Devon Under 17s
1997 Season 's Report
Played 11 Won 7 Lost 4
Friendly Fixtures
v WARWICKSHIRE at Seaton C.C. - Devon lost by 55 runs
WARWICKSHIRE 169 for 7
DEVON 114 all out (M.Wood 55)
The Texaco Under 17 County Championship
v CORNWALL at Falmouth C.C. - Devon won by 1 run
DEVON 165 for 9 (J.Cruft 69; I.Gamble 48)
CORNWALL 164 for 6 (R.Knapman 3-41)
v WILTSHIRE at Exmouth C.C. - Devon won by 107 runs
DEVON 280 for 6 (J.Cruft 155; M.Wood 53; C.Stead 37)
WILTSHIRE 173 all out (A.Theedom 4-42; I.Gamble 3-22)
v SOMERSET at Budleigh Salterton C.C. - Devon lost by 73 runs.
SOMERSET 265 for 5
DEVON 192 for 9 (T.Alldis 44)
v DORSET at Sidmouth C.C. - Devon won by 27 runs
DORSET 140 all out (I.Gamble 3-33; A.Theedom 3-32)
DEVON 141 for 6 (J.Cruft 35; T.Alldis 37)
v WILTSHIRE at Chippenham C.C. - Devon won by 26 runs
DEVON 202 for 6 (I.Gamble 35; D.Manning 34)
WILTSHIRE 176 for 9
v DORSET at Bournemouth Sports Club - Devon lost by 8 wickets
DEVON 154 all out (T.Alldis 31)
DORSET 157 for 2
v GLOUCESTERSHIRE at Sandford C.C. - Devon won by 2 runs
DEVON 161 all out (T.Alldis 31; S.Edwards 32)
GLOUCESTERSHIRE 159 for 9 (T.Kekana 3-44)
v GLAMORGAN at Tondu C.C., - Devon won by 4 runs
DEVON 220 for 2 (I.Gamble 88*; T.Alldis 33; J.Cruft 45; M.Wood 30)
GLAMORGAN 216 for 6
v CORNWALL at North Devon C.C. - Devon won by 18 runs
DEVON 212 for 8 (I.Gamble 51; J.Cruft 49; M.Wood 49)
CORNWALL 194 all out (A.Theedom 5-41; I.Gamble 3-41
Quarter -final
v NORTHAMPTONSHIRE at Northfields. - Devon lost by 220 runs
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 375 for 9 (I.Gamble 4-79)
DEVON 155 all out (I.Gamble 32; J.Cruft 43; M.Wood 40)
The 1997 Squad M.Wood (Captain), T.Alldis, L.Beeson, D.Court, J.Cruft, S.Edwards, I.Gamble, A.Green, A.Hodges, J.Horgan, R.Hutchings, T.Kekana, R.Knapman, B.Latchem, D.Manning, C.Stead, A.Theedom, D.Wayland.
The Under 17's involvement in the Texaco Trophy ended on two broiling hot days in Northamptonshire where they were comprehensively out played by the eventual competition winners. Up until then they had played a high standard of very competitive cricket and they were a side who never knew when they were beaten. For the second year running Devon won the South West and Wales group of the national competition and therefore reached the two day one hundred overs a side stage of the competition. This year they did not advance past the quarter final stage but the squad can feel justifiably proud of their performances and they were great ambassadors for the county.
The season started with a friendly match against Warwickshire where it was soon obvious that the side would be a competitive bowling and fielding unit but the batting would need some attention. Matthew Wood was the only batsman to shine in a disappointing team batting performance after Warwickshire had been restricted to 169.
It poured with rain all the way down to Falmouth for our first Texaco match and t turned out to be a nail biter and gave an indication of the fighting spirit of the team. The openers Ian Gamble and John Cruft put on 112, a further 20 runs were added for the second wicket and the side then subsided to 165 for 9 at the end of the 50 overs. Cruft rode his luck but batted with authority and Gamble displayed his tenacity and class but the remainder failed to make double figures. However they made up for it in the field and came out winners by just one run in a game that many sides would have given up as lost. Russell Knapman came back for an excellent second spell and sensible all round bowling and outstanding fielding created the first and always vital win of the season.
Wiltshire visited us at Exmouth and an outstanding innings of 155 off 180 balls in 147 minutes by John Cruft took the game away from them completely. His driving was remarkable and this was the best innings of the season witnessed for or against. He hit 22 fours in a display of stroke play of the highest order. He was well supported by the captain Matthew Wood and Charlie Stead. Andrew Theedom then bowled fourteen overs of typical meanness, taking four wickets and his new partner Ian Gamble took three in another promising fielding performance.
There followed a disappointing performance against Somerset when neither the bowling nor fielding were up to the required standard and chances were not taken. The side was never in control of the match and, although Tim Alldis batted well, hitting the shot of the season when he hooked Bulbeck for 6, it was only two late partnership that gave the score respectability. It was essential that the side regrouped and this they duly did two days later.
Sidmouth was the venue for Dorset's visit and Gamble and Theedom bowled them out for 140, which should have been a lot less as a wretched last wicket partnership put on 53 totally unnecessary runs. Cruft and Alldis put on 68, Alldis and Wood 33 and then four wickets fell for 9 runs. Simon Edwards and Robert Hutchings with sensible batting took their side home to win number three. The side were back on course.
For the second year running Wiltshire entertained us at Chippenham where a solid rather than spectacular batting performance demonstrated the benefit of all members of the side making a contribution. A sixth wicket partnership of 42 between Hutchings and Manning was perhaps the key stage of the innings enabling a total of 202 to be achieved. The Wiltshire innings revolved around an excellent innings from Edwards but Hutchings removed him in his one over and the side completed a comfortable win. David Court's bowling had shown how effective he can be when he gets his length and direction right.
The game against Dorset at Bournemouth was the one truly disappointing performance of the group games. Devon started well with an opening partnership of 45 but the off spinner Denning bowled the first four batsman mainly due to some mediocre shots and apart from a partnership of 45 by Alldis and Edwards no one grafted an innings. Dorset cruised to an easy win losing their second wicket with two runs needed. The pressure was now on the side as they could not now afford to lose another game if they wished to win the group.
A low scoring game at Sandford resulted in another exciting win, this time by two runs, against Gloucestershire. Devon scored 161 all out in 49 overs. The Gloucester captain held his side together and for most of their innings they were in the driving seat. Twenty-one runs were needed off the last twelve balls, nine off the last six with three wickets in hand. The Skipper Matthew Wood then showed his cricket awareness, when to a man the side's supporters doubted his decision to bowl the final over. The first ball went for two, Manning took a brilliant stumping second ball, then a dot ball, a single, and two two's game over. His reasoning - "Well they will have to hit me" - dead right.
Two group matches left - two to win. The long journey to Wales was always going to be the key game of the season. Their openers had taken hundreds off us at 16's the previous season and we had piped them in 1996 for the title. It was therefore time for a subtle team talk - no pressure you have just got to win this one. All season the batting had revolved around Gamble, Alldis, Cruft and Wood and these four combined to score 220 for 2 with Gamble undefeated for an excellent 88 and Wood showing a welcome return to his true form with a fluent 30. Was it enough? Not the way the Hopkins started. Ian Gamble removed one of the dangerous Welsh openers but David Court's magnificent diving catch removed the real danger and Devon were back in contention. Now it was a matter of keeping their heads despite the fact that their supporters on the boundary were losing theirs. The score was 190 for 5 at the end of the forty-sixth over, 31 runs off 24 balls with Theedom and Wood bowling, 20 off 12, 13 off 6. A great game of cricket and most importantly Glamorgan had been beaten for the first time and as we had played more games Devon were back on top.
And so to North Devon to take on Cornwall - same subtle team talk but it did not seem to have the same effect for much of the game the side under performed but at two vital stages the team sparked into life. The batting was reasonable with good innings from Gamble, Cruft and Wood and a rousing ninth wicket partnership between Manning and Theedom which took the score from 179 to 212 in four overs. Maybe the pressure was getting to them but Devon just did not seem interested despite taking an early wicket with another inspiring catch from Manning and Cornwall appeared to be strolling. Fortunately Andrew Theedom demonstrated the determination needed and he bowled his team back into the game, he was assisted by a wonderful catch on the boundary by Hutchings to remove the free scoring. Win number seven was duly completed. Glamorgan were playing Somerset the same day and had to play Gloucestershire the next so we still did not know if we were to retain the South West title. Somerset lost to Glamorgan but Gloucestershire beat them and we were group winners through to an away quarter final against the Midland Group winners.
In the quarter final we were outplayed by a side who deservedly won the national title. As we had found out the previous year the toss in a hundred overs match can be crucial and we lost it. Northampton, who were short of two of their key players, scored 375 for 9 and we were indebted to a fine spell of leg spin from débutante Bryn Latchem and another typical spell from Ian Gamble. There was no breeze and the heat was intense and concentration was lost but at no time did the side disintegrate. Having discussed our tactics about whether we wished to bat or not on the first day, which depended on the speed we bowled our overs, we miscalculated and had to face sixteen overs before close. In retrospect it was felt that we could have bowled even quicker and faced an hour and half which with hindsight might well have been preferable. However we lost the key early wicket of Alldis and then shut up shop to avoid further loss. The sixteen overs were therefore effectively wasted. The next day Edwards fell early and despite good knocks from the stalwarts Gamble, Cruft and Wood no one played the necessary major innings.
The team performed well and, although there was a tendency to be short of runs on a number of occasions, this deficiency was often made up by the total commitment of the players in the field - the virtues of good fielding can never be over emphasised. The bowling was always of a good standard and David Manning had another inspirational season behind the stumps. Matthew Wood displayed a very good cricket brain and led the side well, he was supported by Ian Gamble and Andy Theedom in an intelligent think tank.
As always a season such as this is the result of a great deal of help and assistance and we again express our thanks to the umpires, who again controlled the games to a high standard, the host clubs Seaton, Exmouth, Budleigh, Sidmouth, Sandford and North Devon Cricket Clubs, the Cricket Foundation, Devon County Cricket Club, Devon Cricket Board - Club Association for their invaluable financial assistance and finally to the scorers Margaret Manning and Elizabeth Webb.
The D.H.Watkins Trophy for the Young Cricketer of the Year was awarded for his outstanding all round performances to Ian Gamble.