As the holiday season took its toll on availability throughout the club, Ottery St Mary’s development team featured its youngest debutants yet for the amicable fixture away at the picturesque Kenn, writes Kit Richards.

Richard Kitzinger won the toss for the visiting Otters and elected to bat but soon saw the experienced Barry Flicker bowled when missing a pulling at a ball which was either an expertly delivered slower ball long hop or held up so long in the pitch that a search party was being assembled.

Ottery’s other opener, Jack Ellison, did his utmost to master the vagaries of the pitch and played his part by seeing off the new ball bowling.

Scoring runs proved difficult for the visitors and Ellison eventually fell leg before to the spin of Kenn skipper Ian Hutchings for six.

Some hope for the otters came from the fourth wicket partnership between Kitzinger and Albie Southall-Brown.

The pair put on 47 together, latching onto anything loose and finding the short boundaries regularly. Hutchings then induced an edge from Kitzinger (27), clutched at the second attempt by AJ Pitia.

Under-11 debutant Matty Jeacock went in at number six and played with great maturity as a foil to Southall-Brown as the 16-year-old clubbed four sixes before misjudging a straight one from super-slow left-armer Amelia Sydenham for 42. Jeacock held the tail together as best he could but was bowled by Jess Board who rocked her wicket column with figures of 3-6 as Ottery crumbled to 138 all out.

Buoyed by some splendid chocolate cake, the evidence of which will need thorough application of stain remover to make teenage whites brilliant once more, the Otter pups took to the field, hoping to defend their low total. Ashok Prasad moved the ball both ways but was unlucky in his four overs, going for just 11 runs. He was replaced by another young debutant, Aidan Pearcey, who picked up the solitary Kenn wicket when a pull shot was held by Prasad’s full length diving catch on the square leg boundary. It was an encouraging spell from the young seamer and he was joined in the attack at the other end by the hugely impressive Jeacock. Also bowling brisk seamers, he belied his youth by containing the well-set Kenn batsmen, Hutchings and Pitia, conceding only 14 from his five overs and seeing several chances grassed. Hutchings made an unbeaten 85 in carrying his team to victory.

Ottery’s wicket keeping looks in safe hands with Megan Thompson-Summers whose glove work was exemplary.

Sadly the wickets could not be taken and Kenn earned themselves a well-deserved win.

Ottery St Mary 3rd XI 138 (A Southall-Brown 42, J Board 3-6), Kenn 2nd XI 139-1 (I Hutchings 85 no, AJ Pitia 38 no) Kenn bt Ottery St Mary by 9 wickets.

Ottery Man of the Match: Matty Jeacock