Devon U13 Squad at Taunton Festival

Taunton Fesival 2018

Devon U13 boys arrived at Kings College, Taunton for the U13 Boys Festival on the Sunday evening having spent the day at Somerset CCC watching the T20 fixtures of Western Storm v Loughborough Lightning followed by Somerset v Middlesex. Some entertaining cricket and good wins for both our local sides.

Courtesy of Sky TV

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Devon v Lancashire – Monday 30th July

 

Jake Pascoe 52 off 89 ballsEd Butler 39no off 30 balls

Given the forecast, rain was due late afternoon the opening match was against a strong Lancashire side with the match being 40 overs per side. Having won the toss the red rose county asked Devon to bat first and unleashed their strong twin left arm opening pair. Openers Jake Pascoe and Jack Whittaker coped very well with a barrage of short fast left arm seam bowling. They looked to have weathered the storm until Jack Whittaker was caught at the wicket with the score on 29. Lawrence Walker soon followed, trapped lbw and after Cameron Ford helped Pascoe add a further 20 when he was out caught for 12 it left Devon 53-3. Opener Pascoe was then joined by Matt Jeacock and the pair added 59 for the 4th wicket, Pascoe completing a well-paced half century in the process. The partnership was ended with Pascoe also caught at the wicket from the bowling of the returning and very impressive Adam Hodge for 57. An unfortunate mix up led to the run out of Jeacock for 16 but this allowed Ed Butler to join Alec Holfield and the pair took the attack to Lancashire, Butler in particular striking 3 boundaries and 2 sixes in his unbeaten knock of 39 from just 32 balls. Holifield was equally impressive, although more focussed on rotating the strike as he made an unbeaten 26 from 22 balls. Together they added 74 for the 6th wicket as the Devon innings closed on 190-5.

Jacob Kopparambil 8-0-54-2Noah Carlise Smart Stumping

Devon soon had Lancashire on the back foot as an impressive opening spell from Ed Butler saw him clean bowl both openers cheaply, and with skipper Jack Stanley caught well by Alec Holifield off the bowling of Jacob Kopparambil, Devon were on top as Lancashire slipped to 37-3. Lancashire responded well and came hard at Devon as Max Harrison (47) was joined by Darren Lowe (70) who added 127 for the 4th wicket to take Lancashire to within 27 of their target. The dismissal of both on 164, Lowe to a smart stumping by Noah Carlisle off the bowling of Kopparambil, together with a good deflection from his own bowling to run out Harrison offered Devon a glimmer of hope. Despite their best efforts though Devon were unable to take any further wickets and the red rose side got home without further drama to win in the 35th over. An excellent performance by Devon which would stand them in good stead for their game with Worcestershire the following day.

Scorecard

Devon 190-5. Jake Pascoe 52, Alec Holifield 26no, Ed Butler 39no. Adam Hodge 3-25.

Lancashire 194-5. Max Harrison 47, Darren Lowe 70. Ed Butler 2-30, Jacob Kopparambil 2-54.

Lanashire won by 5 wikts

 

Devon v Worcestershire – Tuesday 31st July

 

Once again Devon lost the toss and Worcestershire opted to bat first on a dry looking pitch with clear skies. Devon started well enough with skipper Harry Passenger very impressive opening the bowling with his offbreaks. With a wicket also for James Tyler, Worcestershire wobbled a little at 37-2 but wrestled control back again with a 92 run 3rd wicket partnership to take the score to 129-3, Oliver Walker falling four shy of his half century, caught by Lawrence Walker off the bowling of Jack Whittaker whose left arm spin was starting to produce results. Fellow spinners Jacob Kopparambil and Dan Alford chipped in with a wicket apiece as wickets continued to fall as Devon reduced Worcestershire to 159-7, Whittaker taking 3-38 in the process. Unfortunately the meal interval came at the wrong time as the break did Devon no favours as Worcestershire returned to plunder 38 from the remaining four overs to close on 197-7.

 

Jake Pascoe (54) and Lawrence Walker (97no) Partnership 139Jack Whittaker 10-0-38-3

The early loss of Jack Whittaker was soon put aside as Lawrence Walker and Jake Pascoe settled in and added 139 for the 2nd wicket as Devon looked to be well on course for a comfortable victory chase. The loss of Jake Pascoe for his second consecutive half century (54), combined with some calamitous batting from the middle order, contributed to Walker being stifled of the strike as overs ticked by and Devon started to stutter. Somehow a very  well-paced chase was stalling and it was a well struck boundary from James Tyler which relieved the pressure as Devon managed to win off the last ball of the innings. Walker’s innings was a superb effort, considering he had also kept wicket for 50 overs as he finished agonisingly short of a Festival hundred on an unbeaten 97. Still a great response from the side as they bounced back from the disappointment of the previous day.

 

Scorecard

Worcestershire 197-7. Cameron Jones 51, Oliver Walker 46, Lewis Franklin 22no.

Devon 201-7. Jake Pascoe 54, Lawrence Walker 97no. Lewis Franklin 2-11..

Devon won by 3 wkts

 

Devon v Hampshire – Wednesday 01st August

An unkind draw left Devon facing a third consecutive game against first class opposition in the form of Hampshire, who looked to be much changed from the team that Devon beat earlier in the season. On the main pitch, the thoughts were that it looked a high scoring deck and that chasing would be a good decision, hence when Cam Ford won the toss Devon opted to insert Hampshire. Devon opted to once again open with Harry Passenger and he responded well once again with 2 wickets, and although his opening partner Ed Butler was a little wayward at the other end, Hampshire were reduced to 44-2. That was about as good as it got in reality for Devon as opener Khamran Dhariwal (62) amd Wilf La Fontaine (74) added 106 for the 3rd wicket before a brutal knock from Tom Cheater (107 from 63 balls), dominated a 133 run 4th wicket stand. Butler did return and bowled with pace to remove both Dhariwal and Cheater to finish with 3 wickets but the damage had already been done as Hampshire posted an imposing 312-7.

Jack Whittaker 74no off 107ballsEddie Butler 9-0-77-3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In form opener Jake Pascoe readily admitted to falling to scoreboard pressure as he knicked off early playing at a ball he could leave but Jack Whittaker found an able ally in Lawrence Walker as they added 76 for the 2nd wicket before Walker was also caught at the wicket for 36. Whittaker then lost a succession of partners as Hampshire set about dismantling the Devon reply and at 99-6 it was not looking good. It wasn’t until Whittaker was joined by Cameron Ford, batting down the order having had an eye complication for the early part of the innings, that Devon were able to some resistance as the pair added 41 for the 7th wicket and with points to play for it seemed that maximum batting points and the possibility of a losing draw were possible. With dismissal of Ford any hope of saving the game disappeared and it was Whittaker who shepherded the lower order to 175 to secure a 4th batting point, carrying his bat for an unbeaten 74 as Devon were bowled out in the 44th over.

Scorecard

Hampshire 312-7. Ed Butler 3-77, Harry Passenger 2-36

Devon 175-9. Jack Whittaker 74, Lawrence Walker 36, Cameron Ford 21. Jude Wright 2-41, D Wood 4-24, F Moore 2-15.

Devon lost by 137 runs

 

Devon v Cumbria – Thursday 02nd August

 

Jake Pascoe 89no off 85 ballsHarry Pryce 8-3-15-2Devon were once again looking for a response from the heavy loss on Wednesday and were in no mood for messing around as they inserted Cumbria into bat with a view to restoring confidence and securing a second win of the week. The bowlers were soon into their work as wickets started to fall. A 4th wicket stand of 40 was as good as it got for Cumbria as Jack Whittaker led the way with 4 wickets, 2 wickets each for Harry Pryce and Harry Passenger as Cumbria were bowled out for 135. Opener Jake Pascoe returned to form as he singlehandedly went about chasing the score down in quick time. His 89 from 85 balls becoming his highest score for the county which included 14 boundaries as Devon won at a canter by

7 wicket in the 25th over.

 

 

Scorecard

Cumbria 135ao Oliver Marker 33, Cameron Troughton 31no. Harry Pryce 2-15, Jack Whittaker 4-18.

Devon 139-3. Jake Pascoe 89no, Cameron Ford 15, Ed Butler 12.

Devon won by 7 wkts

 

3rd August Devon U13 v Norfolk

The final game of the week was to be against Norfolk who had been performing really well all week,they were a mystery package for Devon. Festival regulations prevented the inclusion of Devons premier fast bowler Ed Butler who had to be ‘rested’. Skipper Harry Passenger lost the toss and was asked to field first on another bakingly hot day.

 

James Tyler 5-0-22-2

 

 

 

Norfolk started steadily against the Devon attack with 45 runs off the first ten overs. The combo of Harry Passenger(1-49) and Harry Pryce(0-16) keeping Syms (18) and Borges (37) under control. The introduction of James Tyler(2-22)  brought the demise of both openers, assisted by catches from Haffenden and Passenger. This had a double edge effect with the introduction of Reynolds (77) and Metcalf (84no) playing their shots for a third wicket partnership of 144 runs. Metcalf batted through, Reynolds caught by Pascoe off Passenger. Two sharp run outs from Holifield and Whittaker accounted for two more wickets. Jack Whittaker (1-45 off 9)  bowling his slow left arm has been the bowling find of the season contributed a fine spell. The final score of 253-6 would be a challenging target for Devon.

 

 

 

 

Jake Pascoe 46runs off 57ballsJack Whittaker 80runs off 98balls

The second innings saw the in form batters Jake Pascoe (46) and Jack Whittaker (80) accepting the challenge. Neither looked in trouble charging along to 70 runs off the first 10 overs. It all changed in the 19th with the score at 102, with some sloppy fielding by Norfolk allowing overthrows. It appeared to both batsmen that the ball had crossed the boundary for 5 runs. However a quick throw in left both batsmen at the same end. The boundary was not given and Pascoe was the man to go. Whittaker and Pascoe had extra incentive to get good scores as it was their fathers birthdays on the same day, they did not disappoint. Lawrence Walker (27) also having a good season came in and steadied the ship. Putting on 65 with Whittaker. There were then four quick dismissals which put an end the run chase. Noah Carlisle (14no) and Harry Passenger (12) battled on but the scoring rate could not be maintained,  finishing on 207-7, 46 runs behind for a draw.

Scorecard

Norfolk 253-6. Jayden B0rges 37, Jacob Reynolds 77, Ethan Metcalf 84no. James Tyler 2-22

Devon 207-7 Jake Pascoe 46, Jacke Whittaker 80, Lawrence Walker 27. Pheonix Sherry 3-43, Jayden Borges 2-24

Norfolk 253-6. Jayden Borges 37, Jacob Reynolds 77, Ethan Metcalf 84no, James Tyler 2-22.

Devon losing Draw 

 

Devon finished 5th in a tough group. Ben Passenger in the absence of Warren and James Carr paid tribute to the boys and praised them for the efforts over the week in grueling conditions and presented an Orchid to Jean Pascoe for scoring all season. An additional presentation  was made to the Ford family who are taking up a position in China and will not be with us next season. We wish them well for the future. Cameron has been an ever present since the U10s, they will be missed.

Cameron off to China

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One final game to come away to Wiltshire on Wed 15th August to round off an excellent season.