Sidmouth Cricket Club begin indoor training this Sunday for the forthcoming Premier Division season and the squad will be looking to impress the selection committee from an early stage with the 1st XI now back in the first rung of the Devon League.

Sidmouth Cricket Club begin indoor training this Sunday for the forthcoming Premier Division season and the squad will be looking to impress the selection committee from an early stage with the 1st XI now back in the first rung of the Devon League. Coach Neil Hancock will be at the helm with the 1st XI captain Will Murray currently away abroad. Vice-captain Nick Gingell will also be in attendance. Exciting signings are currently being administered by secretary Mike Dibble. These include an 18-year-old left arm spinner from Sydney, a local wicketkeeper and the return of Trent Ovens from Western Australia who can play as an exempt overseas player this year as he holds a British passport.Sidmouth's squad this year is undoubtedly a lot stronger than the last time they were in the Premier League. In addition to Hancock, Murray, Gingell and Ovens, the club have the 2007 Devon League player of the year, Anthony Griffiths, who will be looking to transfer his form from the A Division to the Premier League. Devon U21 players Josh Bess, Matt Cooke and Scott Barlow will be looking for big seasons to prove their undoubted potential. Mark Jasper, who had a phenomenal start to the 2007 season prior to an operation, will also be looking for a good start. This year he too qualifies as an exempt overseas player as he has been in the UK for over two years.Also coming into the equation, once their schools cricket has finished, will be Devon youth players Ollie Pyne, Luke Bess, Zachary Bess, Will Gater, Cameron Grainger and Adam Dibble, who has been training all winter at the Somerset Academy.Veteran wicketkeeper John Goodwin will not let his 1st XI place go without a fight and the same will no doubt be the case with Jamie Wardrop, Jack Pyne and James Macey, who were all part and parcel of last year's promotion side.Friendlies start on April 6 with a trip to Bradninch and the league season starts on May 3 with the 1st XI entertaining Exmouth at The Fortfield.Finally, a warm welcome to the new groundsman, Colin Whitehall, who has just started at the club.