By CONRAD SUTCLIFFE

MATT Golding’s availability for Devon when competitive cricket gets under way next month is a bonus for team boss Dave Tall.

Devon are awaiting exact confirmation what form competitive cricket will take, but have been told by National Counties executives to expect a five-week T20 tournament against four other counties during August with a finals day in early September.

Tall wants to work with a 15-man squad for the tournament and one of the first names on the list will be Golding’s.

“We hardly saw Matt last season as he was working in Kent and unable to get back for more than a couple of games,” said Tall.

“Matt is the sort of player who can win you a game with bat and ball, which you want in any sort of cricket, especially T20.

“Matt is back turning out for Bovey Tracey again and living locally, which is great news for Devon.”

Devon reached finals day of the National Counties T20 competition in 2018, where they lost out to eventual winners Berkshire.

Key members of that squad – Zak Bess, Jamie Stephens, Golding, current skipper Alex Barrow and Matt Thompson – are still around, which gives Tall confidence that Devon can be competitive.

Tall’s only concern is the potentially patchy availability of players in late August and early September as work commitments kick in.

“For example, Alex has already told me if we reach finals day in September he probably won’t be able to play,” said Tall.

“Availability in the squad has been a problem for a while and something you have to either work with or around.

“In a Utopian world I would have a squad of 15 players available for every game and I want to get as close to that as possible for the competition if we are to do well.

“If, with a couple of rounds to go it looks likely that we won’t qualify, then I will look at bringing other players in to give them a chance at that level in that format.”

Cornwall, Dorset, Wiltshire and Herefordshire are likely to be the other sides in Devon’s group, which will follow the format used for the past two seasons of two games in a day against the same team for points in a ranking table.

The team at the top of each of the four tables will go through to a semi-finals and finals day at a venue yet to be confirmed.