By CONRAD SUTCLIFFE
TORQUAY CC scorer Nick Evanson will reach a remarkable milestone during the game against Bovey Tracey 2nd XI this Saturday,
For it will be the 600th consecutive 1st XI game Evanson has scored during more than 31 years of continuous service in the scorebox.
Evanson took over the 1stXI job in 1989 from Esme Kingdon, who had looked after the scorebook for the best part of 15 years.
Coloured pens and rulers have been replaced by a lap-top running sophisticated scoring software linked to the internet. But 49-year-old Evanson is still going strong in the scorebox.
Game number one back in 1989 was against Exmouth. No other scorer in the Premier or A Divisions of the Tolchards Devon League can match Evanson’s record of service.
Evanson, the recruitment officer for the Devon Association of Cricket Officials, is one of most qualified scorers in Devon.
He is one of only two qualified level three scores in Devon – the highest grade available. The other is Exmouth and Devon book minder Rachel Tozer.
Previous prestige appointments include acting as Duckworth-Lewis manager at Lord’s for a one-day game between Middlesex and Glamorgan.
Evanson has seen good times and bad during 31 years peering out of the scorebox, most recently relegation from the Premier Division in 2019.
Since completing 500 consecutive matches in 2014, there was also Torquay’s Premier Division title win in 2015, the club’s first since 1997.
Another landmark looming for Evanson is scoring on his 50thground in Devon.
If this season’s cancelled fixture list is carried forward to 2021, the venue will Cullompton’s Landspeed Meadow ground on May 21.
