Devon Cricket Board - Pens aiming to go one better

Pens aiming to go one better

CAN Ipplepen 1^st XI go all the way in the season ahead? That is the question after they flirted with promotion from the C Division in 2012, only to fall by the wayside in the latter stages of the campaign.
Long-serving skipper Keith Wakeham will be asking his side to try and go one better than last season, where his team faded in the last few games having led the division for much of the year.
The club will be stronger for the return of a few familiar faces at both junior and senior level.
Ex-Hampshire junior Jake Peach joined the 1st XI towards the end of last season and will return for a longer stint once university commitments in Cardiff are over. Sam De Friend is in a similar position and there may be other new arrivals in the Under 23 age bracket to follow.
Any overseas help is likely to again come from the Taranaki District of New Zealand where the club now have strong links.
Home-grown 1st XI players Joe Abbot, Sam Wakeham and Jack Lewis have all spent the winter in New Plymouth playing Grade cricket alongside ex-Ipplepen players Andrew Mason, Mo Hartmann and Jamie Watkins.
Said Wakeham: “Having started brightly, last season kind of fizzled out to a disappointing end.
“However the first half of the season proved we can beat anyone in the division on our day and we will be an older and wiser team for the experience.
“For many of our younger players, this will be their third season in the 1st XI and I’m confident that this season will be the one where they start fulfilling their potential.
“Three of the lads will have the experience of a winter of cricket in New Zealand and they can’t keep relying on me and Paul Thomas to bowl teams out every week!”
For the first time ever, the club will be running a 3rd XI in the DCL as the number and quality of young players coming through the junior ranks necessitates an additional Saturday team.
Head coach Chris Partridge has dropped down from playing 2nd XI cricket to captain the side, which is likely to feature a number of district and county players from the Ipplepen junior section.
Partridge said “The whole club has got behind the concept of a 3rd XI and there has been a lot of hard work to put the infra-structure in place.
“I am now looking forward to leading a team and watching talented youngsters like Callum King develop into future 1st team players.
“We aren’t underestimating the likes of Kingskerswell 2^nd XI and Bovey 4^th XI who are in the same division, but a title challenge is the aim.”
The 2nd XI will also be facing a new challenge, and they enter the uncharted waters of A Division cricket having secured a third promotion in four seasons last year.
Simon Tapley will remain in charge of a team that has been based around more experienced players for the last couple of years, but with a new nucleus of youngsters in 2013.
Tapley said “It has been an amazing achievement for a team comprised mostly of veterans to reach the A Division, but now is the time for the youngsters like Matt Hodgson, Tom Crocker and Jonny Norman to step up to the plate.
“Away games to places like Exmouth and Braunton will be experiences to savour for everyone involved and although on paper we are a small club in with the big boys, we are confident we can give everyone a decent game.
“Staying in the division is certainly the aim and would represent unprecedented success with a young team.”
Indoor training starts this Sunday (February 3) at Coombeshead Academy sports hall.
Under 13s and younger from 9.30am – 11am; Under 14s and older (including seniors) from 11am – 12.30pm.
New players of any age and ability are always welcome especially for the expanding girls section who will be running teams at Under 11, Under 13 and Under 15.
Contact Partridge on 07887 513 800 or risingstars2010@googlemail.com for more details about any area of the club.

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