Devon Cricket Board - 2013 U13 v IoW report

2013 U13 v IoW report

Devon U13's v Isle of Wight U13's

COOPER SO CLOSE

A Thoughtful Mikey Cooper

A welcome return to Axminster for the second game of the season, against Isle of Wight. Good news for the Islanders, as it reduced their travelling time. They really do well to compete, given the difficult conditions they operate under. Every trip is a logistic nightmare and they have a very small group of players to choose from. We appreciate their efforts to come across and play.

Devon again batted first, and again lost an early wicket. For the second time the cunning plan of opening with Leon Horn reaped no reward, as he trudged back to the pavilion having failed to trouble the scorers, but still with a smile on his face. He simply refuses to be downcast, despite his own disappointment. A great asset to the team.

Mikey Cooper and Tom Williams showed how to build an innings, with a stand of 97 in 14 overs before Williams was dismissed for 35. Cooper, as the manager was to find out some time later, was batting with 12 stitches in his knee (don't ask!), was joined by Kazi Szymanski, who had been asked by his manager to play a sensible innings. He unselfishly supported the rampant Cooper, batting 48 balls for his 28, as the score progressed to 152. The management team now know Kazi does listen sometimes!!

Mikey looked nailed on to reach his first Devon century when he surprisingly nicked off for 96. A fine innings which showed his strength through the on side, especially square of the wicket. There were 20 boundaries in his 96. Not surprising given his injury - running must have been painful. Nobody would have begrudged him an extra 4 runs. The spectators seemed more disappointed than Mikey. who was his usual phlegmatic self.

The final total was a challenging 219-7 with a little cameo of 16* from Captain Maunder.

In reply the Island reached 23-1, but were tied down by a tight opening spell of 1-5 in 5 overs from Callum Worth. They did, it must be said, get a deal of help from top scorer Mr. Wide who contributed 20 to their cause. So how do we stop bowling so many wides? Practice, practice, practice and a higher level of intensity in our warm up?? Just a thought!!

The introduction of leg spinner Dan Bullock (7-1-14-3) and George Holland (2.3-0-2-3) quickly extinguished any hope that Isle of Wight had of reaching their target. They finished 58 all out.

There will be tougher tests for Devon, but these first two games were useful in helping the management decide their squad for games in June. The unlucky players to miss out were Charlie Hannan and George Holland, although both showed great promise and can consider themselves real prospects for the future if they continue to develop their skills.

Devon are already looking forward to their return visit to Axminster at the end of June to play Hampshire; such was the warmth of their welcome.

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