2010 South Africa Tour Statistics. Played 6. Won 3. Lost 3.

Scroll down for Alan Swift's Tour Report

Mpumalanga at Skukuza CC: Kruger National  Park                                                                                    
Day 1: lost toss and fielding..........Temperature a “cool” 28 after overnight stormsBowlers struggled in the first session giving too much width and being punished accordingly. At 160-1 at lunch Devon were looking down the barrel of a huge total. Respite came after lunch when bowlers adopted a tighter line and eased out the “set” batsmen ultimately bowling out the home side for 259. Josh Mailing was pick of the bowlers with 5-45 from 15 overs. Rhys Davies took 3 catches and a stumping in a tidy display behind the stumps

Devon began their first innings with a positive approach, Penberthy and Davies put on 60 for the first wicket when Penberthy was bowled round his legs for 22. Cousens and Davies batted with growing confidence and took the score to 150 before Davies fell for a well crafted 77. At the end of day 1 Devon closed on 161-2 with Cousens unbeaten on 41.

Day 2: Still batting this morning but temperature now 35 deg and rising.

We battled with positive intent from the outset of day 2 and added a further 68 runs from 11 overs with Cousens completing a well organised half century. Kirton and Dart finished the innings with a flurry of boundaries before Devon declared on 229-5, exactly 30 behind and hoping to avoid the possibility the game might drift toward an unsatisfactory draw.

Devon made just the start they had hoped for when Popham took the first of Mpumalanga’s second innings wickets in the first over and another just 11 balls later! The introduction of Jack Cherrington soon reaped reward as he dismissed the best Mpumalanga batter with his first ball. With a huge confidence boost he then went on to achieve splendid figures of 5-6 off 8.2 overs, bowling the home side out for just 103.

Chasing just 134 to win May and Davies played sensibly putting on 80 for the first wicket before Davies departed for 26. May and Cload took the score to 125 when May went for a fluent 69. Dart and Cload knocked off the last few runs with aplomb, giving Devon victory by 8 wickets.

Khayaleisha / Langa Development Team

A pre-match visit to Khayaleisha Primary School found our boys singing along with the school choir and having a try at the South African National Anthem. These are children who have very little, always from improvised homes made of waste timber and reclaimed iron sheeting. Township parents nearly always seem able to send the kids to school in clean uniforms and they somehow manage to maintain a smile as you can see from the photo! 

Devon won the toss and elected to bat and at 78-1 off 20 overs were well placed to accelerate. Disaster struck with the loss of 4 wickets in quick succession and Devon sank to 110-5 with Josh Mailing recording his maiden half century for Devon (53). It was left to Michael Cousens (29no) and Rhys Davies (24no) to put on 60 in the last 8 overs to finish on 182-7

A poor bowling display allowed the hosts to achieve 80 without loss and only the introduction of Penberthy’s leg spin (3-15) interrupted their progress. Khayaleisha / Langa soon recovered their poise and managed to secure victory with 2 overs to spare.

A lack lustre performance with far too many loose balls and extras conceded.

Southern Suburbs at Green Point Stadium
This stadium lies almost within the shadow of the new world cup soccer venue recently completed in Cape Town. 45 over match. Devon won toss.

Devon 241-8. Southern Suburbs 135 all out . Devon won by 106 runs.

Batting first Devon had lost three wickets for less than 50 runs. Laurence May held the innings together with a superb 84. He was ably assisted by Jack Dart (28) in a stand of 80 for the fifth wicket and with good improvised hitting at the end of the innings managed to set a very challenging total for the opposition.

Two early wickets from Paul heard made sure the home side did not get off to a flying start and the innings eventually subsided to 135 all out, the wickets shared around. Heard 3-25    Kirton 2-19    Thompson 2-9

Boland Under 15s
Boland 215 all out. Devon 95 all out. Devon lost by 120 runs.

On a scorching hot day in the fabulous setting of Boland Park Stadium Devon fielded first and bowled with purpose using the new ball effectively. Heard and Hunt restricted the Boland early order. The introduction of Kerton was eventful, ten runs off his first over followed by two quick wickets. Dylan Penberthy was pick of the Devon bowlers with 2-27 from 8 overs of economical leg spin and at 133-8 Boland were on the rack! A late order rally and loose bowling saw Boland recover to a respectable 215 all out.

The tourists' innings faltered at once against a lively opening attack. Penberthy losing his off stump with the third ball of the innings and Mailing falling shortly afterwards. A collapse followed as the run rate increased and Devon copitulated to a very dissapointing 95 with only Cousens (27) and Davies (21) offering any resistance!

Western Province U14 at the Vineyard Oval
Devon won toss and batting
Once again a faltering start to the Devon innings led to scoring a modest total of 180 all out. (57 overs)
In reply WP are 143-8 at close of play................
Match still alive!
Full report at end of day 2.
Batting.
Cload 45no. May 36. Hunt 22. Mailling 23
Loud 3-28. Cherrington 2-17

Good news from Z.A a gutsy WIN in the penultimate over!
Match summary:
Devon v Western Province @ The Vineyard Oval 24 and 25 Feb.
Devon won toss batted 180 all out.
WP 1st innings 170 all out
Loud 3-28. Cherington 2-31. Penberthy 2-53

Devon 2nd innings 151 all out. A Hunt 50. Mailling 35

WP set 162 to win in 48 overs. Penberthy 4-23. Hunt 2-20. Cousens 1-27. Loud 1-8

WP bowled out for 118 and Devon win by 43 runs!

Alan Swift's TOUR Report 2010.

As in 2009 our visit began in Mpumalanga, based at the excellent Kruger Gate Hotel, which lies on the banks of the river Sabie,  adjacent to Kruger National Park and all its splendid wildlife. 

The two day game against Nelspruit College was played at the splendid Skukuza Cricket Club, a unique venue located at the staff village in the middle of Kruger It is frequently visited by animals, including hippos, lions and hyenas. Fortunately we have only been interrupted by families of warthogs who cause short breaks in play until they are chased away. 

The game against Nelspruit College provided a good challenge right at the start of the tour 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 much tighter bowling and keen fielding which saw our hosts reduced from 176 for 2 to 259 all out highlighted the post lunch play, 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 their 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 their first win of the tour when 69 by Laurence May ensured victory by 8 wicket, 

It is impossible to overstate the debt of gratitude we owe our friends in Kruger, in particular Frisk Rossouw, Jannie Geldenhuys and their wives Petro and Isobel-They give so willingly of their time and expertise simply to ensure that our young players enjoy a memorable experience. 

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 received an astonishing welcome when, having been invited to the local school, we were treated to some wonderful African music courtesy of the school choir. The words were unfamiliar but our players willingly mixed in and did their best to make a special experience even more memorable.

The game that followed brought a quick reality check to proceedings. We have seen the quality of players drawn from the black community improve over the years and credit is due to Ezra Cage 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 in disciplined 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. 

Boland Park stadium in Paarl was the venue for the game against Boland U15. The ground hosted matches during the last world cup held in South Africa and currently hosts first class games.  

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.

Overall the tour was, a great success, due in no small part to the help we received from our good friends in Kruger and Cape Town. They ensured a warm and friendly welcome as well as making sure that the cricket fixtures were well organised. Devon Cricket Board would wish to record their thanks for all the generosity and kindness shown to our young cricketers.

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.