By Dean Jeffery
ST MINVER Cricket Club recently capped off their 2024 season by holding their presentation evening at The Point at Polzeath, with a fantastic evening of celebration, good food and plenty of drinks held by all those able to attend, from players, supporters and members.
The season was met with mixed success for the club – the first team finished fourth in Division Two East, but the second team finished seventh in Division Four East, which due to the change in regulations for 2025, resulted in relegation to the new ten-team Division Five East.
The first team fell foul to the weather during their last game of the year where a victory would have ensured a third placed finish after a strong second half to the season.
South African overseas Reece Thompson was a hit for the club in his first season in Cornwall, taking 44 wickets at 19.18, while scoring 484 runs at 30.25 with the club confirming their intention for Reece to return in 2025.
Thompson’s pace added another dimension to the usual spin attack St Minver possesses, with spinners Dean Jeffery (28), Rob Hawken (26) and skipper Alek Gill (33) all once again combining and taking wickets regularly throughout the season.
With the bat it was a similar story to seasons gone by with Ben Hawken (713) leading from the front, Antony Ash (615) having a career-best season, skipper Gill (406) having a strong showing and Ryan Pooley (322) amassing over 300 runs in just seven games.
The second team struggled throughout the season with player availability, choosing from over 40 players, and despite a strong showing at the back end of the season, they were unable to reach the required points total to remain in the division.
Sixteen-year-old Jack Gill (22) once again topped the wicket-taking charts for the second team with the ever dependable left-arm spin of Nigel Hocking (18) contributing alongside Neil Meneer (15).
The returning Neil Kent (556) lead the way with the bat, with top order players Jake Keast (348) and Stevie Hawke (342) both crossing the 300-run mark for the season.
The presentation evening was a chance for the season to be celebrated and remembered for all the highs and lows that arose throughout the year.
With the addition of their recently formed Women’s and Girls team, the evening was attended by around 80 members of the club, with a large number of awards for dissemination.
The First team awards were shared out with the following winners: Best Batsman – Antony Ash; Best Bowler – Rob Hawken; All-rounder – Dean Jeffery; Under 18 Player of the Year – Jack Gill; Best Performance – Antony Ash; Players’ Player – Kelvin Lockwood; Captain’s Player – Archie Edwards; Most Ducks – Rob Hawken.
Second team award winners: Best Batsman – Neil Kent; Best Bowler – Nigel Hocking; All-rounder – Jack Gill; Under 18 Player of the Year – Kai McAuley; Best Performance – Sam Hocking; Players’ Player – Neil Kent; Captain’s Player – Jack Gill; Most Ducks – Sam Hocking.
Women’s/Girls team award winners: Best Batter – Vicky Grubb, Best Bowler – Amelia Vernon; Coaches Player of the Year – Eva Newman.
The club will be looking make additions over the winter months to ensure the issues surrounding player availability do not impact them once again in 2025.
The First team are looking ahead to another strong showing in what promises to be a very competitive Division Two East, while the seconds will be hoping additional players are recruited to ensure they can post a consistent line-up and hope to succeed in their new division.
To get in touch with the club ahead of next summer, email [email protected] or reach out via the social media channels.