Devon Cricket Board - Green sets sights on international career

Green sets sights on international career

Ben Green at the Somerset Academy with Andy Hurry, Somerset's high-performance director

By RICHARD WALSH
DEVON youngster Ben Green is hoping his time in the Somerset Academy will be a springboard for an international career.
The 16-year-old Exeter School pupil was earmarked as one to watch out for coming through Devon’s youth ranks and only enhanced his reputation last season.
Green was Devon U15s’ player of the season and batsman of the year – and Buller Bowl winner as youth player of the year across all age groups.
With the bat he slammed a century against Wales at Sofia Gardens, featuring in a stand of 267 with Sidmouth’s Dan Powell.
He led the West and Wales Under 15s at the Bunbury Festival in Durham, where he won the award as all-rounder of the festival.
It wasn’t only Somerset who took notice as an invite arrived from ECB to join the England U16 development programme.
As his first winter at the Somerset Academy draws to a close, Green is already looking to where he might be in five years time.
“Hopefully I will have cemented my first professional contract with Somerset and be playing some first team cricket for the county,” said Green.
“I would like to put my skills to good use and help Somerset be successful.
“I also want to be developing my game to the point that I am on the way to becoming an England international, but that’s a long way off and there is a lot of work to be done before that.
“I bowl seamers as well so, hopefully, I might become the next Freddy Flintoff, a real all-rounder!”
Green said the intensive nature of the academy and his England development sessions were improving him as a cricketer.
“In the past I have maybe had one coaching session every other week, whereas now I have at least two each week and sometimes more,” said Green.
“To get that much more cricket in is showing and my game is improving.
“Since I have been at the Academy everyone has helped me a huge amount and there is such an array of coaching staff and I am very grateful for all that they have done for me.
“I am especially grateful to Jason Kerr because he helped to bring me on to the Academy in the first place. “
Green’s road to the Somerset Academy started at the age of nine when his dad took him along to Clyst St George CC, where he quickly became hooked on the game.
“While I was playing at Clyst St George I was spotted by Ted Ashman who invited me to play for the Devon Under 10s which I really enjoyed,” said Green.
“Soon after that I moved to Exeter CC, who play in the Devon Premier Division, and I have played age-group cricket ever since.”
“I was an average cricketer until I was about 14 which is when it sort of kicked off for me.
“It was the last year of the Kings Taunton Cricket Festival for my age group and I remember in that five-day period I scored 390 runs, which is the best I have had in my life.”
Green readily acknowledges the help he has been given by Julian Wyatt, the Devon coach who looks after the elite player programme.
“Julian Wyatt has been a great help to me and I have had several years of one-to-one coaching sessions with him,” said Green.
“Whenever I have needed to talk to anyone or to work on my game then he has been the man, so I owe him a lot as I have grown up through Devon cricket.”
Long term Green want to play for England. More immediately he is looking to break into adult representative cricket.
“I hope 2014 will bring me more opportunities and more success, and it is another season for me to try and prove myself,” said Green.
“Hopefully I might get to play for Somerset 2^nd XI and some Minor Counties Cricket as well.”

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