We continue to bask in the glory of our Tolchards Devon Premier League success – goodness, we can surely never get tired of writing/saying that!
Today we reflect on the part played this season by CHAD GIGGS CLASSEN. Chad came to us at the start of the season and made his first appearance in the league campaign on matchday four, the May 28th, home meeting with Sandford.
In the early days he did, by his own admission, find our notorious Tennis Court End ‘difficult’ to come to terms with!
However, his pre-match warm-up routine was something to behold and he was professional in all he did from the very first moment he arrived, and, typical of the chap, he soon settled into life ‘down the slope’.
His very first over in league cricket for Ninch was a maiden delivered to Sandford opener Sandy Allen and, after his second over went for a four and an ‘extra’, with the second delivery of his third over he had Allen caught behind by Darren Paul and, our new South African player was ‘up and running’. That first match saw him return figures of 1-42 from 10 overs.
His first 50 overs saw him finish with return accumulative figures of 8-212 while his final 50 overs saw a return of 13-214.
In total, Chad bowled 171 overs and claimed 34 wickets (this was in all formats of the game).
In the ECB Vitality Club Cup T20 competition Chad came into his own at the Area Finals Day at Basingstoke where he sent down four overs for that yielded just 12 runs! In the whole competition, Chad bowled 28 overs and claimed seven wickets for 152 runs. He also held five catches, including a couple of ‘worldies’ at the Regional Finals Day held at Bridgwater in August.
Yes, one and off the pitch, Chad quickly became a very popular member of the team. Indeed, with his coaching of youngsters and the afore mentioned ‘professional approach’ to his own game, he will have left an impression on lots of cricketing folk.
He has now returned to his native South Africa and, on behalf of the club, we thank him for his efforts and wish him well with whatever comes next in his cricketing journey – on and off the field of play.
The final word on the Chad season goes to our club skipper Gary Chappell who says: “Have a safe flight home Chad. You proved to be a great addition to ‘The NInch’ this season, on and off the field of play. You led by example throughout and certainly are a credit to yourself, your family and your agent, Steven Hirst.”
