Tom Doble.
CRICKETTOM Doble claims he only dabbles in cricket — but he ought to do more if his performance in the final of the Harwoods Renault Indoor Cup for Niton was anything to go by.
The 25 year old, of Bembridge, has barely played indoor cricket before and only joined Niton because his friends who played for the side asked him to fill a spot.
But on Sunday night at the Fairway Sports Centre, he hit a brilliant 40 and had a hand in all six of Ryde’s dismissals as Niton won by a comfortable margin to lift the trophy.
"It was only my fourth, maybe my fifth, game indoors. But everything seemed to go my way, so I am pleased," he said.
Niton had reached the final after a comfortable win over GKN earlier in the evening.
In a low-scoring semi-final, Niton were all out for 84, Doble leading the way with 29, while Ben Wadmore bagged the lion’s share of the wickets, with three.
In reply, however, GKN stuttered to 68, Doble, Les Cupis and Joby Wells alll taking two wickets each.
In the other semi-final, Ryde had a big-hitting finish to defeat Ryde Cavaliers. Cavs had posted a competitive 95, Chris Higgins leading the attack with an unbeaten 28, and Tommy Barton supporting with 20.
Ryde reached the target with two wickets in hand. After Jaymie Icke had opened with 21, they lost Mark Oatley and John Zaccardi for one run each, before Lawrence Tolfrey hit an impressive 35 not out.
The final saw Niton open the batting, and again, Doble was the leading man, racking up the runs alongside Guy Wells, who finished on 35.
They reached a total of 127 — their tally boosted massively by 44 extras — which Ryde set about tackling well in the opening two overs.
Icke and Oatley made a bright start, but both were dismissed by Doble, one bowled, one trapped lbw, before Zaccardi and Julian Jayerajah departed cheaply.
Again it was down to Tolfrey to lead the fightback but he, and Andy Davis, also fell quickly, leaving Ryde on 71 all out.
Doble caught all four of the remaining wickets, with the dismissals of Jayerajah, Tolfrey and Davis all going in the same fashion — with Guy Wells bowling, and Doble catching in the bottom right hand of the hall.
Reporter: sport@iwcpmail.co.uk