Gloucestershire Under 17 Boys Development v Devon Under 16 (at Sidmouth CC), June 22 Friendly

Gloucestershire 214-7 (50 overs) Devon 202 all out (49.3 overs) Gloucestershire won by 12 runs

An inexperienced Gloucestershire Under 17 Development overcame thick sea fog and a tough Devon side to record a 12 run victory at Sidmouth CC.

In extraordinary conditions, with the players barely visible from the sidelines, Glos lost the toss and were asked to bat.

But openers Will Helmke (Frocester) and Max Tryfonos (Bedminster) defied the challenging weather and wet outfield as they patiently compiled an opening stand of 95.

The right hand, left hand combination punished anything off line from the Devon attack, with both players looking particularly strong square of the wicket.

Having given their side a strong foundation, Glos lost their captain Helmke in the first over after the halfway drinks break, caught and bowled by Ben Hayes for 44.

This brought Dan Ward (Cheltenham) to the crease and he began busily before becoming Hayes’ send victim, caught by Leon Horn at backward point for 13 to make it 127-2.

Tryfonos and 14-year-old Henry Findlay-Wilson (Langford/Charlton Kings) added 24 but with the slow outfield and the ball not quite coming onto the bat, it was proving hard to accelerate the scoring.

Tryfonos – one of a number of the Glos team playing at this level for the first time - was next to go, caught by James Bovey off Ben Abrahams for a composed 75.

Harry Senior (Dymock) fell second ball but Findlay-Wilson and Cole Pierre (Bristol West Indies and Phoenix) got the scoreboard moving again, adding 32 for the fifth wicket.

Findlay-Wilson had started slowly but found a method to up the scoring, coming down the wicket and looking to hit powerfully down the ground as he made 33 from 40 balls.

Pierre continued his good work, running well between the wickets on his way to 26 not out off 22 balls as Glos finished on 214-7 from their 50 overs.

In much improved conditions for batting, Devon started their reply in positive fashion and raced to 56 before George Stone got the breakthrough, removing Kopparambi (24) thanks to a catch by Senior.

Fellow opener Jamie Khan continued to take the attack to the visitors and he added 30 with Bovey before Luke Messer (Thornbury) had the latter caught by Kieran Slade (Winterbourne) for 17.

Devon continued to keep up with the scoring rate and at 159-3 they looked in the driving seat.

But the game changed with the introduction of spinners Ben Parker (Winterbourne) and Jack Edwards (Bristol YMCA).

In an extraordinary passage of play Glos picked up the last seven wickets for 42 runs and also managed to drop four catches – three of which were straightforward chances.

Offspinner Parker was unlucky not to take more wickets, finishing with 1-11 from six overs before being forced off with a hand injury.

Legspinner Edwards showed great control and composure, picking up 3-44 including the key wicket of Khan for 55.

The returning Messer (3-29) picked up two more wickets and two run outs – one for Helmke and one for Jacob David-Ward (Lechlade) saw Glos clean-up the tail in emphatic style to complete a 12 run victory.

The full Glos U17 team fared less well in their fixture this week, losing to Worcestershire by eight wickets after being bowled out for just 99.

Gloucestershire Under 15 Girls v Wales Under 15 Girls, (Briton Ferry Steel CC), June 24 ECB Women's U15 County Championship U15 A Division - Group 4 Gloucestershire 128-6 (40 overs) Wales 129-7 (35 overs) Wales won by 3 wickets

Gloucestershire Under 15 Girls slipped to a first County Championship defeat of the season as they lost to Wales by three wickets.

The visitors started well with Naima Milhofer (10) (Frenchay) and Molly Thomas (20) (Bristol Phoenix) adding 40 before Thomas was bowled by Lori Matthews in the 10th over.

Two more wickets quickly followed to leave Glos on 46 for 3.

A small partnership between team captain Danielle Gibson (19) and Maisie Hunkin (8) looked to have put them back on track before they too were out in quick succession.

Chloe Skelton (20) (Newent) and Millie Ashford (15 not out ) (Corse and Staunton) rebuilt with a stand of 37.

Maddie Hughes (5 not out) (Frenchay) joined Ashford to finish the innings, taking 19 off the last 3 overs as Gloucestershire finished on 128-6 from their 40 overs.

In reply the visitors struck early as Ashford - fielding just outside the 25 yard ring – ran out Matthews (7) with a powerful throw back to ‘keeper Natasha Wraith (Frenchay).

Alex Griffiths (57), proved the mainstay of the Wales innings, adding 31 with team captain Charlotte Scarborough (7) and 48 with Amy Harris (10) to out the home side firmly in control.

With the score on 102, Millie Ashford (2-22) took the key wicket of Griffiths. Three further wickets fell creating a tense finish.

But it proved too little, too late as Wales completed the run chase off the final ball of the 35th over.