from the boundary
News from Legendary statistician, Nicholas Evanson
NEW LEVEL 1 SAFEGUARDING COURSE
For those members of the Club who wish to do Level 1 Safeguarding and have access the ECB E-Learning portal. The Cricket Regulator has revamped the course and the portal can be found at:
https://elearning.ecb.co.uk/login/index.php
Although Evo didn’t need to complete the new package, he did it out of interest and has said, “any club member would benefit from completing it as Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.” He went onto say, “if anyone wants to do the course but doesn’t have access to the E-Learning portal, it can be arranged.”
calling years 3 to 8 - half term coaching @ devon cricket centre
The Devon Cricket Foundation is running courses on Friday 20 February. For more details go to:
preparing for 1st october 2026
No this isn’t an early April Fools. The changes to the Laws of Cricket which will come into force on 1st October 2026 have just been released:
So while we still have these dark evenings why don’t you get ahead of the game with some light reading!
LADIES INDOOR SOFTBALL DEBUT
To think a year ago there was no W&G Cricket at TKCC. Now on their debut in the Devon Women’s Softball Indoor League, squad rotation was necessary! Their debut match resulted in a win against Barton CC. Unfortunately they fell just short in their second match against Ashburton CC. One thing the players all learned is don’t give your wicket away as wickets lost are very costly with the scoring system used for Indoor Pairs Cricket. A special thank you must go to Simon Rice for acting as Team Coach and Evo for scoring. The Ladies return to action in a fortnight’s time against Stoke Gabriel CC at 11am and South Devon CC at midday. For those who want to come and support on the 15th, there is a small viewing area at Paignton Academy (Borough Road Site).
quick fire josh
Overnight in Melbourne, Josh Thompson scored a run a ball 56 for Oak Park St Francis de Sales 1st XI in their 58 run win over Doutta Stars 1st XI. Next weekend Josh will be taking on Druids 1st XI away in a two-day match played over one weekend.
Well Done Josh
BIG NEWS FROM THE CLUB AGM
With the merged club expanding so rapidly the members voted to split the role of Chairperson. Dennis Brewer is reverting from his role as Joint President (Ian Western returns to the role) to become Chair of Business and Facilities while Steve Waters becomes Chair of Cricket.
THE VOLUNTEER MOMENT OF THE YEAR BAT ON TOUR
Where it all began with the star of the show, Diane, who is one of the clients at Hollacombe CRC.
https://www.torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk/uploads/25308.pdf?last-updated=20251014
It wouldn’t be safe for the bat to go out on without the generosity of Wes Fowler of Devon County Sports who provided a Bat Cover FOC.
Evo has become a master of sourcing old kit that can be used at Hollacombe CRC and Torquay Tennis Club has been very obliging with this (well it does help that Evo went to school with the Club Manager) and Fran who was recently appointed their first ever female Chair said as a fellow champion of EDI this will continue .
As some of you will know, Evo volunteers in Hector’s House Charity Shop and Natalie the Shop manager has got use to his eyes lighting up when some donations come in. She immediately knows there are going to one of three places – Hollacombe CRC being one! (The others being Autistic After Hours and Dimensions for Autism.)
https://www.hectorshousecatrescue.co.uk/
Ultimately the success of Evo’s work at Hollacombe CRC over the last nine months wouldn’t have been possible with the support of the club and its members.
THE CHAIR AND EVO BRAVE THE FLOODS!
The Chair and Evo paddled through the floods in East Devon but fortunately the Devon Cricket Foundation Club Seminar – “Thriving Today, Securing Tomorrow – The Future Of Your Club” was held in a sandy area, namely Sandy Park. (A former Exeter Chief has played cricket at The Rec and another watched Torquay CC at Budleigh Salterton CC. Name them!)
After surviving the wroth of Evo for not knowing about the Volunteer Moment of the Year photo there was a brief Introduction from Matt Theedom the Devon CF CEO, who actually made his debut for Sandford CC 1st XI as an emergency sub fielder many years ago at The Rec. The two worrying stats he provided was there had been 22 Safeguarding cases and 9 cases dealt with by the Cricket Regulator – fortunately none involving TKCC as far as I am aware.
Next up was Scott Chappell the Operations Manager for the CF who just went through a few points at a high level. Scott was then followed by the “Queen of W&G Cricket” better known as Ann-Marie Presswell who talked about how clubs could get involved with the Women’s T20 World Cup this year – TKCC have been proactive and are already a Supporter Club for the tournament. The first half of the seminar ended with the key note speaker, James Simpson, a Senior Manager from the ECB who briefed the room on new developments on supporting clubs and volunteers including the new Accreditation and Affiliation process.
After a short break there was three breakout workshops (sadly TKCC could only attend two being a person light but the clb’s representation was better then many). The Chair with his legal hat on headed for “Club Legal Status Options” while Evo with his EDI hat on headed for “Creating a Welcoming Environment.” Both workshops certainly gave food for thought – more details once the Club Committee has met post AGM. The missing breakout workshop was “Funding and Facilities.”
The strapline from Evo though was simply, “plenty of ideas and plenty of support to develop them.”
SONNY BAKER RETURNS TO ACTION!
After the disappointment of Australia the club is pleased to announce that Sonny is fit and raring to go again and will be off to Abu Dhabi with England Lions to take on Pakistan Shaheens later next month in 5 ODIs and 3 T20s. Freddie Flintoff the Lions Head Coach will be supported by newly re-appointed Men's Elite National Pace Bowling Lead, Troy Cooley and a certain Ben Stokes.
The fixtures are:
Friday 20 February 2026 - 1st T20: Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Sunday 22 February 2026 - 2nd T20: Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tuesday 24 February 2026 - 3rd T20: Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Friday 27 February 2026 - 1st 50-over match: Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Sunday 1 March 2026 - 2nd 50-over match: Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Wednesday 4 March 2026 - 3rd 50-over match: Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Friday 6 March 2026 - 4th 50-over match: Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Monday 9 March 2026 - 5th 50-over match: Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Good Luck Sonny
Exeter Racecourse launches Community Raceday and calls for Devon’s community heroes
Another opportunity for the club to recognise it’s volunteers while promoting itself:
the john player league visits the english riviera by mark sands
The JPL provided counties with the opportunity to take matches away from their headquarters and visit out grounds with the aim of attracting new members and supporters. On occasion, the out grounds were so ‘out’ that they lay beyond the county boundary.
Gloucestershire played 3 matches at Swindon (Wiltshire), whilst Somerset returned to the county where they were formed in 1875, Devon.
The Recreation Ground, Torquay first hosted a JPL fixture in August 1969, with Somerset defeating Sussex by 4 wickets. The pitch, to put it mildly, favoured the bowlers, as Sussex would testify at 54/8 after being put in to bat (3 wickets each for Burgess and Roberts), before the final 2 Sussex wickets more than doubled the score, mainly due to Bates who was run out from the final ball of the 40 over allocation for 38, Sussex all out 114. With Somerset 16/3 in reply, the game was in the balance. Virgin and Denning added 39 to settle the home supporters nerves, but when both fell in quick succession, there remained work to be done at 80/6. Rose and Robinson kept their composure to guide Somerset to victory with 8 balls to spare.
1971 saw a thrilling game (versus Surrey), fortunes ebbing and flowing with the result in doubt until the final ball of the 80th over. Virgin and Kitchen produced an opening stand of 90 (22 overs) before the latter fell to Storey for 40. Close was forced to retire hurt after edging the ball into his face, and a couple of quick wickets for Hooper brought Cartwright to the crease (132/3). Virgin continued to benefit from poor Surrey catching, surviving 4 chances in completing his century from the final ball of the innings and providing the backbone of the Somerset total, 219/5. The visitors stayed in touch thanks to contributions from Edrich (39), Younis Ahmed (70), Roope (35) and Stewart (37), and were favourites to win with 8 required from 7 balls and 5 wickets in hand. Stewart didn’t make it to the last over, holing out on the boundary to the final ball of the 39th over. Burgess, who had been expensive in his previous 7, had the responsibility of delivering the final over - and maintained composure to pick up 2 wickets and concede only 3 runs.
The crowd, who provided record gate receipts, were rewarded with 15 sixes during a pulsating afternoon of cricket.
The following season’s fixture brought Notts to the coast, and once again it was Virgin (43), in partnership with Burgess (55) who helped build a decent total after the hosts had slipped to 25/2. However, progress had been pedestrian, and the boost the innings required came from a quick-fire partnership of 44 in four overs between Cartwright and Moseley, ensuring Notts would have to chase in excess of 200, the innings closing on 213 with Stead returning 4-24
Notts also had a slow start (14/2 with Bolus and Randall the early victims). Hassan and Nanan added 101 for the 3rd wicket (Nanan’s 58 including 40 in boundaries). Frost (44) and Harris (25*) ensured victory for the visitors, the winning runs coming with four balls (and four wickets) to spare.
The match scheduled for 1973 against Leicestershire was abandoned without a ball bowled, as had been the case the previous Sunday at Glastonbury and would be a fortnight later at Weston super Mare, as a sustained poor spell of weather played havoc with the fixtures).
Rain was also around for the second innings in 1974 versus Lancashire, but not before Somerset had made 167/9, thanks to 39 from skipper Close and an unbeaten half century from Burgess (each hitting 3 sixes). Lancashire’s reply commenced in light drizzle and fading light and they struggled for runs, making only 16 from the first 8 overs. The penny dropped for Wood and Kennedy that completion of another 2 overs in the worsening conditions would constitute a game and they realised they were well behind the run rate. A frantic 20 runs came from the next 2 overs, which included the wicket of Wood to a fantastic catch by Denning, but the rain became too heavy to continue, leaving Somerset victorious on faster scoring rate, and Moseley the proud owner of figures 5-4-9-1
13 July 1975 saw the final JPL fixture at Torquay, where Northants became the second away side to claim victory. Virgin was yet again in the runs, although this time it was against Somerset, making 58 for his new county, with the only support coming from Mushtaq Mohammad (26) and ‘keeper Sharp (23). Hodgson added some useful late runs, as Clapp claimed his 3rd wicket with the final ball of the innings, as Northants set a target of 170. Hodgson then proved dangerous with the ball, after replacing opening pair Sarfraz and Dye, picking up Taylor and Rose (38/2). Richards and Denning added 47, but when Hodgson accounted for Richards in his final over, it triggered a middle order collapse of 6 wickets for just 14 runs, as Somerset’s reply fizzled out 46 runs short, Willey joining Hodgson with 3 wickets.
Photograph below of Roy Virgin, who averaged 76 in his JPL appearances at Torquay. The introduction of 40 over cricket freeing up his stroke play and giving him the confidence to attack from earlier on in his innings.
For more JPL memories, visit www.starsonsundaybook.com
Permission received from Mark Sands to use the article which was originally on FB.
some early indoor net action
Next Indoor Net Session For Seniors - Sunday 8 February starting Midday at TBGS
NEW DATE FOR UMPIRES COURSE
The course at Sandford CC has been re-arranged for SATURDAY 21 FEBRUARY - a new booking link will be published soon.
FREE TRAINING on offer FOR PERSPECTIVE NEW UMPIRES - your club needs you!
The committee has agreed that any perspective new umpires who commit to the club will be reimbursed for the following course at Sandford CC on Saturday 31 January between 10:00 and 16:30:
SIGNED ENGLAND CRICKET BAT GOES ON IT’S FIRST TOUR OF DUTY!
With the Festive Season now a distant memory. Evo held the first indoor “net” of the year at Hollacombe CRC. However, this time he had the signed England cricket bat (2024 ODI squad including Archer, Bethell, Brook and Rashid) he received for winning The Cricket Collective Volunteer Moment of the Year photograph competition. After another extremely successful session the bat stopped off at Devon County Sports Ltd and Hector’s House, both of which have supported Evo in various ways with his work. Prior to the AGM where it will be on show, it will be visiting Torquay Tennis Club which has also supported Evo’s work. At that stage there will be photos on the website of its tour of Torbay. Evo has also just confirmed the bat will be on show at any high-profile club events hold during the season.
JOSH FIRED UP FOR THE NEW YEAR!
The club are pleased to note that Josh Thompson didn’t over indulge on the beaches of Melbourne during the festive season. In Josh’s first match of the New Year, on day 1 of 2 away to Haigh Faswkner, Josh hit a quick fire 57 having already taken two catches.
january transfer window is open!
The club can now officially “report” the return of James Tyler from Abbotskerswell CC. During his time away, James an all rounder who played for all Devon Age Groups, despite being blighted by a back issue has continued his cricket education with a winter out in Australia.
The 2026 season will also see a family reunited with the return of Daniel Western from Babbacombe CC after three years away. From information received the Western family will form the backbone of the 2nd XI this season.
Just as importantly the 4th XI will be strengthened by the signing of a useful spinner Stephen Jones on a permanent basis from Honiton CC. Stephen played on-loan for the 4th XI last season but has now decided to make the move permeant.
Formal confirmation of a 4th signing will be announced as soon as Play Cricket decides to behave itself! (Evo as ever is just being cautious.)
Welcome Back James, Welcome Home Daniel and Welcome Stephen
NCCA MVP DEVON WHITE BALL CRICKET 2025
The committee are pleased to inform members that the National Counties Cricket Association (MCCA for those of a certain age) have recognised are very own Harry Passenger as Devon’s Most Valuable Player in White Ball Cricket for 2025.
Congratulations Hazza from all at TKCC