NEW Thorverton captain Andy Pitt hopes more consistent team selection will get his side among the front-runners in the B Division this season.
Thors diced with relegation in 2015 and were at the wrong end of the table for most of the 2016 campaign too.
Getting though three captains in 2016 didn’t help – Graham White, David Baldock and Paul Fielder all took turns – never mind using 20-plus players in the 1st XI.
Pitt feels he has a tighter squad for 2017, one in which everyone should soon settle into their roles.
There have been some departures – notably young batter Jamie Khan to Exeter and seamer Gwillam Crouch to Heathcoat – but Pitt feels the incomers are more than adequate replacements.
Among the signings are a former captain of the club, Gareth Hess, who made 400 league runs in 2010 in the C Division promotion-winning team.
Thorverton’s new overseas player is Aussie Seppe Bartella from Cairns in Northern Queensland.
Pitt has already worked out the job descriptions for the side and is eager to see how they work out against Ipplepen this Saturday.
“It is a young team with only myself, Gareth and Dave Baldock over 30,” said Pitt.
“We have a core of 13-14 players for the season, but there will be opportunities for players pushing from the 2nd XI.
“The seamers are myself, Jake Choules and Seppe, with Jacob Broom and Stuart Tait available too,.
“Our batting looks promising with Gareth back as well as the players we had last year.
“Alex Hills has looked good pre-season with three 50s, and offers and off-spin option too.
“James Maxwell, who scored a couple of 50s last season, will be available from roughly halfway.”
Key to a successful season is a winning start, something Thorverton have struggled with for the past two summers.
“When you are winning the enthusiasm for everything is much better,” said Pitt.
“Training, travelling to the other side of Devon for games improved availability, it all flows from a positive start.
“If we can do that – and it is a big iff – we can have a worry free season for a change.”
IPPLEPEN want to put last season’s trials and tribulations behind them on their return to the B Division.
Pens only won once last season and could see the writing on the wall a month into the season.
It is hard to keep going when you know what’s coming, but Pens did just that.
They are going to need some of the same fighting spirit this season to maintain their current status.
Looming league reorganisation means to stay in the B Division clubs have to steer clear of the bottom three.
And with no overseas player in 2017, Pens have some work to do.
“Ethan Keller was out overseas player last season and did well enough for us with 30 wickets,” said club captain Keith Wakeham.
“We don’t pay our overseas player, but there are costs involved in just bringing someone over.
“This year we have had expenses around the club to meet which have had to come first.
“With money tight and no guarantee of what you are getting being better than what you have, we are giving the overseas a miss this year.”
Pens will have to replace Keller’s wickets this season and hope new signing Will Gornall will oblige.
Left-armer Gornall, man of the match in D&T’s 2014 Aaron Printers Cup final win over Torquay,, has arrived from nearby Dartington & Totnes to stay in the B Division.
Gornall isn’t alone wanting to stay in the B Division So do Ipplepen.
“We want to finish in the top half, but will have a better idea of how the season looks after the first six games,” said Wakeham.
Other new faces at Moor Lane are Harrison Gorny and Joe Forey who have arrived from Kingsbridge and Chudleigh respectively.
Forey has been a member of the South Dartmoor College teams that have won county and national cups in the past two seasons.
Gorny was a member of the Kingsbridge Under-15 team that won the ECB Devon Cup last season and finished third at the West play-offs.
