Devon Cricket Board - Devon Under 12's v Somerset Under 12's

Devon Under 12's v Somerset Under 12's

On a beautiful sunny, Sunday afternoon at Bridgwater Cricket Club Devon looked to maintain their unbeaten record for the season, against a Somerset side that had lost their first three games.

Somerset won the toss and asked Devon to bat. Devon lost opener Sam Lathwell (1) early, LBW paying across the line to a ball that kept low. The low bounce on this previously used wicket led both the coach and manager to speculate that 150 would be a competitive score in 40 overs.

Toby Codd (28) and Jake Reddick (36) batted sensibly in a stand of 72 in 17 overs, dispatching the bad ball to the boundary, and playing straight to everything else to negate the low bounce. Runs became harder to come by as Somerset spinner Bartlett bowled his 8 overs taking 4 for 28, including a superb caught and bowled to dismiss Toby Codd. It was not his final influence on the game!

Charlie Barriball top scored with 38 adding impetus to the latter part of the innings with a 6 and 6 fours. Telford (6), Drew (6) perished helping him push the score along. Ben Green (12*) and Dan Goodey (5*) hit well to ensure Devon posted 166 for 8 at the close of their innings.

In reply Devon took early wickets in between bowling a succession of wides and no balls, which were ultimately to prove costly. After 12 overs Somerset were 60 for 5 with Goodey hitting the timber 3 times. Devon had not managed to dislodge Bartlett, who had found a willing ally in Randall. These two proceeded to put on 93 in a match winning stand. Bartlett was eventually out for a well crafted 82. Randall (25*) who had been a perfect foil to the hard hitting Bartlett saw his side home with nearly 5 overs to spare, despite a couple of late scares.

This was a disappointing result for the team, who were honest enough to accept that extras given to the opposition made a significant difference to the result. On the plus side, the run out count was reduced to zero and Dan Goodey’s 3 for 25 in 8 overs was the highlight of the bowling, along with captain Alfie Huxtable’s 2 – 26, from his spell of leg spin.

A special thank you goes to Bridgwater Cricket Club who were exceptional hosts.

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