The two-day game against Nelspruit  was well balance at the end of the first day with our hosts having a 45 run lead but having to bat last on  a pitch which was likely to become more difficult for batting. Unfortunately some persistent morning rain left insufficient time for the second innings and a decision was made to abandon the game (the first time this has happened in ten visits) in favour of a 25 over match in the afternoon. This game had a rather bizarre ending when Devon, cruising to victory with four overs left, made no attempt to score the necessary runs  and managed to finish 7  short of the  required target.  Nobody, including the batsmen themselves, was  able to offer an adequate explanation for what  had happened in a classic case for  a sports psychologist!

This first section of the tour included some notable individual performances, In addition to Chilcott  and Thomson, Samuel Wyatt-Haines  also scored 50, while  Luke Ansell returned the remarkable figures of 5 for 18  with his’ chinamen’ in the 25 match against Nelspruit. A feature of our time in Cape Town  was occasional very strong winds, though this  did have a moderating effect on high temperatures. In a number of games this caused  unfamiliar problems for the bowlers -  all part of the learning curve!

The itinerary in the Western Cape is designed with the intention of providing the players  with increasingly more demanding opposition. Given this scenario a three wicket defeat against Southern Suburbs in our first game  did not bode well for  what was to follow. Fortunately cricket is not  as predictable as that! The game featured two  outstanding performances, one by opener Cummins  with 109  for Southern  Suburbs and a splendid attacking innings by Samuel Wyatt-Haines (109)  which produced  his second century for the county.

Our match against a  Western  Province  Development XI  is worthy of special mention.  The opposition players  were selected from townships in and around Cape Town  and, as was the case in 2010,  served as a reminder of the excellent work being done to encourage young black  boys to participate in cricket–soccer   being by far the most popular game in the townships. Luke Ansell took 4 for 23 and Ollie Higgs  top scored with 30 in what proved to be to be a comfortable 6  wicket win.

South Africa of course has a recent history of racial tensions but, as has happened in previous visits, differences of skin colour  pose no problems for  the young.  In the evening  both sets of players attended a game together at Newlands test venue and clearly enjoyed each other’s company. Some adults could  take a lesson from these twenty five young men.A  trip to the Western Capes spectacular winegrowing area and a game against Boland, in the magnificent setting of  Boland Park in Paarl In sympathy with the surroundings the match produced an excellent game of cricket, Boland being dismissed for just seven runs short of Devon’s total of 232, having at one stage looked likely winners. The players deserve particular plaudits for their tenacity and enthusiasm in the field –  the principal reason  why they were able to achieve victory against the odds. Gillam Crouch made two crucial contributions in an exciting finish, a  run out via a direct hit and  a catch to dismiss the threatening Schoor who, having scored 40, threatened to win the game for Boland Ollie Higgs  top scored with 62 and Jack Maunder  contributed a useful 42. The bowling  honours were shared  with Dom  Bess who demonstrated good control of line and length to finish with 2 for 46 from his 10 overs of off spin  ( a feature of his bowling throughout the tour). Ben Holmes, who only made his debut for the county  as an U14, produced yet another  good spell of seam bowling to finish with 2 for 23 from 8 accurate overs.

 Back in Cape  Town the last two games were designed to produce the most difficult opposition ,which proved to be the case. The two-day game  against Western Province U14  has become a feature of the  tour, providing the players with experience of a different format  to the regulation 50 over cricket  with which they are familiar. First-innings saw the two teams evenly matched with Western Province leading by just 10 runs.  Billy Searle  top scored with 73 (his debut as captain due to Samuel Wyatt – Haines  being unwell) while Gillam Crouch took 3 for 40 and Jack Williams 2 for 28. Devon’s fate was sealed by a disappointing performance with  the bat  in the second innings  being dismissed for a paltry108. Only Theo Thomson with 30 making a significant contribution. A victory  target of just 99  posed little difficulty  for our opponents who won comfortably  by six wickets with time to spare.

The final game against Western Province U15  was, on paper, the most demanding of the tour against a side that have performed well in the South African under 15 national competition. As it turned out the players produced arguably their best performance of the tour, losing by just seven runs having  been well placed to win the game with just a few overs remaining. Western Province   were dismissed for 178 with Luke Ansell  returning the excellent figures of 4 for 44  from his 10 overs while Theo Thomson  took 3 for 7  in  2.2 overs to bring the Western  Province  to an abrupt  conclusion.  Harry Choules   had a particularly effective game behind the stumps.

In reply a determined 28 from Marcus Hoddinott at the start of the innings  and a really excellent  65 by Ollie Higgs  put Devon  in a strong position.  When Higgs was dismissed the score was  151 for 6  with ample  overs remaining. As it turned out the later batsmen were not capable of  finishing the job and Devon  were dismissed for  171, a disappointing conclusion to a game in which much of Devon’s cricket was  of a good standard.

Overall the tour was a great success and there is little doubt that our young players returned to the UK  much richer for the experience both in terms of  their cricket  and  their social development. On the field the inability of the latter half of our batting to make a worthwhile contribution was a recurring theme throughout the tour, something on which a number of players need to reflect.  It is so important for those with less obvious ability to make a contribution if team success is to be achieved.  We all enjoy winning!

Having said that the emphasis during the tour was on the development of individuals and feedback from  the players  suggested that this process had been both beneficial and appreciated.

Thanks to Andy Fairbairn and Matt Wood who did an excellent job coaching the team  and providing valuable feedback to individual players. Congratulations also to the players who proved themselves to be excellent ambassadors for youth cricket in Devon, they were, without exception, delightful young men whose conduct reflected well on their schools, clubs and of course  their parents. As ever the hospitality we received was second to none, we really do have some good friends in South Africa who do so much to ensure that our young players gain maximum enjoyment and benefit from their visit.