were having a field day ………. Then perhaps the pivotal moment of the game, we have all seen the pivotal round in Deal or No Deal and you really need Noel Edmunds to enunciate the scene. The scorer had warned us overnight that there might be some interesting running but at 11.53 am, thirty-eight minutes into the visitor’s innings both batters were at the crease at the sight screen end. Keeper Gegg played another perfect shot which his partner felt should increase the total to 40 ran and both batsman were in at the crease, it was all slow motion from here, Craig Donohue collected the ball sent a sensible throw to bowler Seward who neatly did the rest and a very disgruntled Gayle was on his way back. From a Devon viewpoint pure magic.

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