- Devon County Cricket Club
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Devon County Cricket Club 
Captain: Neil Hancock Founded: 1899 Home ground: Various Minor Counties Championship wins: 6 MCCA Knockout Trophy wins: 4 Official website: Devon CCC Devon County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Devon and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy.
The Minor Counties play three-day matches at a level below that of the first-class game. At present, Devon competes in the Western Division of the Minor Counties Championship.
Contents
Honours
- Minor Counties Championship (7) - 1978, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2006, 2011; shared (1) - 2004[1]
- MCCA Knockout Trophy (4) - 1992, 1994, 1998, 2008[1]
History
Earliest cricket
Cricket probably reached Devonshire in either the 17th or 18th century. The earliest reference to cricket in the county dates from 1799. There was a county organisation in 1824.
Devon was the scene of a county club's foundation on 18 August 1875, but not its own. Somerset County Cricket Club was founded by a team of amateurs at a meeting in Sidmouth, immediately after a match against a local side.
Origin of club
The present Devon County Cricket Club was founded on 26 November 1899 and joined the Minor Counties Championship for the 1901 season.
Club history
The Maer, the scene of Devon's victory over Leicestershire in the 2004 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy
Devon applied for first-class status and to join the County Championship in 1948, however they were turned down.[2] Wisden Cricketer's Almanack on page 952 of its 1950 edition, recorded that the application was discussed at the Advisory County Cricket Committee of existing first-class counties on 15 March 1949. It said: "No decision was made but at the meeting the counties could not find anything to support the application."
Devon has won the Minor Counties Championship seven times,[1] one of them shared. It first won in 1978 and then under the cpataincy of Peter Roebuck it won for four consecutive years from 1994 to 1997, a record for the competition. There was a shared title with Bedfordshire in 2004 and another title in 2006. Their most recent success came in 2011 when they defeated Cambridgeshire in the championship final. Devon has won the MCCA Knockout Trophy four times since its inception in 1983. It won in 1992, 1994, 1998 and 2008.[1]
The county first played List A cricket in the 1969 Gillette Cup against Hertfordshire.[3] The county appeared in 33 List A matches from 1969 to 2005, winning seven and losing 26, the majority of which against first-class opponents.[3] The county claimed a first-class scalp once, defeating Leicestershire in the 2004 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy.[4] Devon lost the right to play List A cricket when the Minor counties were excluded from the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy from the 2006 season onward.[5]
In 2011, the Club set up a Development XI, the Devon Lions, to help bring on new players. It has links to the recently a formed charity, the David Shepherd Cricket Foundation, one of whose objectives is to nurture young cricketing talent in Devon.[6] The Lions play a number of competitive games against university and county 2nd XI teams.
Current squad
- For past players see List of Devon CCC List A players and Category:Devon cricketers
The current squad for the 2011 season is:
Name Nat Batting Style Bowling Style Notes Batsmen James Burke 
EnglandRHB RMF England Under-19 player Robert Dawson EnglandRHB LB/RM David Lye EnglandRHB RM Robert Woodman EnglandLHB RMF All-rounders Josh Bess EnglandRHB RFM Neil Hancock EnglandRHB RFM Craig Overton EnglandLHB RM Wicket-keepers Sandy Allen EnglandRHB Rob Holman EnglandLHB Matthew Thompson EnglandRHB Bowlers Trevor Anning EnglandRHB RMF Scott Barlow EnglandRHB RFM Ian Bishop EnglandRHB RF Christopher Bradley EnglandRHB ROB William Gater EnglandRHB RFM Matthew Kidd EnglandRHB RFM Charles Morris EnglandRHB RMF Jamie Overton EnglandRHB RM England Under-19 player Grounds
The club have no fixed home, but play their matches at various grounds across the county. Grounds used for the 2011 season include:
- North Devon Cricket Club Ground, Instow
- Recreation Ground, Bovey Tracey
- Recreation Ground, Torquay
- The Fortfield, Sidmouth
- The Maer Ground, Exmouth
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "Minor Counties Roll of Honour". www.ecb.co.uk. http://www.ecb.co.uk/news/non-first-class/minor-counties/minor-counties-roll-of-honour,1480,BP.html. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ^ "A brief history of the County Championship". Cricinfo.com. October 2006. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/england/content/story/259958.html. Retrieved on 11 October 2008.
- ^ a b "List A Matches played by Devon". CricketArchive. http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Teams/0/81/List_A_Matches.html. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ^ "Devon v Leicestershire, 2004 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy". CricketArchive. http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/79/79497.html. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ^ Briggs, Simon (24 December 2004). "Minor counties denied their day in sun". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/2393332/Minor-counties-denied-their-day-in-sun.html. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ^ "Flower speaks at Shep Foundation dinner". www.devoncricket.co.uk. http://www.devoncricket.co.uk/page.asp?p=shepmeal. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
Further reading
- Rowland Bowen, Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
- E W Swanton (editor), Barclays World of Cricket, Guild, 1986
- Playfair Cricket Annual – various editions
- Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – various editions
External sources
Minor counties of English cricket Western Division: Berkshire · Cheshire · Cornwall · Devon · Dorset · Herefordshire · Oxfordshire · Shropshire · Wales Minor Counties · WiltshireEastern Division: Former Minor counties: Defunct Minor counties: Other Minor counties: Huntingdonshire · Isle of WightCategories:- Devon County Cricket Club
- Minor counties cricket
- History of Devon
- Sports clubs established in 1899
- Sport in Devon
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