A post-season chat with skipper Gary Chappell

A question-and-answer session with skipper Gary Chappell. We caught up with the club skipper a week after the drama, excitement and then celebrations of the week before and the winning of the Tolchards Devon Cricket Club.

Here you will find a dozen questions and then, in bold – and italics – the responses from skipper Gary Chappell.

First up: ‘Well, what a season – a League title and a superb run in the T20 competition. First up can we ask you for your overriding thoughts on the league success.’

“Winning the Premier is something the club has aspired to do long before I joined. Most would have probably thought it as more of a pipe-dream back in the C division days. It means an awful lot to myself and the players – not just for our own personal achievements, but to have done something for everyone at the club to celebrate is a great feeling.”

Next up: ‘When the season began, back in May, did you ever envisage that we’d be where we were on the final Saturday. We ask this as you are a confident person, but you are also a realist and I just wonder where you thought your team was capable of finishing.’

“As a first team we had a three-year plan before last season to win the Premier. Step 1 was to win the A division, and then we felt after a year of consolidation we’d have a good crack at it in 2023. We knew the quality we had so felt it was realistic. To do it this season was a bit unbelievable given our availability issues and the fact some players hadn’t played in the Premier before. “

We then asked: ‘In those early season weeks – we were without Mitch for a couple of games and Chad missed the first three…..did you ever have any cause for concern as to how we might get on this season.’

Gary replied: “I’d be lying if I didn’t have one eye on the bottom teams right up until we beat Sandford in week 13. At that point the league was so close and two losses could’ve easily put us in trouble, and then it becomes a pressure situation. I never felt we were one of the weakest sides in the league, but momentum (or lack of it) can be hard to shift in Cricket as we saw when we last got relegated with what I considered to be a top-four side on paper.”

‘What, for you, was the highlight of the league season – maybe a particular game – or individual performance.’

The skipper said: “The highlight of the league season has to be the last day win over Heathcoat. Being out there at the end with Eliot, who’s worked so hard over the last few years, combined with the ‘winner-takes-all’ scenario to the game – it really couldn’t have been scripted and gone any better! Another notable win that shaped our season was the comeback against Sandford when we looked dead and buried. That really started the momentum and Josh and Chad were the two who did it for us!”

Of course, asking about any high point had to be a question about what, if anything, was the low-point of the season.

Gary replied: “The low points in the season were obviously all the games we lost. But the T20 quarter-final stands out above everything. We did remarkably well to get so far, but when you get so far you start dreaming. And to lose against a side who were easily beatable was disappointing. However, that disappointment must not be allowed to diminish our success because Exmouth are the only other Devon side to have got this far – but it shows the belief, hunger and quality we have in the group these days that we go so far in a national competition and end the day disappointed.”

We then turned the questioning towards playing matters and individual performance and asked – ‘Your thoughts please on the bowling unit this season in league and T20 – it does seem as if you have had a great mix of seam and pace off in the ranks this past season.

The skipper replied: “Our bowling attack was the best and most balanced in the league, by some stretch too, in my opinion. Every club had some good bowlers, but we had 50 overs of proper bowling that covered all bases with no release of pressure. Bradninch was one of the best places to bat this season, so the fact we returned decent individual stats and as a team regularly restricted sides to sub 200 was impressive.”

That led naturally to a question about the batting – ‘Your thoughts on the batting – you led the way with the most runs, but there were very good contributions from the likes of Pipes (Tim Piper), Mitch (Mitchell Pugh)and Roscoe (Ross Acton).

Gary said: “Our batting was a real team effort. Our top order returned great individual statistics, and we had great contributions from the lower order in lots of games when it was needed. The ‘engine room’ (as they like to be called) of Eliot, Chad and Ankit often made the difference. In the top order Pipes set the tone with his aggressive style, Mitch was a calming influence at four and controlled things very well, Ross was in good form throughout the season, and Danny helped a lot when he played by adding extra quality. We had plenty of strength in depth with 14 players at the club who are all capable of batting top eight in Premier Cricket. It made it tricky at times giving opportunities, but ultimately meant we had depth when needed.”

Next up we asked: “There was a moment in the season when you were interviewed by Conrad (Conrad Sutcliffe of Devon Cricket fame) just after the Cornwood defeat when ) you said something like, if we can win the next seven then we will be there or thereabouts – did you really believe that you had a side that could indeed win the next seven?’

Gary replied: “At full-strength I knew we were the best all-round side, but every club had individuals capable of winning a game and with the league so competitive I didn’t think we’d win all seven, especially when weather often plays a part. But it shows how strong we are as a collective because you can’t go on such a run by relying on just one or two players – it’s a whole team effort.”

We then turned the questioning to the T20 – ‘In the T20, what is your view on the run and indeed, how it all ended up?’

Gary said: “The T20 went well beyond expectations. Last year we were over the moon to win the Devon T20, but this year it was almost expected. The fact we were disappointed to lose the National quarter-final shows how far we’ve come as a side. We play the game very well, have depth and plenty of potential match winners which is needed to do so well in a format where anything can happen.”

Staying with the T20 theme, we asked: “For you personally to have skippered both Exmouth and Bradninch to the latter stages of the National T20 competition, you must be very proud of this.’

Gary replied: “Yeah, it’s great to have been part of so many successful T20 runs over the years. Whether I’m captain or not doesn’t really matter – I’ve had so many great days out and trips away. A lot goes on in T20 and things happen quickly, so it’s been very helpful having tactically aware players in my side, both at Exmouth and Bradninch.”

Next to the obvious……..’ Now that you have guided Ninch to the Devon title, is there anything left for you to achieve in the game at this level?’

The skipper said: “There’s always something to achieve in sport. Winning the National T20 is one goal, but that is obviously a bit far-fetched. Back-to-back premier titles would be awesome for Bradninch and that is the primary goal for next season.”

Last, but certainly not least…….. ‘Finally, to the future, it will surely be tough next season when, as champions, everyone will want to beat us – what are your thoughts, at this early stage, on next season’.

Gary said: “My thoughts on next season are that we’ll be going all out to win it again. We’ll no doubt have a great chance. I’m not sure whether teams will look at us any differently – teams already knew this season that we’re a decent side. Good teams win titles, great teams retain it, as they say!”