ALL local cricketers are just itching to get the 2020 season underway but probably not quite as much as Jack Richards.

The 19-year-old off spinner, who lives in Minehead, started playing for his local club when he was nine and has grown up through the age group teams before making his first team debut four years ago.

After attending West Somerset College, Jack went onto Richard Huish College in Taunton where he was part of the Academy Cricket programme for two years and achieved a BTEC Sport.

He graduated from Huish last summer and, rather than go straight into higher education, chose to spend the winter of 2019-20 out in New Zealand, playing cricket for Woodleigh CC.

“I flew out to New Zealand on September 16 and our first game was the first Saturday in October so I had a few weeks to get used to things and catch up with some of the others who I knew were out there.

“The first part of the season we played 50 over cricket which went on until just before Christmas. Then in the New Year we had two-day cricket which was my most successful format.

“I had a bit of a slow start and didn’t get a wicket for my first three games but then after that I began to find my rhythm and ended up as the leading wicket taker at the club with 27 at an average of just over 26 which I was really chuffed about.”

Jack also did some travelling and spent time at the beach while he was in New Zealand and it was one of those visits just before Christmas that along with three other cricketers from Woodleigh, one of whom was Archie Marsh also from Minehead, that he helped to rescue a group of youngsters being swept out to sea on a rip tide.

“A group of local kids got caught in a rip so the four of us helped to get them out of the sea and back to safety. It was pretty intense and hard to swim in the rips.”

The coronavirus brought an early end to his cricket and he was meant to come back to England at the end of March.

“That flight got cancelled so I then went to stay with some friends over there for a few weeks before I managed to get a flight later on in April, which was pretty expensive!”

Now he is back home all he wants to do is play cricket again, but the start of the season has been delayed, so he will have to wait a little longer.

“I must admit that I was really looking forward to playing for Minehead again this summer, especially the way that my bowling went over the winter. I am not really sure now that I am going to get any competitive cricket – it might all be friendlies which is all very frustrating."

Jack, who is off to the University of Gloucestershire in September to study sports therapy, added: “I had my first net earlier this week at the cricket club and it just felt so good to be back bowling again.”

By Richard Walsh