New cricket season starts with cross-Tamar derby

CORNWALL and Devon meet at St Just tomorrow (11am) in a white-ball double-header that gets the newlook National Counties T20 Competition under way.

Cornwall reached last season’s final, where they lost by four runs to Staffordshire, by winning one of four five-team groups to go straight to semi-finals and finals day at Tring CC in Hertfordshire.

The new format is five groups of four teams with an extra round added. The winners and runners up of the five groups progress to the play-off, along with the two thirdplaced teams with the best record. Competition organisers are calling it the ‘Super-12s’ play-off.

The four winners go through to finals day at Tring CC on Sunday, May 26.

Cornwall got the better of Devon twice over last season at the same group stage of the competition. Both squads are dramatically different this time round.

There are three new faces in Devon’s travelling party: Connor Gilbert, Charlie Sharland and George Addy. All have connections to the University of Exeter, where cricket is now under the management of former Somerset and Devon batsman Alex Barrow.

Only a handful of players survive from the Devon squad that met Cornwall at Cornwood at the same stage of last season’s competition. Dave Tall, who is in charge of team affairs, said it would be wrong to read too much into that.

“There are very few chances to see possible players under real match conditions to see how they react under pressure,” said Tall.

“Although we go out looking to win every match, I see the T20 tournament as preparation for the 50-over competition later in the season.”

The Cornwall side has five changes from the one that lost to Staffordshire. Among the newcomers is former Kent batsman Alex Blake, who debuted later in the season in redball cricket.

Godfrey Furse, the Cornwall team manager, has a different outlook to Tall on the significance of the tournament.

“If we play to our full potential, we have a team capable of winning the competition,” said Furse.

Devon (from): J D Horler, C J Haggett, B A Beaumont, E H Hamilton, S O Read, W R Christophers, W B Szymanski, L S Walker, B H Privett, C A R Gilbert, C M Sharland, G J Addy.

Cornwall: P S Smith, A J Blake, M M Tryfonos, W A MacVicar, B A Ellis, A W Bone, E A F Whitford, K J T Roberts, A Snowdon, C J Wilson, M L Robbins.