The ECB Under 17 County Championship

v WILTSHIRE at Exmouth C.C. - Devon lost on first innings

WILTSHIRE 289 all out (M.Cooke 4-53)

DEVON 181 all out (T.Piper 47)

194-5 (J.Horton 94, M.Cooke 30*)

v MIDDLESEX at Sandford C.C. – Devon lost on first innings

MIDDLESEX 358-5

DEVON 177 all out (J.Porter 51)

208-4 (T.Piper 101*; M.Cooke 69*)

v HERTFORDSHIRE at Seaton C.C. - Devon won on first innings

HERTFORDSHIRE 277 all out (J.Porter 3-49)

106-1

DEVON 344-6 (J.Bess 96, D.Bowser 120, M.Wilkinson 34, T.Piper 31)

v OXFORDSHIRE at Challow & Childrey C.C. – Match Drawn

DEVON 229- 7 (J.Porter 68*)

OXFORDSHIRE 153-4

v GLOUCESTERSHIRE at Bristol University – Devon lost on first innings

GLOUCESTERSHIRE 275 all out (J.Fraser 4-36)

DEVON 156 all out (T.Piper 42)

172-1 (J.Bess 53*, J.Porter 79*)

The 2004 Squad J.Fraser (captain), T.Piper (vice captain) R.Acton, T.Allin, J.Bess, D.Bowser, J.Carr, G.Chappell, M.Cooke, J.Horton, S.Knight, J.Menheneott, J.Porter, D.Price, M.Wilkinson, J.Yau

The three year plan for the 17s was scuttled at approximately 3.45 p.m. on the 20 th August 2004 as Devon failed to score the 276 required to beat Gloucestershire on first innings. The plan, when conceived, seemed quite a simply one – Nick Watkin's squad would retain their place in the South Second Division, in fact they nearly achieved promotion, and the Fraser/Piper squad would look to gain promotion so this years under 16's could look to take on the best in 2005! Relegation to the South Third Division never entered into discussions! Reflecting on the season some two months later there is no real reason for this surprising turnabout. Perhaps we could have adopted the approach of looking to draw games and picking up ten points a game but this would have been negative and against the ethos of the side. In an awful summer we were not severely affected by the weather, we had a very promising group of players, although the loss of Matt Cooke after two games was a serious one. We could bat but, apart from one notable exception, did not bat well in the first innings and we did not take early wickets. In fact our best bowling and fielding performances came in three of the final session of a day's play. Our objectives in 2005 are simple to try and win all our games outright. This will be an interesting challenge for the players as they take on Buckinghamshire, Berkshire , Bedfordshire, Cornwall and Gloucestershire.

The intention in our first game, against the newly promoted Wiltshire, was for Devon to fire off all barrels but in fact the two day game at Exmouth was, until the last hour, a very subdued and lack lustre affair with Wiltshire in the driving seat for most of the game. With James Fraser still not recovered from the injury he sustained in the Premier against Plympton, the leading English batsman in the B division, Tim Piper, was invited to lead the side. He did not help his side by continuing the poor run with the toss and our visitors had the first use of a typical Exmouth track. Wiltshire's approach was to occupy the crease, cutting out risks and accumulating and, until the first ball of the 74 th over and last before tea, this proved to be a very successful plan. Their openers, Alton and Abel, put on 46 in the first hour and they were undefeated at lunch with 95 on the board. Immediately after the interval Damian Price struck when he enticed Alton (52) to be caught behind by Justin Yau. At 101-1 Devon needed to make further inroads but Morris (66) and Abel continued the good work with a stand of 41 off 66 balls, when off spinner Matthew Cooke took the first of his four wickets by bowling Alton for a 120 minute 52. The key third wicket pairing of Morris and Hayward put on 54, when Jack Horton entered the attack immediately before tea to bowl the seventy-fourth over and trapped Somerset Academy and Wiltshire captain, Hayward , leg before for 19. At tea Wiltshire were well placed at 196-3 with 29 overs left in the day and in a position to increase the tempo after the interval. The score increased to 239 after 85.5, when Morris was stumped by Yau off Porter for a 152 ball 66. It transpired that this was the key wicket, as Wilshire then lost their last six wickets for 50 runs, which was mainly made up by a ninth wicket stand of 35 off 27 balls between Adams and Crick. Devon kept at their task and was rewarded with the final wicket in the 106 th over, with Wiltshire all out for 289. Overall the out fielding was reasonable, with good catches being taken and useful spells by all the bowlers. Devon left the Mear ground reasonable satisfied with their day's work. The second day was slightly overcast but the total required looked very gettable. Devon started in a similar style as their opponents and put on 39 before the first drinks break. After the interval it all started to go wrong, Daniel Bowser immediately steered the ball off his hip to the waiting short leg to become slow left armer Abel's first wicket. Horton came in and eight balls later committed suicide and was stumped for 8 to be Abel's second victim of seven. Although Horton had tried to get the side up a gear no one else got close to the lever despite captain Tim Piper's best intentions. With the ball turning a lot, albeit slowly, Wiltshire's two left armers enforced a stranglehold that the home side could not break. Abel and Hayward were to be the first two slow left arm bowlers in 2004 that were to make life difficult for the Devon batsmen. The end product was an incredibly disappointing 181 off 80.4 overs. Piper fell yet again in the forties and Damian Price was undefeated on 22 but the less written about the rest the better. Abel's spell of 22.4-10-38-7 was an outstanding contribution. Being 108 runs behind, Devon was invited to follow on and decided to approach the final 24 overs as a 20/20 match and to try and prove that they could be positive and bat – a fact that had been in question up until then! The end result was that they failed by 6 runs to reach their target of a third bonus point available at 200 and unfortunately Tim Piper's dismissal, stumped first ball in the final over, gifted Wiltshire another bonus point. However 194 off 143 balls was a reasonable approach lead by Jack Horton (94 - 77 balls; 84 mins), fortunately recovered from his earlier brief visit to the crease in the morning session. He was ably supported by Price, Porter, Cook 30* and Yau. Wiltshire went on to gain promotion to the first division along with our next opponents.

Unfortunately many of the lessons from the first game of the season were not learnt and again in our match against Middlesex, at Sandford, chasing a reasonable first innings score was beyond this young Devon side. However, as they proved against Wiltshire, they did not buckle in the second innings with Tim Piper scoring a maiden county hundred and Matt Cooke returning to his best form. On the down side Cooke's shin problems had risen to the surface and he did not play again in 2004. In the shorter 50 over game at 16s, Cooke's absence was adequately covered but in the longer two day format his batting, bowling, fielding and presence was sorely missed. James Fraser took over the captaincy from Piper - toss lost – say no more - Middlesex bat – ball starts to swings – 33 (the first 15 runs all extras and 20 extras out off 33) on the board after seven overs. But in the eighth over a brilliant direct throw from Tim Piper runs out England player Qureshi. Thirty runs later Levy is caught behind by Yau off Cooke. We miss opener Ilangartne at slip – twice and lunch comes at 91-2 with the visitor's skipper, Irishman Euan Morgan, not out, having scored 12 off his first 50 balls. The second session brought Devon a wicket when the opener was caught at square leg by Jack Menheneott after the batsman's eyes had lit up at the bowling of Josh Bess. Morgan was proving a class act and you could appreciate why Middlesex are so keen on him. He had been flown over from his native Ireland to play in this match and would play for their seconds later in the week. He would be lost from the 17s to them for most of the season, it was a shame he had not missed this game as his overall performance was pivotal in their win on first innings. After tea Devon prepared for the onslaught and a difficult batting session before close of play. First Piper caught Poynter (47) at backward point as the batsman tried to cut off spinner Cooke and finally, now fully on the charge and past his 150, Morgan was well held off a skier by Yau off Damian Price. He had faced 208 balls hitting 20 fours and did not give a chance – a name to watch. 358-5 off 94 was a reasonable return for both sides, as the bowling changes were imaginative and normally brought a chance if not a wicket but what was to be apparent, when Middlesex fielded, was their different attitude in the field and an exceptional skill level by the close catchers. First Devon had to negotiate 8 overs before warm down in not the best light of the day. Middlesex opened with pace at the score box end and left arm spin at the sight screen end. Presumably they had done their research as the slow bowler was Tailor, who had taken 6-23 off ten against the 15s at the same ground the previous year. He added to his tally in the sixth over when Jack Menheneott was the first of nine catches taken by Middlesex, being Poynter's first of three at slip. Overnight 11-1 the home side was still confident at this run feast of a ground. The confidence was sadly not warranted, as first night watchman Damian Price was, a rarity, bowled! Bess was Poynter's second victim, Horton lasted four balls and was caught behind 39- 4. Bowser and Fraser dug in, 22 added; Fraser in two minds was out caught. 61-5 became 61-6 as anchor Dan Bowser fell immediately, brilliantly caught by the diving Poynter. Twenty-two were added by Tim Piper and Matt Cooke, who both played pedigree shots and looked in no trouble, when Cooke was the second of Captain Morgan's three catches.

It became 89-8 as Piper lent away at one and was caught behind on the back foot. At last we now started to bat as Jack Porter and Justin Yau put on 45 – 11 short of the eighth wicket record partnership. At lunch the Torquay Grammar School boys were in total command and hatched a game plan about the bowlers they would face. Unwisely they forgot to tell their opponents, who brought back their captain, which ruined it all and Yau was his fourth and final victim, giving the keeper his third catch. Tom Allin is not a number 11 and did not bat like one, adding 43 with Porter in 94 balls. Allin was then caught and Porter left undefeated on an excellent 51 (89 balls; 95 mins; 9 fours). Incredibly, for so skilful a batsman, this was his maiden county fifty. Middlesex conceded 25 extras to become the third top scorer in the visitor's innings, we had conceded 54. For the second successive game Devon was invited to follow on and was faced with a minimum of 50 overs. Devon decided to try and pick up some bonus points . Bess fell at 9 caught by Morgan, three balls later Horton was caught by Poynter – it appeared Devon was going into the same decline as the first innings. Dan Bowser, who when batting never looks in any difficulty but was still getting out, batted typically and, with Tim Piper, took the team to another magnificent Sandford tea. They were now Devon 's highest partnership of the day but it did not last as Bowser broke the trend and was bowled for a 59 ball 17. James Fraser then tried to make up the lost ground his injury had created by getting in some batting practice but angled one to the incredibly safe hands of Poynter at slip to be the last victim of the day. It was time to sit back and for the first time in two days, enjoy. Cooke was now using Island and Piper reliving his maiden B division hundred of the previous weekend, as the pair dominated. They put on a new fifth wicket record of 134 breaking our coach James Gibson's record with Steven Edmonds in 2000 against Somerset . They batted with real flair and flourish and demonstrated true ability and attitude, as at last the pressure was reversed and the visitor's more than reasonable attack wilted. Piper's fifty came off 80 balls – Cooke's 61. Piper cruised into the 90s, Middlesex blocked the ones and did up their laces as Piper blocked five on 99 and then a misfield and the magic three figures off 140 balls were on the score board. Piper had taught himself to keep the ball on the ground and play in the V during the winter and is now a top prospect. Cooke has always been a top prospect and this must have been his best county knock to date – despite his inflamed shins. He would have reached the 100 but the overs ran out. On the positive side we had played the spinners better in this game and, a year on, Tailor had not been nearly as effective but the huge difference was the standard of fielding and particularly the catching. I have never experienced such a difference in class. All of our visitor's fielders, who stood in close to the wicket positions, could catch and were well drilled. A criticism of the home side was that that did not necessarily apply to Devon . The Middlesex ability to catch everything and their outstanding captain meant that they came away with the critical ten points and the home side did not. Big food for thought there, our ability and desire in the field has to improve dramatically in 2005.

The final home game against Hertfordshire at Seaton was the side's Performance of the Year , when at the third time of asking, they got most things right and won comprehensively on first innings. It started badly with Fraser and Cooke both unavailable to play - these two West of England players had been considered to be key ingredients in the 2004 side's makeup. The pre-match discussion became a history lesson when the Dunkirk Spirit was discussed, only Porter and Piper being vaguely aware what it was all about! Tim Piper was again asked to lead the side. It was now over a year since this age group had won a toss and the drought continued as heads was called and duly came down. Fresh from their win over a Morgan-less Middlesex, our visitors batted. Allin bowled four maidens on the trot and on the last ball of his fifth and the side's tenth over Yau caught Wynne. The run rate crept up to just over two by the twenty-fifth over when Porter, who was now bowling to a 9-0 field, had the opposition's captain caught at second gully by Menheneott. Lunch came at 85-2 after 38 overs had been bowled, including the spin of Carr and debutant Under 15, Gary Chappell. The third wicket pair put on 62 as Hertfordshire advanced to 115 after 52, when West was trapped in front by Porter four short of his 50. The good news was that both centurions against Middlesex were now back in the hutch but Herts made further steady progress putting on 73 off 131 balls when Porter took his third wicket. His spell had been outstanding, bowling a most consistent and annoying line. Tea was taken at 196-4 with the game evenly poised. 31 for the fifth and 20 for the sixth were the next partnerships, as Devon started to turn the screw. The introduction of leg spinner Wilkinson was Piper's first masterstroke. Bess held Sharp three runs short of his fifty. Carr then took a catch off the Torquay leggy and at 239-6 Devon was in the box seat. Carr then ran out Brown, Piper assisted Wilkinson to send back Hicks, Allin returned to bowl Smith and after 97 overs Hertfordshire were 248-9. The tenth pairing added 28 frustrating runs but at least saw the clock past ten to six and, at six minutes to the hour, Carr trapped Godden leg before. Piper had again been thrown into the deep end with the withdrawal of Fraser but was a most imaginative captain, chopping and changing, ensuring an excellent bowling rate and giving nine members of his side a bowl, none of them let him down. It was another excellent last session and overall a good day's work as Devon would have to chase 277 the next day.

What happened was the almost perfect game plan. The Bowser/Bess partnership put on a new record opening stand and should have gone on to break all records as they were so well set. Importantly they ran well and were at 20 overs six short of the hundred, at lunch the pair had put on 150. They were both past their fifties and this was some partnership. They batted on another 12 overs when, at 195, Gooden was reintroduced to the attack. First ball back Bess committed his one current weakness – carelessness – and, not having looked at the new bowler, was caught 4 runs short of a century he really did deserve, he had faced 136 balls hitting 12 fours. Hopefully he will score hundreds in 2005, he undoubtedly has the ability. Wilkinson then started creating problems for Bowser, as he made him run even faster, but the innings the North Devonian had been threatening all season was underway as he passed three figures for the first time in his county career. He then batted on to reach 120 and match the score Matt Hunt had reached in 1994. His hundred had come off 149 balls and he faced 181 in all hitting 16 fours – a brilliant performance. Devon was now 17 short having scored 220 off 50 overs. Wilkinson had done his job well but fell, with the side two short, for a 48 ball 34. First innings points were taken in the sixty-first over and at tea Devon was 313. Thought was given to tactics, it was decided not to give easy batting points to Herts but we would try and get some bowling points so we gave them 32 overs. Devon declared at 344-5, with gallant unselfish contributions from Piper, Porter, Chappell and Yau. We did give them a batting point, mainly because the captain bowled himself and Bess, and we failed to pick up the necessary bowling points. The outcome of the two days was a true team performance which must now be taken into 2005.

We were now faced with two vital away fixtures against two sides who would also be contesting the relegation places. The omens were not good – we experienced a truly awful journey up to Membury, the weather forecast for the two days was poor and so it proved to be, a very frustrating forty-eight hours away. James Fraser had recovered and at last he won the toss and at 2.45 p.m. play started nearly three hours late, mainly due to the fact that the track used the previous day had proved to be very damp and dried slowly. Devon batted and got off to a flyer. Daniel Bowser forced the home side to place an early deep square leg and his Slazenger then put it well over his head into the corn field. As time was taken looking for the ball so the rain started and we first realised that we might be in some trouble, as at 3.18 after 8.3 overs the day ended with Devon 38-0 and we were locked into a two day game. With the rain continuing overnight and well into the next day, discussions were held about calling it a day and taking 5 points each. As we were in need of points this discussion did not progress – in hindsight we should have talked longer! More importantly the track was saturated as water had got in under the single cover and no longer were we batting on a road. However due to the restructuring of the game we did have the advantage of another 52 overs to our opponents 40, unless of course we charged and declared early. We did not charge. Three balls after the six into the corn field and in the same over but some 23 hours later, Bowser was back having flicked a leading edge to cover. Our main man gone for 28. Josh Bess and Mickey Wilkinson put on 48 in 107 balls and we were progressing well until Ryan entered the attack. He was another slow left armer - this time - unorthodox. Our problems with spinners continued, first Bess was yet again caught for a 78 ball 28, having concealed his temporary tattoo on his leg his next one might be on his arm reading ‘keep it on the ground' . In strode Tim Piper, unfortunately in 2003 mode, as he gave extra cover catching practice first ball, we had all hoped that he had given up this version! Our main chance of acceleration was gone. Were we in trouble? The answer was unfortunately ‘yes', as 88-3 soon became 113-6. Wilkinson did not bat on and was caught and bowled by Ryan, as the track was now drying out in bright sunshine and it was biting and bouncing. Chappell went hard at one to be caught in the leg trap and then the skipper was again caught. As a side we seemed to be providing our opponents with an above average number of catches or were we a side that held nothing? Ryan's figures were now 5-22 off nine. We needed a partnership and the odd couple from Torquay again provided it, as Porter and Yau put on 68 in 15 overs. Once again they batted as a partnership something Bess/Bowser, Piper/Cooke had also provided this year. They complement each other right/left hander, orthodox/unorthodox, good runners and surely, below all the banter, good friends. They had got us out of another hole when Yau was caught behind by the stand in keeper Garry Phillips. Tea was taken at 193-7 and we could bat for another four overs. Damian Price immediately showed our intent as he too found the cornfield – the previous day's six seemed weeks ago – and the pair put on 48 in nine overs. Price was undefeated on 15 and Porter completed his third county fifty of the season being undefeated on 68, having batted for 93 balls and minutes. He was proving to be the side's key all rounder. In our points chase we only picked up 1, critically to Oxfordshire's 3, so now we needed wickets as they would have to chase at 5.73..

In the home side's innings we secured one point as they picked up another one to increase the gap between us to 7. We should have gone home at 11.00 a.m. , as it later proved they would avoid the drop due to our generosity! We did not pick up an early wicket and again it was not until the tenth over, first ball this time, that we did, with Bowser taking a diving catch off Allin to remove the home side's captain Hope - 29-1. This dismissal brought Stern to the crease whom we had dismissed cheaply in 2003 but he was to be the thorn in our side this year - he is a large hard hitting batsman. The sensible early introduction of Wilkinson took a wicket at 56 as a double bouncer, yes I have been practicing, bowled Hobbs around his legs. Our first and only point came at 60 when Yau stumped his opposite number, Jewell, again off Wilkinson. Moseby, and his long handle, was promoted to increase the tempo and 55 were added in nine overs. Having been taken for six an over Price got annoyed and trapped Moseby in front, still leaving Stern at the crease and on his way to a fifty. As soon as Phillips arrived it was obvious that the objective was now to get a final batting point and ensure we did not get another bowling point. It was not all plain sailing as a difficult chance was not taken and a couple of caught behinds were close. With four an over needed off the final four overs of the day, the home side reached 150 with a salvo of fours by Stern, as they finished on 153-4 with Wilkinson taking 2-24. With play eventually finishing at 7.25 p.m. , when Stern had scored an 80 ball 72, it was obvious we would be late home. Indeed we were and, that was despite an easy journey, with North Devon being frantically texted to try and recover a relationship that had been broken the previous evening and losing Knight and Bowser at the services. DJ JG did well with his choice of music but apparently a firm favourite - Busted had been omitted from his selection.

Now for the season's final fixture at the ‘dog unfriendly' but well appointed Bristol University ground, where we needed a first innings win against Gloucestershire to ensure retaining our place in Division Two. On the second day at a quarter to three, Gibbo turned and so subtly put it – that's the three year plan out of the window , as we were bowled out for a very disappointing 156 and another timid first innings batting performance consigned the county to a first ever season in the third division. Overnight rain held up play on the first day and Fraser again called correctly and, with the weather forecast worse than reality, he inserted the home side. However at the end of the first day Devon was satisfied with its performance, having bowled out their hosts for 275 and being 12-0 at the close. For the third time this season, it was a superb final session that set Devon up to knock off the runs on the second day. After the delayed start the home side was at lunch 68-1 after 33 overs with Porter bowling Brassington for 29. Their captain, Reid senior, and Mills had set anchor and proceeded to put on 130 by tea without further loss. Fraser then yorked his counterpart first ball after tea for 78, bringing the first of his younger siblings, Ruben, to the crease. He set about lifting the tempo with a 19 ball 29, hitting five fours and a six. However, now in tandem with left arm spinner Daniel Bowser, Fraser stormed in for his twelfth over to take a hat trick. He bowled the dangerous Reid, then had his younger brother caught behind by Yau and then trapped Withers plum in front, he was given some send off as the hat trick and Fraser's return to confidence were greeted with real glee. 235-2 was now 235-5, the complexion of the game totally changed. Gloucester was then reduced to 268-9, first Bowser had Cropper leg before, then a vital mix up resulted in the Wilkinson/Yau combination running out Mills for 72. Enter Gary Chappell, later to be taken aside by former Lancashire and Nottingham coach Alan Ormrod. First he bowled Patel and then had Shackelton well held by Fraser. Fraser then completed the coup de grâce as his direct hit ran out the last man Chisimba. Bowser and Bess safely negotiated the seven remaining overs, putting on twelve. The Manager and scorer had a fall out with the home side's number five but James Gibson's friendship with half the Bristol RFC, who trained at the ground, greatly increased Devon 's credibility with our opponents.

The second day could not have had a worse start, as Daniel Bowser's bowling spell the previous day had created problems and his back went during throw downs. As he was due in the Isle of Wight the following week arrangements were made to get him home for some treatment as soon as possible. After consultation he bravely carried on his opening partnership but was soon out without adding to his overnight score, when he was beaten on the back foot by one that kept low. Five runs were added for the second wicket when Wilkinson was caught behind. Piper entered in 2004 vogue and put on 37 with Bess. Bess again looked a class act but his carelessness continued as he hit a four and then in the same over chipped. It was getting annoying as he was well set, having faced 83 balls in helping put on 62 and could have gone on to three figures. Fortunately the fourth wicket pairing looked more than promising as Fraser put on 52 in 53 balls with Piper. Then out of the blue Fraser was bowled by Reid and we were back in trouble. Five balls later we were virtually dead and buried as Reid forced Piper to miscue to cover for a 99 ball 42. In all respects Piper was outstanding in 2004 and he richly deserved a five not out in the second innings to average 40, but Bess and Porter blocked his way! From 115-5 Devon fell further away to being all out in 75.4 overs for 156. Chappell battled then had a rush of blood, swept - yes we have been there before this season - and had middle and off removed. Yau disappointed, again being in four minds, in the end did nothing and was bowled fifth ball. Price was leg before. Porter had done his best – batted for 83 balls and may have been a bit unlucky when wood came before pad and was leg before for 24. Tom Allin was determined to occupy as long as possible but Carr departed fifth ball - the 38th Devon batsmen to be caught in five games and not the last. Strangely Devon was invited to follow on as Gloucestershire was short of overs for their bowlers but needed just one point to avoid the drop. They failed to pick up a bowling point and will play third division cricket with us in 2005 They did take a wicket as Fraser was caught at mid off (number 39 caught). However Porter and Bess then put on 166 in 37 overs, the third highest second wicket partnership. In different circumstances and with better running it could easily have been more but they both batted sensibly. Bess was undefeated on 53 off 118 and Porter scored yet another county best 79 off 119 balls. Too often this season we had shown how we could bat but it is always in the second innings when the pressure was off – a huge lesson to be learnt there. Lessons have been learnt with 10 of this team eligible for 2005 and hopefully Matthew Cooke will be fit again. So the season can be anticipated with some optimism and there will be opportunities to blood some of our younger players. We returned to the good news that Bowser would be fit for the Festival. The season ended with the slowest Motorway meal ever, as they seemed to be cooking individually, some splendid glassware and the reality that we would be playing Cornwall again in 2005!

Without clubs such as Exmouth, Sandford and Seaton youth cricket in Devon would not have the deserved reputation it holds and we are very grateful to these clubs for superbly staging our games. I record my personal thanks to Stephen Knight for travelling to both our away matches in the knowledge that he was likely to be twelfth man and to the Devon Society of Umpires and Scorers, who made their normal outstanding contribution. James Gibson was again exceptional and the scorer was her normal self. We now look forward to the Piper/Price Memorial game and thank both these troopers for their major contribution in 2004.

Jack Porter was nominated the batsman of the year and the D.H.Watkins Trophy for the Young Cricketer of the Year was awarded to Devon League Young Player of the Year Tim Piper , who over the past two seasons had lost many of his own age colleagues but helped hold the side together and this after being overlooked for the captaincy. His character and influence shone through all year and, apart from leading the side to their one victory, he also scored his maiden county hundred.