Havant CC skipper Chris Morgan: Blooding the youngsters has been one positive of the pandemic

Havant CC skipper Chris Morgan insists his side have ‘probably over-achieved’ in the truncated grassroots cricket campaign.
Jack Lee is one of six teenagers to have played 1st XI cricket for Havant in the shortened 2020 SPL season. Picture Ian HargreavesJack Lee is one of six teenagers to have played 1st XI cricket for Havant in the shortened 2020 SPL season. Picture Ian Hargreaves
Jack Lee is one of six teenagers to have played 1st XI cricket for Havant in the shortened 2020 SPL season. Picture Ian Hargreaves

The recreational game was only allowed to return in mid-July, compared to its usual start date of early May.

The Southern Premier League quickly arranged a League Cup where their top two divisions were placed in two geographically-decided groups - East and West - and the bottom two divisions likewise.

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The final round of fixtures in all four groups was taking place this weekend, with Havant in with an outside chance of topping the Premier/Division 1 East table.

To do so, they need to win at Sarisbury and hope table-topping St Cross come unstuck at Rowledge.

Whoever tops the group will play the winners of the Premier/Division 1 West section in the grand final next weekend.

This Sunday, Havant are also taking on New Milton in the semi-finals of the SPL’s T20 Cup.

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The chance to still be playing for two trophies has come as a pleasant surprise to Morgan, who had to wait to captain Havant for the first time following the introduction of lockdown life.

Last season Havant - eight times winners of the SPL top flight title - could only finish seventh. The year before they were sixth.

‘We had a three-year plan,’ said Morgan, ‘and we’re where we hoped we might be next year or even the year after.

‘We’ve probably over-achieved this season to be honest.

‘We’ve taken the chance to bleed some of the younger players into the first XI and it’s been extremely beneficial.’

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Six teenagers have appeared for Havant in the SPL in 2020 - 17-year-old trio Freddie Gadd, Alex Taw and Ollie Perkins, 15-year-olds Jack Lee and Daryn Stares and 14-year-old Charlie Whitfield.

‘I don’t think I’ve played with or against a team that has had so many youngsters,’ said Morgan.

‘And they have been included on merit, nobody is being carried.

‘I’m really excited about the future.’

Other SPL clubs have also taken the chance to blood youngsters in the absence of overseas players due to the pandemic.

‘It’s been one of the positives of covid,’ he remarked.

‘The youngsters’ energy and enthusiasm has been superb.

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‘Being captain has had its challenges, but I’m lucky to have some superb lieutenants like Pete Hopson, Richard Hindley and Jeremy Bulled.

‘The youngsters have worked hard on their batting and bowling but when they come into the first XI it’s a four division step up from the 2nds and there’s a big difference in intensity in the field.

‘The fielding positions can be very different. I want the youngsters to be proactive, I want them thinking about what fields they want when they bowl. I want them getting the experience so they can be their own captains.’

Morgan said discussions will take place about whether Havant bring in an overseas player in 2021.

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‘If it’s a case of bringing an overseas player in and them helping us go from sixth to third, I would prefer a young lad to have that place all season,’ he said.

‘If it was a case of trying to get from third place to first place, we might need an overseas player …’

At one stage earlier this summer it looked likely that no grassroots cricket might take place in 2020.

As a result, Morgan said the games that have been played have been ‘different but still enjoyable.

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‘It’s a lot more disjointed, we’ve got to stop every six overs and sanitise our hands - but that’s the new normal, I don’t think it has impacted on what happens across the white line.

‘One of the reasons I trek down from London every weekend is to play cricket with my friends, and it’s been different in that we can’t use the changing rooms and we can’t go in the bar, we have to sit outside.

‘But it’s still been enjoyable, and the Southern Premier League have done well. They’re stuck between a rock and a hard place really, but the games have been good in a year where’s been so much doom and gloom.

‘We had been planning for the worst back in early July.’