Devon Cricket Board - Barlow has no regrets about Dorset swtich

Barlow has no regrets about Dorset swtich

FORMER Devon seamer Scott Barlow has insisted he has no regrets about quitting the county to play for Dorset.
Barlow was a member of the Devon side that won the Minor Counties Championship outright last season – taking four for eight in the second innings of the final to help defeat Cambridgeshire.
Today he will be playing against Devon for Dorset in the Minor Counties Championship game at Exeter starting at 11am – weather permitting!
Barlow almost didn’t play for Devon last season as he had moved to Bournemouth in 2010 to work and had agreed to play for Dorset.
When Dorset didn’t want Barlow for their first game of the season he opted to stay with Devon, a decision rewarded with a Minor Counties champions’ medal.
Barlow said the decision to leave Devon was a hard one, but the right one at this stage of his career.
‘If Devon paid expenses for travelling to home games I might not have left, but living in Bournemouth that is a cost issue when you have to drive to somewhere like Instow for a match,’ said Barlow.
‘Now I am fully committed to playing for Dorset I am really enjoying it and being part of a very strong bowling attack.
‘What I like about playing for Dorset is the togetherness in the team. We all work together: coach, captain and players.
‘A bit like Devon last season when we won the title, there are no outstanding players, although Chris Jones looked something else in the last game.
‘The players know their jobs and roles in the side and get on with them.’
Barlow is one of two former Devon players in the current Dorset side, The other is early order batsman Aaron Williams.
Both came up through the Devon youth system and while Williams has played against his home county before Barlow hasn’t.
‘I have grown up with quite a few of the players in the Devon team and it will be a strange playing against them,’ said Barlow.
‘I do have some experience of this from playing for Budleigh Salterton last season as we had to play against Sidmouth and I had seven seasons with them.’
Williams will be on familiar territory at the County Ground as he had three seasons (2008-10) with Exeter.
‘It isn’t the first time I have run into Devon since I left so what novelty there might have been has worn off,’ said Williams.
Someone else who knows Devon and the County Ground well is former Barton (96-04) big hitter Darren Cowley, who used to commute from Torquay to play for his home county.
Cowleybagged a pair in the win over Shropshire two weeks ago which propelled Dorset into second place in the table.
Barlow said it wouldn’t surprise him if Devon suffered the backlash.
‘There is no love lost between Darren and Devon, which is probably why he nearly always does well against them,” said Barlow.
Cowley’s record against Devon is two tons, three half-centuries and 535 runs in seven games since 2002 at an average of 53.5.
Devon are 19 points behind leaders Cornwall and will be out of contention if they lose to Dorset.
Team news from the Devon camp is that Seb Benton and Charlie Morris have both dropped out – Benton due to a job interview and Morris to play for Combined Universities against Yorkshire II at Sheffield. Rob Woodman and Matt Golding come into the side.
Dorset’s Chris Jones, the dual-registered batsman who took tons in both innings off Shropshire, has not been released by Somerset for the game.
Devon (from): J E Burke (Budleigh), R J Holman (Exeter), R J Woodman (Taunton), D F Lye (Exmouth), J J Bess (Sidmouth), M W Thompson (Torquay), P Bradley, C Bradley, R J Bougourd (all Bovey Tracey), M C Golding (Bradninch), T S Anning (Exmouth).
Dorset: A Williams, N G Park, C A R Esson, D J Cowley, J B Lintott, T C Hicks, C L Park, E G Denham, M A Wolstenholme, S Barlow, R C Kitzinger
Umpires: R C Hampshire & S F Bishopp

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