DEVON captain Alex Barrow believes his former Somerset colleague Peter Trego will prove a huge asset to the county.

Trego, Devon’s first match professional in more than 40 years, is set to make his belated debut for his new county in today’s Unicorns KO Cup game against Wiltshire at Warminster.

Trego would have made his Devon bow sooner had it not been for his white-ball contract with Somerset, which took him to Lord’s last Saturday to play in the Royal London Cup final win over Hampshire.

St John’s Wood to Warminster is an unusual cricketing journey, but having shared dressing rooms and team busses with Trego for eight seasons up to 2016, Barrow knows Trego will take it in his stride.

“Not only is Peter a nice guy – he was the first person to shake my hand and welcome me when I joined Somerset – he is a brilliant cricketer, said Barrow.

“Coming to the end of his career, it is good to see him come to us as a player.

“He has done so much for so long and has so much experience it can only be good for some of our younger lads to be around.

“And he can still do it, which is why Somerset have kept him on a one-day contract.”

“There is lots of banter with Peter which I am sure the Devon lads will enjoy.

“He is also a very competitive player, but one who plays with a smile on his face all the time.

“After his role in Somerset’s win at Lord’s I am sure he will be full of confidence in his game.

“If you asked him what he likes to do on a cricket field, he will tell you he likes to entertain.

“He wants people to enjoy watching him when he bats and you can see that in the way he plays. He will never die wondering, that’s for sure.

“Tregs has played this sort of cricket before with Cornwall and knows what it is all about. It will be great to have him on board.

Devon have had to make some late changes to the 12-man squad as Trego’s Somerset team-mates Ben Green and Tom Lammonby have dropped out.

Green does not want to further aggravate an injury and Lammonby is resting ahead of another busy week with Somerset.

Batsman Liam Lewis comes back into the 12 and Toby Codd is brought in as a third spinning option for skipper Alex Barrow.

The 50-over KO Cup represents a fresh start for Devon, whose Unicorns T20 Cup campaign has been an unqualified disaster. A group record of played six, lost five, tied is unimpressive.

Dave Tall, Devon’s director of cricket, said there are mitigating factors for the county’s lacklustre start to the white-ball part of the summer.

“Josh Bess and Gary Chappell have gone from last year’s side and leave a substantial hole,” said Tall.

“Both are proper all-rounder and vastly experienced. It is like losing two batsmen and two bowlers.

“We are bringing in young players – 17, 18 and 19 year olds – to replace two grizzled campaigners and you cannot expect them to turn it on in the same way from ball one.”

If Devon beat Wiltshire they will be away to either Oxfordshire or Wales in the quarter-finals.

Wiltshire:T I Morton, J Goodwin, U A Qureshi, E G C Young, N J Clark, J B Lintott, B C Dawson, T G Afridi, A B F Godsal, L A Evans, J M King.12th J O Haines.

Devon:A W R Barrow (Sidmouth), M W Thompson (St Fagans), P D Trego (Weston), L J Lewis (Heathcoat), Z G G Bess (Sidmouth), J E Burke (Plymouth), M C Golding (Old Wilsonians), K L Aldridge (Brislington), J A Stephens (Taunton Deane), J O Hagan-Burt (Plymouth), E W O Middleton (Exeter), T J R Codd (Bovey Tracey).

Umpires: D J Daniels, R C Hampshire.