I am a Devon CCC member who lives nowhere near
Devon. There are quite a few us distant supporters.
In fact I live in South Oxfordshire a few miles north
of Henley on Thames and with my garden backing
on to RAF Benson. I am sure some of you have
heard of it.?
Why do I support Devon you might well ask?
Well I have a friend who lives near Ottery St Mary
and I have been visiting him for over 30 years.
Consequently I discovered Sidmouth cricket
ground a relatively long time ago. He fortunately loves cricket as well as me
although he does go on rather that Sidmouth CC is the home of cricket. This
a reference to the fact that Somerset started out at Sidmouth and I am also
a Somerset member. We argue about this sometimes. I do not have any
affinity surprisingly to Oxfordshire cricket and know nothing about it. This
also applied to Berkshire where I lived previously. Strange I know.
How could there be a more iconic ground than Sidmouth with a genuinely
old thatched pavilion.
Wormsley in Buckinghamshire runs it close (I live 12 miles from here) but
this is a new ground with a “new” thatched pavilion. As you will know this
was built by Sir Paul Getty after being “converted” by that great cricket fan
Sir Mike Jagger! I watched Devon last year in the Unicorns one day final here.
Sadly it ended in defeat.
Although I love watching Sidmouth play I particular love watching a 3-day
minor counties cricket match here and also at the other county grounds.
Have been to Exmouth and Exeter plus also away games at Banbury,
Salisbury and Newbury. It is a very good standard, intense and is very much a
breeding ground for county cricketers, especially for Somerset, and even Test
cricket. This is where I first saw Dom Bess and look where he got to although
his career seemed to falter a bit in the second half of last season, but he is
only young.
It would be a big shame if it fell into disrepute. Minor Counties cricket is
on a bit of a downward path as it is becoming increasingly difficult for the
best players to be able to play. 6 games of 3 days each is a big commitment
especially as there are also local league games on a Saturday. This has been
the format for a number of years and will be so in 2019.
To try and improve things the Minor Counties have restructured the 3-day
game to consist of divisions of 5 teams playing only 4 games starting in 2020.
This should help tremendously in diminishing the demands on the players
who are of course amateurs giving up their time. Counties should now find
it easier to put out their strongest teams thereby increasing the standard. It
remains to be seen how effective these changes will be.
Minor Counties will now change their name to National County Cricket
Association. Not sure about this.
Changes have also been made to the 50 over and T20 competitions. Not so
interested in the 50 over and much less so in the T20. Long way to travel.
For us retired people 3 days sat in deckchairs at Sidmouth for example is bliss
and many friends can be made. Of course this level of cricket would not be
possible without the devotion of a small number (too small sometimes) of
people who work tirelessly to make them happen. I am not going to mention
any names. You and they know who they are. Although I mention Sidmouth
a lot, I am hoping to visit Sandford this year.
Devon have been served excellently by Josh Bess as both captain and player
and it is sad that he has now stood down for understandable reasons, but
I am sure there will be many current and future players who will step up to
the mark to replace him.
Some counties use a professional, Chris Peploe for Berkshire is a very good
example. Not everybody approves of this, but I am very much in favour
if the finance is there. This person can only improve the health of Devon
CCC as long as he plays in the county league, is available for all games and
encourages the younger players.
Here’s to an enjoyable and successful 2019 season and I look forward to
meeting again the friends I have made.
Les Gardner
Devon County Cricket from Afar
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