South Dartmoor do Chance to Shine double at under-15 level

The winning South Dartmoor Girls U15 team

HOWZAT for a dream double! South Dartmoor Community College won both national finals at the Chance to Shine play-offs in Northampton.

The County Ground in Northampton was the venue for the U15 semi-finals and finals of the State school-only competition.

The action had to be moved to the indoor academy due to wet weather, not that it made much difference to South Dartmoor.

The U15 boys beat Hutton Grammar School from Preston in their semi-final and saw off the Washwood Heath Academy in the final.The victorious South Dartmoor U15 boys team

Last season’s U15 girls’ won the competition so the pressure was on their successors to do the same.

And they didn’t disappoint, beating Blythe Bridge School from Staffordshire in the semi and Enfield County School in the final.

Steve Dinnie, director of sport at the Ashburton college, praised the pupils and staff who pulled off the double between them.

“We believe sport is vitally important to enrich the lives of the young people at South Dartmoor,” said Dinnie.

“Passionate staff have worked tirelessly to give fantastic opportunities to the students, and to inspire them to achieve at the very highest levels.”

The South Dartmoor lads held Hutton Grammar School to 44 all out in the final of the eight-a-side format semi-final, everyone other than the wicketkeeper bowling an over.

Tight overs from Nat Saturley, Dan Cowdry, Josh Orrell and Harold Retallick meant after five overs the score was 37 for five. Charlie Nichols then took two great wickets, and it was left to Jake Davey to finish off the last-man standing wicket.

Orrell and Cowdry started briskly and had South Dartmoor ahead of the asking rate from the start.

Nichols weighed in with some attacking shots including a six, as South Dartmoor surpassed the opposition’s total in the fifth over.

Washwood Heath opted to bat first in the final and made 55 for six in their seven overs.

The bowling followed a similar pattern, but this time with Nichols taking three for five in an over to slow the Brummies to 55 for six.

Orrell and Cowdry got South Dartmoor off to a good start, and when Orrell was run-out, Nichols came in and immediately scored runs.

A couple of run outs, when South Dartmoor batsmen were looking to push the score on, left them needing seven off the last over.

Reuben Stanley and Harold Retallick got South Dartmoor over the line with a ball to spare.

 The girls were always in the driving seat after making 83 for five against Blythe Bridge – opener Rachael Fee top scoring with 19.

Blythe Bridge needed 12 an over to win and after only scoring five in the first over the task got harder.

A great over from Rosie Foster left the opposition on 40 runs off 5 overs, and when Cornelia McHugh took a brilliant catch it was a bridge too far for the Blythe team.

South Dartmoor batted first in the final against Enfield and Fee carried on where she left off in the semi by putting on 21 in the first two overs with Abi Carroll.

Captain Jess Cooper got on with it, hitting the first six of the day by a girl, and retired unbeaten on 21.

With Carroll making 20 and 10 coming off the final over, South Dartmoor had an imposing 91 for two innings closed.

Enfield had no choice but to go for it but were kept in check by South Dartmoor’s lively fielding.

A great Fee catch, and an outrageous run out from Cooper backed up tight bowling from Froom and Rosie Foster.

With 29 needed to win from the last over, Caitlin Wright showed great calmness and maturity to bowl the best over of the day – a maiden.

The Chance to Shine double is the first success chalked up by the new cricket academy at South Dartmoor.