By CONRAD SUTCLIFFE
NEW skipper Jamie Drew is determined to make Heathcoat’s latest stint outside the Tolchards DCL Premier Division as brief as possible.
When Dylan Penberthy-Hutchings stood down as skipper at the end of last season, vice-captain Drew was the obvious successor.
The last time Heathcoat found themselves in the A Division was in 2013 – and they were only there for one season. Skipper Sam Smith led the team straight back up as champions.
Drew, then an up-and-coming 16 year-old, had just broken into the first team at the time.
Spin the clock forward 13 years and Drew is now a veteran of more than 250 league and cup games in all competitions. In excess of 3,000 runs 300 wickets underline his worth to the side.
Drew’s target is to do exactly what Smith did all those years ago…
“Going into the league next season, our goal 100 per cent is to try and go straight back up,” said Drew.
“Hopefully, the club as a whole can have a much better season than the last couple.”
Heathcoat, Premier Division champions as recently as 2021, stumbled to safety in 2024 they could not pull that off again in 2025.
Heathcoat were barely out of the bottom four in the first half of the season, and things went from bad to worse after that.
Sidmouth clambered out of the bottom two and past Heathcoat with five games to go; Heathcoat returned the compliment two round later, which left three games to go and all to play for.
Losing to already doomed North Devon left Heathcoat teetering on the brink of relegation. A loss against Exeter, and a last-day rain-off against Cornwood, sealed their fate.
Drew has lost former Devon batsman Jack Dart to Premier side Exmouth, which he admits is a blow.
“It is definitely gutting to lose someone Jack’s experience and ability,” said Drew, whose dad Daron skippered Heathcoat 1st XI between 2006-07.
Also gone is seamer Malcolm Cloete, who won’t be returning from South African for a fifth season at Knightshayes. He took 144 league and cup wickets for Heathcoat, either side of a two-summer stint with Chard in the WEPL.
Heathcoat’s intended overseas player for 2026 in fast bowler Archie Goodrick, who plays for Sydenham in the Christchurch Metro Premier competition.
Sydenham play a mixture of two-day grade cricket and limited overs fixtures. Curiously, among Sydenham’s rivals are Heathcote CC, against whom Goodrick took three for 14 earlier in the season.
More good news for Heathcoat is that Australian school-teacher Jeremy Bedford, classed as an overseas player last summer, is now rated English-qualified and can play in the same side as Goodrick.
Left-hander Bedford dominated Heathcoat’s 2nd XI batting stats in DCL and NDL matches in 2025. As he averaged 55.80 and 75.20 respectively, no wonder Drew says his eligibility is a ‘massive boost’ for the team.
