Home

BY CONRAD SUTCLIFFE

ONE of the longest innings in Devon cricket has finally come to an end with the death of former player, captain and administrator Derek Cole aged 81.

   Cole (pictured) who was born in Dawlish and educated at Teignmouth Grammar School, where he later returned briefly as a teacher, first played for Devon as a 14-year-old colt in a game against Cornwall at Callington in 1939.

   By 1947 he was in the Devon senior side and played on until 1970, setting an aggregate run-scoring of 8,153 that stood for almost 30 years.

   Along the way he played cricket for Teignmouth, Torquay, where he had a spell as captain, the Civil Service and the Minor Counties Representative XI, whom he captained on a number of occasions, the last time against Australia at Torquay in 1968.

   One of his final games was for Dartmouth against Torquay in a Devon Cup match in 1970. Son Clive was playing for Torquay that night and his unbeaten 56 sent dad home defeated.

   Cole's Torquay career started back in 1945 when he was persuaded to join by secretary Tom Kerslake, who happened to be his uncle. Cole soon made an impression, taking an Australian Services' XI for a half-century at the Recreation Ground.

   By 1947 he was in the Devon side and was awarded his county cap the same season – an unusual occurrence then as now after taking seven wickets for the 58 runs in the second innings of a game against Dorset to finish with 11 for 77 in the match.

   Cole was very much a bowler for Devon in those days, as Cornwall found out the following season when he had 10 of their wickets (7-29) and (3-37) in a MCCA game at Torquay.

   There was another seven-wicket haul in him – against Berkshire in 1951 – although the transformation into a county class all-rounder was well under way.

   His came close to a maiden Devon century in 1954, hitting 93 against Dorset at Seaton, and finally broke the three-figure mark the following season.

   Cole didn't do it by halves either — he hit three centuries that season, among them an unbeaten 235 against Dorset that remained Devon's highest score for 44 years.

   Cole's total of 891 runs won him the Wilfred Rhodes Trophy that season — and he never bettered it despite playing for another 25 years.

More