MOVING with the times is among the Minor Counties’ priorities and they are illustrating it with a growing interest in Twenty20 cricket. Devon recently beat Warwickshire by four wickets with 23 balls to spare at Exmouth and on Sunday, Buckinghamshire are hosting a quadrangular tournament at Burnham that also involves Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire.
Kevin Beaumont, the Buckinghamshire secretary, said: “Each team will play three matches on two adjacent grounds from 10.15am to around 6.45pm. When Oxfordshire played Oxford University in a Twenty20 match last season, the crowd at the Parks was the biggest of the season.”
Devon’s win over Warwickshire delighted a crowd of 2,000 and featured an innings of 59 not out from 22 balls by Andy Procter and David Lye’s half-century off 29 balls.
A Twenty20 tournament involving Devon, Cornwall and Dorset is scheduled for July 31 at Budleigh Salterton, where Devon will meet Holland in a 50-overs match on Sunday.