The Modbury CC Season of 2025
Another summer gone, another scorebook closed, and Modbury CC emerge with six wins, seven defeats, and the vague air of men who have fought the good fight and mislaid the map halfway through. Draws, of course, are for the faint of heart — and Modbury were never going to be accused of indecision.
Runs on the Board
At the top of the list stands Guy Speed, the season’s leading bat with 202 runs and a brace of fifties. When Guy is in, he lends the air of a Roman consul taking his place in the Senate — firm of jaw, immovable, and only occasionally undone by an ill-placed yorker.
John Compston (162 runs, one fifty) provided middle-order ballast, as reliable as a medieval stone mason and twice as solid. He also had the unnerving knack of popping up with useful bowling overs, like a Swiss army knife that insists on bowling medium pace.
Ethan Bell (148 runs) promised much and frequently delivered in flashes, though sometimes vanished sooner than expected — a Greek tragedy curtailed not by the gods, but by an enthusiastic umpire’s finger.
Lee Merchant added 130 runs, while Mike Lemmings smashed 93 at a strike rate suggesting he had somewhere better to be — most likely the tea table. Trevethan and Holmes chipped in with gritty runs that held the line, and both feature again in the tale of the partnerships.
Wickets and Wizardry
With the ball, James Sloman led the merry assault, scooping up 15 wickets at 10.53 and doing it all with the serene air of Wellington who, finding Waterloo rather a bother, calmly ordered another pot of tea.
Lee Merchant, meanwhile, refused to let the batsmen have all the fun; he nabbed 13 wickets (best 4/14) in the manner of a medieval knight who insists on jousting before breakfast, raiding a village before lunch, and still being home in time to carve the roast beef.
Tom Hatch (12 wickets, best of 4/12) bowled with relentless persistence — if patience is a virtue, Tom has it in stock. Sam Collidge (10 wickets) chipped in with miserly spells, as if rationing runs in wartime.
Stands to Remember
The season’s highlight partnership was Trevethan and Holmes stand of 78 against East Prawle — less a partnership than a small work of art, reminiscent of Castor and Pollux sticking together through thick and thin, though with rather more running between the wickets.
Hatch and Compston’s 59 against Cornwood was another tale of unlikely comradeship, like Caesar and Antony deciding they rather enjoyed sharing a tent. Bell and Lemmings’ 32 against Ermington was shorter but no less spirited, a quick skirmish rather than a campaign.
Curtain Down
And so, as the last stump is drawn, we pack away the kit. There were runs, wickets, ducks and dropped chances — the full classical drama. There were days of triumph, days of disaster, and days when the scorer’s pencil wore down quicker than the opposition’s batting order.
Yet through it all, Modbury played with the good cheer of men who know that, like Rome, a cricket club is not built in a day.
Roll on 2026.
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