NDCC Yearbook 2026 - Flipbook - Page 46
U17/19's - Coach Simon Wright
It is a pleasure for me to work with the U17’s and
19’s and to also witness how well they’re
establishing themselves in the 3rd, 2nd and now
1st teams.
The U19’s season was over as soon as it started.
We came up against a very strong Heathcote side
anchored by a seasoned 1st team Premier division
players whilst we fielded a largely U17’s team.
Heathcote came out on top and deservedly so far,
U17/19's - Coach Simon Wright
but good experience for NDCC.
The U17’s were drawn in a local mini league against Braunton which meant we had to overcome
them in the best of three matches, which we did by winning the first 2 games.
As a result of winning against Braunton we were through to the Devon Finals Day which was held
in the middle of September in Exmouth. Having played with most of our team regularly in second
team cricket during the season I knew we had a strong team and in with a good chance.
We expected to face our biggest challenge in Plymouth in our first game, but unfortunately their
strongest players were missing and they only had 9. It was a fairly comprehensive performance
by us nonetheless and victory was tied up very early in the game.
On to Exmouth in the final and we bowled first. We were on it from the first ball and bowled them
out for 61, wickets shared between Freddie (4) and Noah, Dylan and Jools (2 each). Our batting
was similarly dominant, victory wrapped up without losing a wicket by Nav and Ed in the 7th over.
Many of the players in this years U17 were part of the first team I coached, so it was a real
moment for me at Exmouth when they deservedly won.
Under 17s/19’s Awards
Batter - Freddie Tucker
Fielder - Ed Wilson
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Bowler - Noah Tovell
Players' Player - Ed Wilson
Manager's Player - Dylan Evans
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Spirit of Cricket - Navindu Vanderbona
We again finished the season with a celebration day which included 2 concurrent parents /
guardians versus junior games, these were then followed by a presentation and awards and the
raffle and auction. The weather made the cricketing part of the day hard, but we got through. We
have already booked the awards day for this season, this shouldk be the 19th September and will
this year incorporate the adults end of season awards too. It’s a fantastic end to the season and
allows us to celebrate the efforts of the juniors and the helpers and coaches too.
We have been running training throughout the winter, it has been a huge success again and we’ll
look to keep on running this going forwards. On to 2026, the season is nearly upon us! We have
some fantastic coaches and team managers and we’re massively supported by all of the parents,
guardians and grandparents. We’ve got a fantastic group of children who are developing all the
time. It’s a privilege for me to be a part of all this and to see how the juniors are developing and
continuing into adult cricket. Here’s to a successful 2026.
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