Somerset link up with Yeovil College to promote cricket in the south of the county

Cricket coaching opportunities in the South Somerset are in the process of improving considerably thanks to an initiative between Yeovil College and Somerset County Cricket Club and the involvement of former Combined Services coach Richard Askew.

For sometime Somerset Cricket Development Officer Andrew Moulding has been aware of the need to improve coaching in the area, so when John Hole who is the Sports Centre Manager at Yeovil College made contact with him Mr Moulding was only too pleased to be able to help out.

He said: "When John came to us to ask for help we were only too delighted to help him. He has managed to get some funding to upgrade the sports hall and we are going to present them with two mats that they can make use of."

He continued: "One of our coaches Dan Hodges has already worked with Westlands Cricket Club to develop their cricket coaching but we still need more coaching activities to develop the game in the area."

One of the E.C.B. Level 3 coaches who will be working in the Yeovil area is Richard Askew who until he was pensioned out of the Royal Navy in 2002 was cricket coach to the Combined Services XI and based at Yeovilton.

Richard was born and raised in Warwickshire and obtained his degree at Bangor University. He played club cricket for Birmingham League side Kenilworth Wardens before joining the Royal Navy and represented the Navy side and United Services (Portsmouth) until he was posted to RNAS Yeovilton in late 1997, since when he has played for North Perrott Cricket Club.

He told me: " I suffered a frostbite injury on exercise in Norway in late 2000 and have had problems with my hands and feet ever since and although the Navy were good enough to try and give me every opportunity to recover there had been no significant improvement, so in December 2002 I was pensioned out of the service."

Richard continued: "When Somerset made contact with me and invited me to be involved with grass roots cricket in my adopted county I was delighted .It is fantastic and the challenge of getting the game into schools in the South East Somerset area is very exciting. I think it is typical of Somerset's pro-active approach that they are geared up to support a schools programme of such a professional nature."

He concluded: " Without doubt, Somerset County Cricket Club is one of cricket's leaders; from first class through to junior levels. In Kevin Shine and Mark Garaway we are lucky to have two of the most qualified and respected coaches in county cricket and I am therefore delighted to have been asked to join that team!"