Devon Cricket Board - Lions name side for Oxford T20

Lions name side for Oxford T20

DEVON Lions have a prestige fixture on Friday (2pm) against Oxford MCCU in the historic setting of The Parks.
The Lions – Devon’s development squad – have a busy fixture list this season with games against Warwickshire, Gloucestershire, Cardiff MCCU, a Devon League XI and the Free Foresters to come.

Although this season’s games are all one-day fixtures – mainly 50-overs-each – team managers hope to arrange some two-day games next term.

The Lions is seen as a stepping stone into the full county side, but that step means going from one-day league cricket to three-day declaration games, which are a different proposition.

Herefordshire, Cheshire and Shropshire have all played two-day 2nd XI games in the past to give players experience of longer formats.

Tim Western, who is coaching the Lions, is a strong supporter of picking out talent from the league as well as the youth ranks.

For the trip to the Parks there are places on the bus for Bovey Tracey’s Peter Bradley and Bradninch’s Ross Acton, who both made runs in the opening round of league fixtures.

Less familiar names are Jack Dart – a batsman who made a century for Devon U19s against Surrey last season – and up-and-coming Budleigh seamer Matt Plowman.

It is a long way to go for a Twenty-20 game, but Westen believes it is worth it.

‘Players are taken out of their comfort zone in games like this as some of the best young cricketers in the country are part of the MCCU schemes,’ said Western.

‘Also it is a chance to look at guys who have put themselves in the frame and see what they can do.’

Devon played Oxford MCCU at Budleigh in a similar fixture last year, which they lost by one run.

There is a solid connection between Devon and Oxford as the county club’s director of cricket Roger Newman coached there in the 1990s before going off to head up the youth academy at Warwickshire.

Devon: G R Chappell (Bradninch), R Acton (Bradninch), L F O Bess (Sidmouth), R J Bougourd, P Bradley (both Bovey Tracey), M H Curtis (Exmouth), J Dart (Budleigh), M J Golding (Bradninch), C Grainger (Exeter), M I J Plowman (Budleigh), N S Watkin (Torquay)

DCB Ltd, University of Exeter Sports Hall, Stocker Road, Exeter, Devon EX4 4QN Company Registration Number: 7024773