The NDCC Colts had a full and exciting year. We started with winter training in February and played right through until the end of August.

Our All Stars fill Monday nights with colour and smiles masterminded by the exuberant Russ Young, ably supported by Joe Witheridge and the All-Stars parents, as more than 30 children took their first steps in what we hope will be a life-long passion for cricket.

For the older colts the North Devon Youth League ran properly for the first time since Covid. We all enjoyed some really, competitive games. Because there are only 5 clubs in North Devon with youth sections, we do play home and away. With the ground at Instow so packed with fixtures and events we are grateful to be able use the beautiful Westleigh ground to enable us to fulfil our league fixtures AND train safely – we often had over 100 colts at training on Mondays. Thanks are due especially to Richard Dart who is largely responsible for preparing the ground at Westleigh. His patience in helping us fit in rearranged fixtures and facilitating various last-minute demands was incredible. What a gent!

The two Summer Camps were a great success again with differentiated groups being expertly coached for three consecutive mornings. We were joined by many youngsters from other clubs who really enjoyed our beautiful pitch as well as the great coaching.

The standard of coaching at training, matches and Summer Camps is exceptional. We regularly had five level two coaches, two level One’s and two qualified Activators present on Monday
evenings. The coaching was led by the delightful Dan Bowser. Make no mistake, the quality of the input into your children by all these coaches really is outstanding. At this point I would like to congratulate Oliver Spencer- Wortley, Dominic Carter, and Tarka Ladies player Flora Corbin (who is also the Captain of Edinburgh University Ladies Cricket team) who have joined the NDCC coaching team by passing their Level One Cricket Courses over the winter.

We really enjoyed our winter and summer training, and this transferred effectively into some exceptional performances on the pitch. We are all about inclusion at NDCC and our focus is to keep everyone involved and rotate batting orders etc rather than ensuring we win every game. Nevertheless, we had outstanding results in the League. The U9 and 10’s was managed by yours truly and the wonderful Dominic Carter. They were winners of the Under 9 North Devon Youth League squeezing to victory past strong Runners Up – Filleigh CC. Likewise the U10 were victorious in their age group. There was some excellent play from both the boys and the girls and this was reflected in the numbers of NDCC youngsters selected for Devon County Development programmes run over the winter.

Managed by Dom Carter, the U11’s didn’t quite hit the top spot but had a very enjoyable season full of player development across the squad. For many this was their first encounter with hard ball cricket, with players stepping up from softball.

Andrew Tucker gamely took on the U12’s for the Graham Harris Cup. They had a great run of matches despite having lost some players to the West Buckland School side to whom they lost in the final, showing the depth of the talent of our youngsters at NDCC.

Simon Wright’s U13’s tied with Filleigh in First Place in the NDYL. Again, great opportunities were given for all squad members to develop their game and a number of younger players were given a chance to step-up.

The U15 league Champions were Filleigh and NDCC tied. Thank you so much to Aaron Scott for running this side. These chaps will be the future of the club and several of the Colts were
introduced to adult cricket. Simon and Aaron were assisted by Ali Poll who will take over the U15’s for the 2023 season. We very much hope that Aaron will stay closely involved. All the
managers are volunteers. To manage a side is very rewarding but it is a big commitment. Often two sometimes three nights a week from April through to late August.

Thank you to all those who volunteer to help. What a difference it makes when a parent offers to score or umpire and the children all help to pack away at the end of training or a match. We need all the help we can get as it spreads the load and takes the pressure off the coaches and managers. We are grateful to those who make tea and coffee and help behind the bar on colts nights. I cannot end the thank yous without mentioning the Carrick family who have gone to pastures new. They will be sorely missed by me. Steve and Sandy were always there coaching and managing, and Hannah took over as Vice - Coordinator holding everything together when I was suffering a period of ill health. Thank you all.

Awards 2022

We had a super well attended Mulled Wine, Mince Pies and Carols Presentation Evening in December. All the medals and trophies were sponsored this year. Trophies need to be returned
for next year and the names of the winners will be up on the Colts noticeboard. Congratulations to you all.

U9
Best Bat: Archie Bettis
Best Bowler: Cam Colley
Best Fielder: Ronnie Malpass
Spirit of Cricket: Mason Owen

U10
Best Bat: Freddie Bettis
Best Bowler: Josh Fuller
Best Fielder: Archie Malpass
Spirit of Cricket: Mason Owen

Jan would like to thank Mr Dyer ad Mr Lethem Gent for their help on match days. It really is appreciated.

U11
Best Bat: Kiaran Wormington
Best Bowler: William Blunt
Best Fielder: Harry Cann
Spirit of Cricket: Luke McCarthy

U12
Best Bat: Freddie Tucker
Best Bowler: Archie Malpass
Best Fielder: Freddie Horrocks
Spirit of cricket: George Cann

U13
Best Batter: Noah Tovell
Best Bowler: Noah Duerden
Best Fielder: Noah Tovell
Spirit of cricket: Archie Malpas

Simon would also like to thank Marcus Duerden for scoring u13 matches.

U15
Best Bat: Oscar Meech
Best Bowler: Ellis Duerden
Best Fielder Josh Arthur
Spirit of Cricket: Josh Arthur