Sports Report: Cloister Time, Week 5

Before I round up the reports from the week preceding Leave-out we have an update from the 1st VI tennis match against Eton from Saturday 21st May.

Saturday 21st May: Tennis U18 v Eton

The Eton fixture was a momentous occasion for the 1st VI who ended up defeating Eton’s flagship team for the first time in over a decade and on their home turf no less. Significant credit must go to Freddie van Every and Chris Lee who put in a ridiculously high standard of doubles play to take all 3 of their matches. Highlights included powerful forehand winners by Freddie throughout along with classy volleying from both enhancing the attack. Chris’s consistency also proved a huge factor from the first point and the pair managed to turn around many losing positions within rallies. After 8 matches the score was tied at 4 all meaning it all came down to the final combat. Even this went to a tense tie-break but Ollie Gibbon and Xinchen Cao dug deep at every stage. ‘Iceman’ Ollie presented his characteristic, impressive resilience and Xing displayed both a strong physical and mental game. Eventually they clinched the tie-break and with it, the whole fixture. The 2nd and 3rd VI’s also had some tense moments with some fine mini victories but both teams did not have enough to come out winners against 2 strong Etonian teams. (TERC)

Tuesday 24th May: Cricket v Eton

2nd XI (h): Won by 1 wicket. 121 for 9 v 117 for 5

The 3rd XI left Winchester in the rain but on arrival the sunshine came out with a beautiful blue sky. Captain Kleingeld was dragging his heals so Nader won the toss and we batted on an artificial wicket. A slow start ensued with some good Eton 5thXI bowling but not enough rotation of the strike meant we were 51-1 after 13 overs. Subsequent batters came in and had to chase the game with some good knocks from Freddie Fisher (37) and Rufus Bowder (30) but 131-8 was looking a tough one to defend.

The rain came down heavily at tea and we were worried if it would stop play but we started and but for a downpour where we went off for 15 minutes the game continued. Even though it was a little slippery we were able to bowl off normal run-ups despite the wet trainers! The chat was about full deliveries but at 46-0 after 4 with 90% short deliveries getting the win was going to be tough!!

Good points from the game: Arthur picked a couple of wickets and Harry and Ollie got one each. We lost by 6 wickets but the team recognise they are better than what we showed today. (JRD)

Sen Colts A (a): Lost by 3 wickets. 145 for 8 v 146 for 7.

Jun Colts A: (a): Lost by 8 wickets. 57 ao v 60 for 2

The U15B team, batting first, steadily accrued runs on an overcast afternoon in Windsor. Henry Perks (26) and Michael Searing (26) where the two key contributions but there was good support for these two from Milo Hoffmann and Max Ingram. Eton bowled particularly tightly at the end of the innings, only conceding 3 runs off the last 3 overs Another 15 runs would have been handy.

Winchester's efforts in the field were hampered by a sudden and intense rain shower after the first 5 overs had been completed. Bowlers struggled for a good grip on the ball thereafter and fielders’ footings were also affected, though James Kitson applied good pressure with a series of tight overs early on. Indeed, the team did not give up and Eton needed 23 overs to reach their target. Winchester 126 for 8 (25 overs) Eton 127 for 1 (23 overs) (JM)

In a rain-interrupted game of only 15 overs a side, Eton started brightly but some good bowling by the JCCs kept them down to 97-5. In reply, once our top four batsmen were relatively quickly dismissed we scrambled to 56 all out. (RS)

Today was perhaps the Yearlings A biggest match in the calendar so far as we faced Eton. Captain James Kennedy (Kenny’s) lost his first toss, but we were put in to bat anyway, his preferred option for the day. Our trusty openers James and Stanley Askew (Beloe’s) played very well and looked confident. James was the star batsman again, scoring an amazing 90 runs and is averaging 151 so far this season! After Stan missed one that kept low and was given lbw, Aaryan Shrestha (Hopper’s) came in to bat and he and James scored a partnership of over 100 runs! Aaryan finished on 44 runs, a great score, and even impressed Mr Gover who had come to watch. Michael Jin (Hopper’s) and Arthur Hampel (Toye’s) finished off the innings and the team scored an above par 197.

It was then our turn in the field to defend our score after tea and a warm up from half the Lords squad. James and Stanley opened the bowling. Stanley got 1 wicket with some very good economical bowling. James bowled very well, with a double wicket maiden in his first over, then returning later to close the game out – finishing with 3 wickets for only 2 runs. He was the star with the bat and ball. Seb Kingsbury (Furley’s) and Rory McGregor (Trant’s) bowled well, picking up a wicket each. Arthur Hampel bowled astoundingly and got 3 wickets; he was turning it a mile! With the run rate creeping up the Eton team were largely out of the game from about the tenth over, despite a well struck fifty from their number four. We used the opportunity to bowl almost everybody and took their final wicket on the final ball to cruise to a 55-run victory.

The man of the match goes to James Kennedy. His exceptional batting and bowling won us the game, he captained well and looks a sure fit for Lords in the years to come, hopefully the rest of the team will join him! Thank you once again to Mr Wilkinson and Mr Taylor for umpiring and to the Lord’s players who came to assist with warm ups and offer their wise words. As ever thanks must go to our excellent grounds staff who prepared another stunning pitch and to all the parents who came to support. Arthur Hampel (JP, B)

I have taken the Yearlings B cricket for 11 years and have never beaten Eton. Until today. Pause for quick whoop!

Eton Yearlings C batted first and 7 overs in, they had scored 49 runs without loss. Things did not look good. Then their explosive opener skied a full toss by Oli and the catch was taken by Milo despite being almost rugby tackled by the bowler. Wickets then fell regularly, with Vardhan taking a magnificent 5-8. Ben and Freddie also bowled really well, strangling the run scoring. However, Eton had runs on the board and the job was only half done. Cue Jamie and Alex who played some lovely strokes, with Alex getting his 50 in a 97-run partnership. The team showed great enthusiasm throughout and I'd like to thank Hugo and Freddie in particular for this. (PAH)

After a showery start to the afternoon game, the toss was won by Winchester Yearlings C and Rufus elected to put Eton into bat. They lost wickets early until steadied by a pair that formed a partnership of 54. This with 45 extras saw they reach 106 at the end of 25 overs. Fielding was solid with three catches made in the field. Pran and Rocket opened for us starting us off well initially. Monty and Toby then steadied the ship and nudged the runs in the right direction. Following the fall of these wickets, victory was almost secured and it was Rufus and Alberto who came in to secure the win. They did this in a confident and assuring style, with a boundary to finish off the match, 107 for the loss of four wickets with overs in hand. (PJM)

Golf v Bradfield College & Marlborough College (a)

A very inexperienced team unfortunately came off second best to both Marlborough and Bradfield. We lost both matches to nil but the boys really enjoyed the trip - wonderfully hosted by Bradfield - and will look forward to the next junior fixture at Charterhouse. (RM).

Wednesday 24th May: Cricket: Yearling Team vs Pilgrims
On Wednesday a Yearlings team led by James Kennedy (JP, D) and coached by Dom Hall (VBII, B) played Pilgrims first team. It was an opportunity for change, using eight bowlers in the T20 and allowing different batsmen opportunities through the innings. Highlights for the Yearlings were a well-deserved wicket for Michael (I), another great bit of fielding leading to a run out for Seb (A) and Arthur (B) showing once again that he is capable of making important runs. Hugo (I) and Aryaveer (K) closed out a tight game with one ball to spare. Many thanks to Dom for coaching the group today. (JPT)

Thursday 26th May

Athletics v Marlborough College, Clifton College, St Edward’s Oxford, Kingswood School (a)

A junior and senior team travelled up to Marlborough for the Nitro Challenge. Eight-man teams had to compete across a range of disciplines ranging from 50m sprints to elimination mile as well as medley relays. There were some gutsy performances on show with the juniors finishing up in third and the seniors taking 4th spot in their category. (MSB)

Cricket: XL Club & King’s School, Winchester (h)

Development XI v XL Club: Won by 7 wickets. 146 for 3 v 144 ao

Jun Colts A v King's School, Winchester: Won by 8 wickets. 86 for 2 v 84 for 9.

The Yearlings A were looking to continue their good form against Kings’ School Winchester and as per usual our skipper James won the toss and elected to bat first on a wicket which looked like it had a bit in it for both teams. He and Arthur Hampel opened up before James was caught out in the second over for 10 in a somewhat unfortunate fashion as the ball ricocheted off the fielder’s boot and into his hands. In at three was Stanley who hit a couple of boundaries before being bowled for another well-made 10. Alex Simpson came in at 4 but was soon back out due to some miscommunication and great fielding. Next in was Aaryan and he and Arthur built a fantastic partnership, with Aaryan as the aggressor hitting some fantastic shots all around the ground and Arthur supporting him well. However, having smashed the previous ball for four Aaryan proceeded to nick off for 20 and in came Aryaveer. From here we managed to reach a very defendable total of 126 with some powerful shots from Seb Kingsbury on the way.

Stanley and Isaac opened up the bowling tightly with Isaac especially finding lots of swing and seam movement, and despite both beating the bat multiple times neither were able to make an early breakthrough as their openers began to score. Yet this was soon nullified when James made a double change bringing on Seb and Arthur H. This turned out to be an inspired decision as their two overs went for just one run! The pressure got to their batsmen when one of them went for a big shot but missed and Arthur added a wicket to his 52 runs. This breakthrough caused them to stutter and Michael, Arthur J-D, Tom and Aryaveer all bowled well with Michael picking up 2-6 and Arthur 1-10. Due to this we were able to restrict them to 86-6 and winning by a comfortable 40 runs.

All in all, a great way to end the first half of term with some great individual performances and a good all-round team performance, thanks to Mr Taylor and Archie Lawson for scoring and of course Mr Conolly for umpiring. We go again v Harrow and St Edwards straight away after half-term. (Stanley Askew, JP, K)

Friday 27th – Saturday 28th May: Rowing – NSR Three Day Event at Eton Dorney

The National Schools' Regatta is the premier multi-lane regatta for schoolboys in the UK. Along with Henley Royal Regatta, it acts as the focal point for the season's training. The racing is some of the highest quality found anywhere in the world.

Winchester College BC had five boats competing over two days: two boats coming from the J14 squad, a coxed quad and a octuple, one boat coming from the J15 squad, a coxed four, one boat coming from the J16 squad, a coxed four and one boat from the Senior squad, an eight.

Friday the 27th saw the J14 and J15 boats in action. The format involved a time-trial and then a potential side-by-side race through qualification, both over 1,000 metres.

The J14 squad have had an extremely strong season, which has set them up very well for future years of racing. The quad performed impressively in the time trial, with many onlookers commenting on how well they were rowing technically. A finish position of 15th out of a field of 34 is a superb achievement. The octuple was looking to build on two national medals already this season, unfortunately difficult race conditions caused a blade to be dropped and unrecoverable. Subsequently, over half the course was completed without the full crew. A finish of 15th out of a field of 25 still showed how much potential the squad has, and the crew showed a commendable attitude after the race. We are confident they will be back even stronger.

The J15 squad have had a mixed season, with a lot of potential being hampered by inconsistent training. The crew sent to National Schools' was a coxed four that had come together only a few weeks before. It was therefore tricky to know what to expect. A strong, but not perfect time trial saw them finish an incredible 7th, out of a field of 21, which qualified them for a B final. The crew chat afterwards highlighted improvements that could be made from the time trial and the boys set off determined to row well. With a perfectly executed performance, the boys won their final by nearly five seconds. A time that would have placed them 4th in the A final, and a final 500 metres that would have placed them 2nd. This was absolutely fantastic to see, and the boys and supporters were clearly elated. We hope this galvanises them on to even greater things in years to come.

Saturday 28th saw the J16 and Senior squads compete. The racing on this day was over 2,000 metres. We were confident of a strong display from the J16 crew and this was exactly what unfolded in a time trial performance of poise and maturity which placed them 6th out of a field of 18. This meant qualification to a semi-final, where the top three would proceed to an A final, and the remainder to a B final. After a monumental battle, the boys were edged out into 4th place, placing them into the B final. Whilst not the result they were after, the time was extremely fast, so much so that it would have put them into the A final of the senior event, with much older boys. The B final was approached with a lot of confidence, and rightly so, as the crew comfortably rowed to 1st place. The crews should be very proud of what they accomplished, showing that they are right up there with the fastest in the country, across all age groups.

The Senior squad faced up against the best the country has to offer in schoolboy rowing, in the championship eight and this was always going to be a tough endeavour. The boys showed themselves to be up to the task and produced their best performance of the season so far, coming 22nd out of a field of 25 in the time trial, placing them in the C final. The final was another opportunity to battle against some very fast opposition, something the boys set to with focus and determination. An extremely strong first 1,000 put them right in the mix but fading in the last 1,000 metres, showed the boys exactly what needs to be worked on in the weeks running up to Henley Royal Regatta. National School's showed the senior boys that they should have belief and confidence in themselves, as the speed is evidently there.

Overall National Schools' was an extremely positive event, with some excellent results. Mixed fortunes for some will hopefully see them even hungrier in the future and wiser from the experience of racing on such a big stage. Others will be motivated from strong racing results, hoping to go on and do even better next time. WCBC are proud of all the boys that competed, all showing great spirit and togetherness. A huge thank you to all the family and supporters of WCBC. The help provided throughout the two days is invaluable and creates a fantastic atmosphere of encouragement for the boys, which undoubtedly spurred them on. (SJL)

Finally, congratulations to VBk pupils Alex Claisse (B) and Henry Nicholls (A) who have made the Hampshire U16 match squad for the summer playing programme. The boys have trained throughout the Winter and Spring and their consistent performances have resulted in this successful selection.

All fixtures details can be found on: https://sportsfixtures.winchestercollege.org/

Sporting quote for the week:

“Don’t whine, don’t complain, don’t make excuses. Just do the best you can.” (Former UCLA Basketball Coach, John Wooden)

M.S. Burley

Director of Sport

7th June 2022

Twitter: @WinCollSports