Dartington & Totnes bring in Dinesh Raheja to work with senior players

New recruit: Dinesh Raheza, who has moved from Ivybridge to Dartington & Totnes for the season ahead

By CONRAD SUTCLIFFE

DARTINGTON & Totnes have appointed a coach from outside the club for the first time in their relatively short history.

Dinesh Raheja, the Indian-born but UK resident all-rounder, has switched from his match-pro role at Ivybridge to be D&T’s new player-coach.

The season ahead appears to be a challenging one for D&T, who only just staved-off relegation from the B Division last season and have lost a clutch of players during the winter.

Left-armer Joe Parker has gone to Torquay, all-rounder Jono Colegate has re-joined Torquay after a brief flirtation with Bovey Tracey, and keeper-batter Alex Winch has left the area. He was last heard of looking for a club in or around Woking.

Raheja, 37, has moved around in Devon cricket having been with Alphington, Heathcoat, Exeter, South Devon and latterly Ivybridge.Dinesh Raheja

In Raheja’s three seasons with Ivybridge (2019-21) he scored 1,199 league runs at a respectable average of 47.96. Twenty wickets were a bonus!

Mick Rusling, the D&T chairman said bringing in a coach signals a change of emphasis at the club.

“We think that over recent seasons the coaching of senior players has not been a high enough priority within the club and are seeking to address this issue,” said Rusling.

“We are looking forward to working with Dinesh and hope that he will help us to maximise the potential of our players."

With a new season barely three weeks away, Rusling added: “We would still like to recruit players to strengthen our squad having lost players in the close season for different reasons.”

Jon Sparkes, the Ivybridge chairman, said parting company with Raheja after three successful seasons was a tough decision to reach.

“Dinesh scored a lot of runs for us, as he has everywhere, and was a good servant to the club so we wish him well,” said Sparkes.
“From our perspective it was difficult to justify having an overseas player and a match pro this season without affecting the opportunities for our young players.

“Our priority had to be the coaching that an overseas can provide, especially someone with a level three equivalent qualification, which ours for this season has.”

Ivybridge have brought in Cebo Tshiki from South Africa as their overseas player for 2022.