Sam Loud, Jack Popham, Jack Dart, Michael Cousins, Rhys Davies, Jack Cherrington

The tour started in Kruger with a two-day game against Nelspruit College. This provided a good challenge with many of the host boys having represented Mpumalanga at provincial level. On losing the toss and being asked to field in high levels of temperatures and humidity we spent the first session chasing the ball as Nelspruit rattled up 128 for the first wicket in 30 overs. However the post lunch play was highlighted by much tighter bowling and keen fielding which saw our hosts reduced from 176 for 2 to 259 all out , josh Mailling being the pick of the bowlers with5 for 45.

In reply a bright opening partnership of 53 by Dylan Penberthy and Rhys Davies followed by 104 for the second wicket by Davies and Michael Cousens laid the foundation which enabled Devon to declare 30 runs behind having used only 54 of their allotted 65 overs.

Nelspruit found batting difficult in there second innings being dismissed for just 103 with Jack Cherrington retuning the remarkable figures of 5 for 6 off 9.2 overs. On what was still a good pitch Devon had little difficulty in achieving there first win of the tour when 69 by Laurence May ensured victory by 8 wicket,

Our first game in Cape Town was played at Khayelitsha against a development side selected from the various townships in and around the city. We have seen the quality of players drawn from the black community improve over the years and credit is due to Ezra Cagwe and his coaches at WPCA.

Batting fist in a 45 over game Devon managed 145 for 7 against some quality bowling and were quietly confident at the changeover. This proved somewhat misplaced as some aggressive early batting aided by undisciplined bowling resulted in our hosts deservedly winning by 4 wickets with two overs remaining.

Our second game against Southern Suburbs was played at Green Point with a backdrop of the new World Cup soccer stadium on one side and Table Mountain on the other.

The game resulted in a very comfortable win against what in truth was a poor Southern Suburbs side. Devon posted  241 for 8 with Laurence May being run out just 16 runs short of a century, a total that was never threatened as Southern suburbs were dismissed for 135.

The excellent Boland Park stadium in Paarl was the venue for the game against Boland U15.

Batting first on a good pitch Boland found life difficult in the face of accurate bowling and keen fielding and at one stage they were 131 for 8. Unfortunately we were unable to grab the moment and a ninth wicket partnership of 76 in 11 overs changed the momentum of the game leaving Devon needing 216 to win in their 45 overs.

This appeared very achievable, however some quick and aggressive early bowling reduced us to 6 for 2 in 5 overs. While  a third wicket stand of 34 improved matters the scoring rate was constantly below that required and the inevitable scoreboard pressure saw Devon dismissed for 95, a disappointing performance on a good batting surface.

Back to Cape Town and a new venue at Northerns Goodwood CC for a 50 over game against a Western Province U15 XI.

Batting fist Devon were dismissed for 207 in 48 overs, a performance which was not helped by three run outs, including the two top scorers Jack Dart and Dylan Penberthy.

Devon were able to exert constant pressure throughout the Western Province reply and reduced them to a seemingly hopeless 159 for 9 after 33 overs. Discipline was then substituted by complacency, which gradually allowed the last wicket pair to grow in confidence. Our bowling suddenly lacked its earlier control and the fielding became ragged, resulting in our hosts achieving their target with 6 overs to spare. A classic example of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory!

Our last game took us to The Vineyard Oval with its dramatic backdrop of Table Mountain, for a  two day game against Western Province U14.

Devon won the toss and chose to bat first on a pitch, which appeared likely to deteriorate over the two days. An inconsistent batting display meant we were dismissed for 180 in 55 overs In truth this represented something of a recovery from 48 for 4 and then 129 for 9 before a spirited last wicket partnership of 51 between Callum Cload and Alex Hunt ensured Devon reached a respectable total.

The value of the last wicket partnership became even more significant when western Province were dismissed for j170. This would seem to point to things being pretty even but our hosts had to bat last on a wearing surface.

A second innings total of 151, Alex Hunt 50, gave us something   defendable provided we bowled and fielded well   Pleasingly we did just that and Western Province never really looked like winning the game. However we still had to bowl them out in order to win the match A tense finish with fielders surrounding the bat  saw the last wicket fall in the last over to bring about an exciting and welcome conclusion .

The tour was as ever a great success and our good friends in Kruger and Cape Town ensured a warm and friendly welcome.

The players were a most pleasant group to spend two weeks with. They proved to be excellent ambassadors for youth cricket in Devon as well as being a credit to their parents, clubs and schools

Jon Mears considered that their team performances improved during the 2009 season. It is to be hoped that the South Africa experience will help to maintain this progress into 2010.

Alan Swift

Tour Manager