Devon Cricket Board - Broad shares vision for Babbacombe

Broad shares vision for Babbacombe

BABBACOMBE have their sights set on climbing the Devon League ladder again with C Division cricket the target for both teams by 2017.
The Walls Hill side clearly mean business having romped to the F Division title last season without losing a game.
Batsman Stephen Lewis came over from Barton for a season, average more than 100 in the league and Babbacombe were on the up for the first time in a while.
The previous few seasons had not been at all kind to Babbacombe as relegation followed relegation with only the odd breathing space.
As recently at 2005 Babbacombe were in the B Division, but once the slide started there was no halting it.
Babbacombe dropped out of the C Division in 2008, went through the D Division the following season and in 2011 were relegated into the F Division for the first time. Talk about hitting rock bottom.
Former skipper Steve Broad returned to the club following a spell with Ipplepen and took over the reins from Paul Bates, who had battled manfully against the odds for years to stop Babbacombe sliding.
Broad, backed by the committee, went recruiting and getting Lewis for 2012 proved a masterstroke.
Lewis went back to Barton at the end of last season so Broad had to go recruiting again.
More than a few eyebrows were raised when Andrew Kingdon (left), who skippered Paignton in the A Division last season, opted to drop down to the E Division to play his cricket.
And there was barely time for cricket watchers to digest that shock when Broad announced that Mike Pugh was heading to Walls Hill as well.
Pugh was a thoughtful Premier Division captain with Torquay and also led Abbotskerswell in the A Division.
Kingdon and Pugh (right) are both coaches, which was one of the reasons Broad lured them to the club.
Back at Walls Hill after a spell out of the game is motivational keeper Paul Sutherland, who showed his class during a stint in the A Division with South Devon CC, where he had been a colt.
Many clubs have bought their way up the Devon League over the years, or been lucky enough to assemble the right players in the right place at the right time, as Axminster did in the late 90s.
Broad has been around a long time and the last thing he wanted to create was a flash-in-the-pan team with not staying power.
'The club and committee are very much aware of the need to provide or plan for the long term and sustainability is crucial,' said Broad.
'There are two ways to try to move forward. You can build from bottom up and focus on colts, or top down and strengthen your league positions first.
'My opinion is the later is the way to start as we have done as this can be achieved more quickly.
'The hope is if your first team strengthens, then you hope it pulls the 2nd XI in the right direction too.
'It's important your 1st XI maintains at least the same if not higher equivalent position in the league structure and you don't have a stagnant 1st XI with a progressing 2nd XI, or vice- versa.
'None of this is of any use at all if the long-term sustainability of the club, both financially and cricket wise with colts, is ignored either.
'The first part of this is very much a work in progress and we are in the process of re-launching our colts section this season.'
Broad said having achieved step one last season, the challenge for 2013 was to keep climbing, which meant tackling weaknesses in the team, either skills shortages or player strengthening.
We recruited Andy Kingdon as player-coach to help in all those areas,' said Broad.
'As soon as I met him I knew immediately he was right for the club as a personality.
'AK has fitted in well, everyone has taken to him and he has really improved our training and coaching, which was one of the shortfalls identified.
'I think this is starting to pay dividends on the pitch to a degree now too.
'With AK's recruitment, Pugh and Sutherland joining and the pending arrival of a young Aussie keeper batsman plus the better availability that the structured training and competition for places has created, we have more than filled the areas for improvement identified for both teams on the field also.'
Broad said the support of the committee and main sponsor Mow On was a big factor in the club's rise.
He added: 'The togetherness, teamwork, commitment and effort I have witnessed in the last year or so is the best I can remember in the near 20 years I have been involved in one way or another at the club.
'I'm proud to be part of it, although there is lots of hard work still to do.'

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