Devon Dumplings 4 August 2026

Captain Frankie Crouch

Lost by 10 Wickets

SOA 194 all out (Junaid Aziz 51,  Will Owens 44, Shiraz Husain 43)

Devon Dumplings 195 for 0 

There are occasions in cricket when a side encounters opposition in such destructive form that resistance becomes a rather forlorn business. Such was the unfortunate experience of South Oxfordshire Amateurs, who, having battled diligently to compile 194, were subsequently subjected to an exhibition of batting brutality seldom witnessed on a cricket field.

The Amateurs' innings had begun promisingly, with Shiraz Husain striking a lively 43 from 32 deliveries, including ten boundaries. However, wickets fell at regular intervals, and at 70 for five the situation had become decidedly uncomfortable.

It was left to Will Owens and Junaid Aziz to restore some respectability to proceedings. Owens displayed admirable patience in compiling 44 from 99 deliveries, whilst Aziz contributed a determined 51 from 95 balls. Their valuable sixth-wicket partnership of 82 rescued the innings from considerable embarrassment and enabled South Oxfordshire Amateurs to reach 194 before the final wicket fell.

For the Dumplings, Adam Fradgley and Aashay Dube each claimed three wickets, the latter conceding a mere ten runs in six overs.

If the Amateurs had found run-scoring a laborious undertaking, Devon Dumplings were about to demonstrate an altogether different approach.

Opening batsmen Aashay Dube and Kai Croft proceeded to treat the bowling with a degree of severity bordering upon the merciless. There was no cautious examination of the attack, no polite settling-in period, and precious little regard for the feelings of those unfortunate enough to be entrusted with the ball.

Dube was quite magnificent, striking an unbeaten 109 from just 55 deliveries, including eleven fours and six towering sixes. Croft, evidently determined not to be outdone, contributed a devastating 80 not out from 41 balls, with eleven fours and four sixes.

Between them, the pair struck 22 fours and ten sixes, plundering 148 runs in boundaries alone. The ball disappeared to all corners with such alarming regularity that the Amateurs' fielders might reasonably have considered requesting travelling expenses.

The required 195 runs were accumulated in a mere 15 overs and five deliveries, without the loss of a wicket. It was an assault of extraordinary ferocity, and one which left South Oxfordshire Amateurs thoroughly battered, though perhaps not entirely without admiration for their tormentors.

There were nevertheless worthy contributions from Husain, Owens and Aziz, whose efforts with the bat deserved a kinder fate.

Cricket, however, is a game in which fortune is not always distributed with particular generosity, and on this occasion the Amateurs had the misfortune to encounter two gentlemen for whom every delivery appeared an invitation to violence.

For Devon Dumplings, a triumph of breathtaking hitting. For South Oxfordshire Amateurs, an afternoon best consigned to the scorebook — and perhaps discussed thereafter over a restorative glass in the pavilion.