Devon was invited to take a side to Torquay to play against the Newcastle Cavaliers from New South Wales. The Australian side had just commenced an extensive nineteen fixture tour over thirty seven days playing five games in Devon before moving on to play in Somerset, Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and London. The party wind up the tour with a day at the Lords Test before flying back to Sydney via Dubai. Devon selected an under 18 side and their captain Josh Mailling won the toss and elected to field. The home sides opening attack of Popham and Heard made it very difficult for their cosmopolitan opponents. Popham took the first wicket with his tenth delivery he found the edge of the Australians captain, Arms and keeper Jack Maunder did the rest. The second wicket to fall was in the twelfth over after Hugo Whitlock had taken over from Paul Heard he deviated Bench’s drive on to the non strikers end stumps to run out the unlucky Moore. Twenty-two were added for the third wicket taking Newcastle up to 49 when in the eighteenth over Maunder took his second catch this time of Whitlock to remove Sutton. Two wickets fell with the score on 50, Wyatt-Haines took the first of two slip catches this one to remove keeper Bench off Whitlock and Kerton then bowled Summers. The visitors score advanced by five when Kerton hit Dwyer’s stumps. The seventh wicket fell at 63 when one of Devon’s best ever first slips took his second catch giving Kerton his third wicket. Newcastle’s Wallace and Sharp put on their sides best partnership of the day - 55 off eighty-nine balls in ten minutes under the hour. Off spinners Stephens and Bess were introduced into the attack but the wicket fell when Mailling reintroduced Paul Heard and with his first ball top scorer, Wallace, tried to pull and the ball went up and up but when it came down the bowler was under it and clasped on to it – 118-8 off 38.1 overs. Twenty runs were added by the last two wickets – nineteen by Sharpe and Brown, Hallam Kerton hitting the stumps for the third time to remove Sharp and finish with the impressive figures of 4-28 off eight. Heard took the final wicket when he bowled Coulson. Extras totalled 16 and Newcastle ended on 138 off 45 overs. Torquay’s spread was splendid and much enjoyed by our visitors who commented on the outstanding catering they had enjoyed in Devon.

  Billy Searle and the captain opened up after the interval but Searle, who had contributed 11, was bowled with the score on twenty. Mailling was starting to flex his muscles and in the company of Devon’s Under 17s number three Ollie Higgs in a partnership of 72 took the score up to 92. Mailling was in tremendous form sailing through the dangerous twenties and he reached his fifty in the eighth over with the first of his five sixes. He had faced twenty-one balls. He went on to loose another four balls in the adjacent gardens but equally reassuring was the form of Ollie Higgs. He will have a critical part to play in the seventeen’s campaign and despite his long term ankle injury looked in good form. With forty-seven still needed Higgs departed and the question was would Mailling at last reach three figures. The coach was undertaking the maths but his new partner, Sam Wyatt-Haines was in an equally aggressive mood. In the eighteenth over Wyatt-Haines joined in the attempt to loose as many balls as possible as he struck two sixes and he won the game with a two off the fifth ball. Mailling was unbeaten 81 off 48 balls in an innings that lasted sixty-six minutes. Wyatt-Haines contributed 26 off twenty.

  This had been a useful opener for both the nineteen’s and seventeen’s as the season starts in earnest shortly. Torquay were splendid hosts and praised highly by our opponents who had, despite the result, enjoyed the occasion