NDCC Yearbook 2025 - Flipbook - Page 7
CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE
Welcome to the 2025 NDCC yearbook. Firstly I would like to congratulate Jack Moore on an
excellent first season as Club captain. Not only did he lead the 1st XI to winning the A Division
of the ECB Devon League and promotion back to the Premier League, but he also scored 4
centuries and 1 half century.
Your committee continues to run the club with the following objectives;
• Our 1st XI in the premier division of the ECB Devon League
• 3 teams in the ECB Devon League, a team in the North Devon 40 over and T20 leagues
• North Devon Tarka Ladies team in the Devon Women Cricket League
• A thriving junior section starting with All Stars from under 5 to teams from u9 to u19.
We are delighted to be welcoming back last year’s overseas player from Sri Lanka, Roshan
Lakmal, who proved himself to be both an excellent cricketing allrounder and a fine coach.
I am delighted to say that no less than three of our North Devon girls represented the Devon
U15 girls on their tour to Sri Lanka in February this year – Rebecca Savory, Isobel Ollis and
Megan Zieleniewicz. The other good news is that both Freddie Tucker and Noah Tovell have
been selected for the Devon U15’s tour to South Africa in October this year and Noah has
made it into the Bunbury trial 21 player squad for the South & West.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors, both existing and new, for their
financial support. It is fundamental to the running of a community amateur sports club like ours
and enables us to maintain the facilities to a good standard – for example last year’s major
capital project was the replacement of the all-weather nets with 2 new longer state-of-the-art
strips. Special thanks to our two shirt sponsors – Roundswell Toyota and new for this season
the Royal George of Appledore.
Over the last few years we have been working closely with Westleigh CC – the NDCC ground
staff look after the Westleigh ground and it is the home ground for our NDCC Devon League
3rd XI. This year we are planning to complete the formal merger of the management of the two
clubs, with both clubs maintaining their separate identities in the North Devon League and
North Devon T20 competitions, which means that from a cricketing perspective, nothing
changes in the short term.
2025 will be my fourteenth and final season with the honour of being the club chairman. It has
been a great privilege, but it is time for a change, not least because in 2026 I shall be taking on
the role of High Sheriff of Devon. I have been very lucky to have been involved with NDCC
during the period when Jamie and Craig Overton have emerged from young raw talents into top
class professional cricketers representing England – we all wish them both the best of luck for
a great 2025 season.
Another excitement for this year is that our 2016 overseas player, Kyle Verreynne, after some
great performances for his country in the last 12 months, will barring injury be representing
South Africa in the World Test Series final at Lords in June against Australia. I have just
returned from an amazing few days with Brett Mason (who was also with NDCC for the 2016
season) and his family in the mountain kingdom of Lesotho in Africa where he is busy
establishing a new church – the amazing places that being part of NDCC can end up taking
you!
Best of luck to all teams representing the club and I hope you all have a very enjoyable
summer of cricket, whether you are playing, scoring, umpiring or just watching.
Mark Ansell – April 2025
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