Uffculme Cricket Trio to Tour South Africa
Three teenagers from Mid-Devon are extremely excited after recently receiving confirmation that they have been selected to participate in a cricket tour of South Africa. Marco Bell, Joe Gillett and Luke Thomas, who all attend Uffculme School, will spend 17 days touring the country as part of the under 15 Devon County Cricket squad.
Alan Blackburn, Head Teacher commented:
“As a school we are so proud of the achievement of our three Year 10 students that have been selected to take part in the forthcoming Devon U15 Cricket tour to South Africa. Marco, Joe and Luke are an amazingly talented bunch of lads, and they have combined this talent with relentless hard work and dedication to their sport. They have earned their places in the touring squad after some great performances against opposition teams ranging from Hampshire, Wiltshire, Wales, Cornwall and Dorset. This has shown them to be amongst the best players in their age group and they fully deserve the opportunity to now play against quality overseas opposition. The tour leaves in February 2023 and we wish each of them every success, and look forward to them returning with many great stories and experiences to share with and inspire their peers.”
The team have a fixture list envied by most other UK touring squads, so the test of the cricket in South Africa will be tough. With a trip to Kruger National Park and a stay in Cape Town planned, it will be an amazing experience for the lads both on and off the playing field with opportunities to develop their cricket, whilst also gaining a cultural insight into South Africa.
It comes as no surprise that such opportunities have a large monetary cost so the trio are currently busy obtaining sponsorship to help fund their trip of a lifetime. Devon Cricket are producing a brochure creating an opportunity for local businesses to support the boys through advertising. Copies will be distributed to 100 Cricket Clubs across Devon as well as to all the family and friends of the players.
For further information on how you can become part of the boys’ journey through sponsorship please email: rozthomas@hotmail.co.uk All support shown to these cricket players of the future will be much appreciated.