THE David Shepherd Cricket Trust is the cricket charity of and for Devon cricket. It was set up many years ago now to promote the game to the youth of the county. It takes its name from David Shepherd who, whilst well known and highly respected worldwide, was born and lived always as a man of Devon.

We, as a charitable trust dedicated to the promotion of the game especially within Devon, celebrate Shepherd’s memory, his enthusiasm, his love for the game and his passion to involve others, especially the younger cricketers. We are excellently supported by a large number of members – cricket lovers in Devon and further afield, who recognise the need in the modern world to bring to young boys and girl the joy of playing cricket with all it can teach them of the best qualities in life. We are here to enable all to have access to quality coaching and to have the opportunity of improving their skills and enjoying the wonders of playing the game from whatever background. 

As a Trust we seek to ensure that all who want to learn the skills of the game are able to do so and are not prevented from doing so due to lack of facilities. In this way we seek to support clubs as they establish and continue to run their junior sections for both boys and girls. We are seeing much encouragement in this vital area especially with a big expansion in the opportunities for girls to play. The Trust will assist any club in the county which seeks financial help with running coaching courses and providing cricket for children of all ages. We recognise how essential it is for the prosperity of cricket in the county to encourage children at an early age to become involved with cricket as these are the future of the clubs and cricket in the county. We are always keen to receive more applications from our clubs as we are here to serve them and promote their success and future in building up strong youth sections. If you know of any club which needs financial help in establishing or promoting a youth section, get them to come and talk to us and we will be pleased to help. 

We work closely with the Devon Cricket Board, whose support is vital and whose encouragement is much appreciated. 

A major focus of our grants is the support the training of coaches as we recognise the need for all clubs to have a body of competent and well-trained coaches who can teach all cricketers but especially young players. As a result, we make financial grants available to defray part of the costs of the course which trainee coaches have to undertake to be ranked as coaches. 

We also offer support for those young men and young women with real talent who wish to progress to the highest level. Devon has a record which stands ahead of most National Counties in producing cricketers of national and even international ability, such as Somerset’s Ben Green (pictured, left). Devon is arguably the most successful in modern times at this. The Trust has a key role in this area in being able to bridge gaps financially and thereby enabling young cricketers to have the chance of fulfilling their ambitions. Not all are successful, but our contributions can ensure that they are not prevented from being able to try through financial constraints.

My thanks as always go to my fellow trustees for their commitment dedication and above all their enthusiasm and support.

If you are not already a member of the Trust, do join us and support the work. Full details can be found on our website www.dsct111.org.uk 

Guy Curry