Sports Report: Cloister Time, Week 7
Wednesday 15th June, Cricket:
Yearlings A v Lord Wandsworth College - County Cup SF (h)
The JP boys gathered in Hunter Tent to prepare for their first match of the County Cup. The squad were somewhat disappointed that we had yet to play a game, with a bye and a withdrawal meaning we were straight in to the semi-final. Joining Mr Conolly and Mr Taylor for the afternoon were guest coaches Mr Gover, Dom Hall (VI:2, B), Wilf La Fontaine Jackson (VI:2, B) and George Gardiner (VI:2, Dd), offering support from the Lords XI. A quick pitch inspection of the Lords track showed once again how lucky we are as a cricket club to have such a fantastic grounds team – a real treat for both our boys and (as commented upon by both players and their coach) the opposition.
James (D) reversed his recent fortune and won the toss, electing to bat and set a score we could look to defend. Arthur (B) will have been unhappy with both his method of dismissal and the short time he spent at the crease, but his two striking cover drives and quick running of both singles to the ring and leg byes really helped set the tone for the innings. Stanley (K) joined James and struggled to find his tempo, given lbw to one that stayed slightly lower having only added four off the bat. After Freddie’s (I) impressive performance at the weekend he was promoted up the order with the job of rotating the strike and punishing the bad balls when he saw them; something he did admirably with 21 scored from 24. James fell for 54 and will have been disappointed not to have stayed to the end, as another ton would likely have been in his sights. Aaryan (I), Michael (I) and Seb (A) all contributed in the mid-teens, with a stunning on drive in the final over from Seb falling inches short of the boundary being the highlight. An impressive 167-5 was set.
James and Archie (I) set the tone with the ball from the off, with some of the excellent fielding display from the Teddies game in evidence, limiting the openers to 4 from the first two overs, instantly pushing the required rate above nine an over. This pressure began to tell with James picking up two big wickets in the third over, one bowled and the other caught ably, as ever, by Seb. Arthur took a stunning catch off his own bowling and Freddie took the valuable wicket of their opener with some excellent footwork behind the stumps from Aaryan leading to a stumping. At this point with the score 34-3 from 7.3 and the required rate creeping steadily up the game looked comfortably ours… as long as complacency didn’t creep in. The team finished up in just over an hour and ten, with two catches (and a run out) from Isaac (B) and Arthur adding two more wickets, with Stanley picking up the final three. LWC 73 ao, meaning a 93-run victory and back to house in time to do some Toytime after a quick hot tea with the opposition.
Some strong individual performances always take the eye, but the impressive thing with this group is the upward trajectory of their performances. This is down to what they take in from the coaching and it is truly impressive to see something worked on in the Tuesday afternoon being enacted on the Wednesday afternoon. Lots of potential with this extended group and it will be exciting to see their progress not only over final seven fixtures of the term, but over the Winter and in to the next few years of cricket. (JPT)
Thursday 16th June, Cricket v Charterhouse
After losing the toss Lords found themselves in the field on a beautiful Summer's day. The wicket was firm, but with plenty of grass covering, it looked a good cricket wicket. There was certainly some movement off the pitch when we started bowling, both Seb and Alex beating the bat on numerous occasions. However, the Charterhouse openers kept frustrating the bowlers and it was left to Callum to break the 60-run partnership and added a second soon after. At lunch the score was 132-4 off 32, but the Charterhouse Number 4, who was their best batsman, was going well. Charterhouse really should have scored around 240, however from 189-5, they collapsed to 199 all out, with Seb and Alex "ripping" through the lower order batsman, Seb finishing with 4-40 and Alex 3-28 from his 9 overs.
We started our reply reasonably well with Wilf and Seb, but then lost 3 quick wickets and at 43-3 at tea the game was in the balance. We scored well after tea but at 83-3 Fletch was unfortunately run out and when Dom Hall departed quite early we were 91-5. A brilliant partnership of 99 between Seb and George Gardiner punishing the bad balls and rotating the strike ensured we won the game by 6 wickets with 6 overs to spare. Seb made 93*, George 26 and Alex a breezy 10* off 7 balls. Won by 4 wickets. 201 for 6 v 199 ao. (PNG)
2nd XI (a): Won by 9 wickets. 131 for 1 v 127 for 2.
Jun Colts A (a): Lost by 1 wicket. 165 for 2 v 166 for 9.
Jun Colts B (a):
On a very hot afternoon, the JCBs bowled with good discipline to have Charterhouse 16 for 1 after 5 overs. Unfortunately, a talented Carthusian cut loose and upped their run rate. However, at 55 for 1 off 12 overs the game was still in the balance. Eventually the field learnt how to manage the different batsmen and though the key wicket was taken, more big hitting followed. Charterhouse scoring 98 off their final 10 overs.
Re-hydrated by tea, the JCBs set about the chase in good style: Milo Hoffman and Michael Spearing sharing a 57 tun partnership for the 2nd wicket. At the 12 over mark, Winchester's score of 81 for 2 meant the game was very much on. Regular wickets fell after that, however, at 119 for 9 after 19 overs the game looked done. An extraordinary over of hitting from Maxence (who finished 30 not out) had the opposition worried but the final wicket fell in over 21.
Though disappointed not to get a win, once again the team had pushed their opposition hard and given a very good account of themselves.
Postscript: Bonus points go to Jamie Cotterell for his Chemistry-themed encouragement of teammates! Lost by 32 runs. 143 al v 175 for 4. (JM)
Jun Colts C (a): Lost by 9 wickets. 67 ao v 71 for 1.
Yearlings A (h):
Possibly the hottest day of the year so far and Lords hosted a second Yearlings A match in two days, this time against Charterhouse in a friendly game, reduced to 25 overs.
James (D) again won the toss and chose to face the heat and bat, rather than having the whole team out in the field. Arthur (B) was lost in the first over with a moment of madness attempting to play their opener over the trees (!), but James looked relatively set almost from the off. Freddie (I) continued his meteoric rise and experimented at number three, though he struggled to find the gaps and only scored 5 off 14 before being caught trying to release the pressure. Stanley (K) and James then put on a good partnership of 57, working hard in the heat to try to maximise runs – something the squad have started to really improve. Stanley was caught on 22 and James stumped on 88 (though he had been dropped twice by that point) and Aaryan (I) and Rory (H) both chipped in with 27 and 8 respectively. A score of 168 appeared about par, and certainly defendable.
James and Archie (I), opened the bowling but it was the change to Stan that led to the breakthrough with an excellent catch from Seb (A) hit hard to his feet. Freddie persevered from the other end without success and Arthur took the second wicket leaving them 60-2 at the half way point. From here the game was somewhat disappointing, with nearly eight and a half an over needed it appeared that we bowled merely to go through the motions, rather than with a clear plan, and the game subsequently ticked over. The opposition batsmen were talented and created two mature innings to knock off the runs with two balls to spare, but the Winchester boys will rue another close loss in a game they felt they should probably have won on balance. Lost by 8 wickets. 168 for 4 v 172 for 2. (Archie Lawson, I)
A break from squad work now, with the Toye Pot final on Friday and Commoners / OTH on Saturday and an exeat weekend to follow. Back to it with another John Harvey Cup fixture on Tuesday, hopefully back to our best after the short time away. As ever, thanks to the parents, ground staff, supporters, coaches and scorers who help make the game both possible and enjoyable.
Before the match, I talked earnestly to my opening pair about how to call when running between the wickets because both had a little of the headless chicken about them. I told one of them that I would dumb it down: 'If you hit it straight to a fielder, DO NOT RUN!' The Yearlings B match started. The first ball was hit straight to a fielder. 'RUN!' shouted the batsman. Somehow, they survived and what blossomed was an amazing opening partnership between Jamie and Ari of 75 off 11 overs, including Jamie hitting four consecutive 4s. Everyone in the top 6 batted well and quickly to set a superb 205 from 25 overs.
The boys looked confident. I told them I suspected that some of the opposition could bat. 3 overs in, they'd clobbered 46 runs for the loss of one wicket to an unplayable delivery from Sam.
Charterhouse continued to score quickly and at 130-3 from 14 overs the unimaginable looked possible. Then Oli struck with two wickets in consecutive balls and the tail was revealed. There was still a wee bit of squeaky bum time, but the run rate plummeted and Aarav, Ben and Sam polished any final resistance to win by 27 runs. Phew. Next time, can we bowl at the stumps please. Won by 27 runs. 205 for 5 v 178 ao. (PAH)
Yearlings C (h): Lost by 1 wicket. 120 ao v 121 for 9.
The Yearling Ds produced yet another stonking performance to continue their unbeaten run this season. Runs from Will Hammerson-Jones (whose box-office 45 from only 27 balls contributed to a 72-run partnership with opener Max Jackson), Piers Fletcher (who made a classy 29 from 15) and late addition Zach Goulding (who hit 16 from 10 at the end of the innings) generated a mammoth total of 162 from 20 overs. Tight bowling from the likes of captain Will Hagger and Fletcher (both taking a wicket each) gave way to a sensational spell from Goulding, who took three wickets in an over (and finished with figures of 4/10 off 3 overs). Won by 34 runs. 162 ao v 128 for 8. Congratulations to all boys involved in this outstanding performance - once again, thanks are owed to a flurry of late additions to the team, with Goulding, Theo Coles and Phol Suksriwong all stepping in at short notice to make this victory possible. (JL)
Sailing 1st vs Bryanston School (h):
When we arrived at Spinnaker the wind was looking worryingly light and the water very flat. Luckily by the time the other teams arrived, and the boats were rigged up the wind picked up to a nice 8 knots, gusting 14 kts (force 3, gusting force 4 on the Beaufort scale). The wind was shifty, typical at Spinnaker Lake, but our teams made good use of gusts (slight increase in wind in certain areas) and lulls (slight 'dead' patches of wind in certain areas) to gain the advantage.
We sailed well working together as team which is crucial for this type of racing (team racing). Some lovely downwind manoeuvres from Ed Beveridge, pushing a Sherborne boat out of the way and pushing us into a winning position. And some nice sailing from some newer/younger members of the team. We are becoming a strong team and are excited to see how we perform at the BDSRA Team Racing Finals, coming up (2 weeks' time) held at Chew Valley sailing Club.
We won all four of our races (two against Sherborne and two against Bryanston).
Orlando Kennedy/JAAB
Tennis v Bryanston School
U18’s A & B (a): Both won 9-0
On a particularly hot summer's day we found ourselves partially shaded by the beautiful, palatial, Victorian school building where either side of a fountain 6 grass courts were waiting. Some found transferring to grass-court play more challenging than others but, by the end, the standard of play was noticeably better. Both our 1st and 2nd VI's enjoyed some competitive moments although, by the close of play, the score-card displayed a clean sweep for both teams. Oli Gibbon, playing his last school match, had captained the VI solidly, posting wins in every match to date, including the mighty Eton, a truly admirable achievement. The rest of team have also performed really well this season and particular mention needs to be paid to Rigby Swarovski-Adams, also playing his final match. RJHM
Scorching conditions were no obstacle to the MP tennis side with the Bs winning 9-0 and the As 8-1, the only defeat coming from our third pair against the opposition’s firsts. The only sunburn of the day was sustained by the coach!
U14A’s (h): Won 5 – 4.
U14B’s (h): Won 7 – 2.
Friday 17th June:
Cricket, U17 v St Edward’s School, Oxford: Cricketer Magazine U17 National Cup QF(h):
This was a fantastic team performance and some wonderful individual efforts too.
We won the toss and batted first on a good dry deck and posted 243-3 from our 30 overs, however at 19-2 with both Henry and Zain out, this total seemed quite unlikely. However, what followed was quite brilliant as Seb and Wilf put on 207 in 25 overs! Wilf in particularly was quite severe, hitting the ball on both sides of the wickets, with 11 x 4s and 7 x 6s, Seb supported well with great rotation and strong shots particularly down the ground. Wilf made 136 from 80 balls and Seb 82* from 82, it was a joy to watch!
The first 10 overs of St Edwards' innings were always going to be crucial and apart from 1 over we were excellent, bowling good lines and length with sharp and intent in the field and effectively we managed to "kill" the game as we reduced then to 37-5. St Edward’s to their credit battled on well, but were eventually bowled out for 122, ensuing a win by 121 runs and through to the National Under 17 competition Semi Final.
Callum bowled very well and finished with 4-19, but all the bowlers were economical and disciplined, Dom 1-21, Will Whitehead 1-19 and Alex Claisse 1-17.
Saturday 18th June, Wykeham Day
Cricket v Old Wykehamists
On a slightly thundery looking day Lords lost the toss and found ourselves in the field. The first 10 overs were enthralling as our young opening bowlers "ran in" with good pace and skill. Alex bowled Spencer Lee with an absolute beauty and there was a great battle between Seb and Jonny Figy, which Seb won when George took a good catch behind dismissing him for 27. We took regular wickets throughout the innings, but it was good to see all the Old Boys batters contributing, Egelston 27, Quinault 34 and Truell 23* were the main scorers. Zach Roberts took 2-31 and bowled well, as did Paddy with 3-39 and Callum a miserly 1-31 from his 10 overs and we were set 205 to win.
At 71-1, with Wilf and Zain going well it looked like we would win reasonably comfortably, however we collapsed to 89-4, Henry Adams and Freddie Egleston bowling good spells and backed up by some "lively" fielding. Fletcher and George put on 41 before Fletch was caught off a top edge, then Dom and George put on a crucial 55 partnership but we then lost 3 wickets for 11 runs and at 196-8 the nerves were jangling somewhat, but captain Fisher was solid and with George batting very well we manged to win by 2 wickets with just over 5 overs remaining, George scoring an impressive 41*
An excellent 3 days of cricket, playing Thursday, Friday and Saturday, however today's performance was a little jaded and below par (only to be expected), but the boys once again showed some great resolve to just about win through! Won by 2 wickets. 205 for 8 v 204 ao. (PNG)
2nd XI (h): Won by 8 wickets. 110 for 2 v 106 ao.
Commoners v OTH Junior Match
Wykeham day welcomed a large crowd to Doggers for the highlight of the day, OTH vs Commoners T20. A strong OTH side had been assembled under the guidance of captains George Bowder (B) and Archie Lawson (I), coached by Mr Taylor. The strong favourites for the day, not only did they not have anyone below A team level in their sixteen-man squad – they had left out several A Teamers from both the Yearlings and Junior Colts sides. Mr Gould crossed back over the line from coaching Houses in XV’s season to coaching a Commoner’s side for the first time in the cricket season. His team waas captained by Sam Humphreys (D) and James Kennedy (D).
The toss was won by George, who elected to field first, a decision that looked slightly dubious with the score at 50 for no loss after the fourth over, with both Commoners openers James and Stan well on their way to retirement scores. Two balls from Captain George changed this; a good catch from Jack Bristowe (A) and one bowled under the bat saw two new batsmen at the crease in the fifth over. Aryaveer batted well, making his thirty but others struggled to stay with him, with Rory (H) scoring 12 from three consecutive balls the highlight. Henry (H) chipped in with 11, Milo (H) with 10 and Arthur (D) with 11 to achieve a respectable 145 before they were bowled out for 18.4 overs. Nine bowlers were used from Houses, with George taking 5-4 from 2.4 overs certainly the pick. Wickets also went to Seb (A), Jack (A), Michael (I) and Hugo (I).
With a target of 145 from twenty, Amaar (I) and Will (B) started confidently, before two fantastic catches from Arthur (D) saw them dismissed for 10 and 24 respectively from the bowling of James and Stanley. When Angus (I) was bowled by George (D) the Commoners began to believe. Whilst Jack began to steady the ship, George completed his spell (before heading off to the Gun Run) with two more wickets, a stunning out swinger removing Shrestha’s middle stump first ball and another good ball cleaning out off stump for Arthur (B) who made 5. George stepped to the crease and rotated the strike well, allowing Jack to retire with 35 still needed to win. Vikrant almost saw them home with a solid 15 before he was caught behind by Milo from Henry’s bowling. Seb joined George in the middle with 11 still needed and he took the single to get off strike, allowing George to take control, winning the game after 16 overs.
It was a well fought game played in the right spirit, and a good example of school cricket to the hundred or so spectators who stayed to watch. The favourites won, but a valiant effort from the underdogs made it much closer than expected. (JPT)
Tennis v Old Wykehamists
U18A’ & Bs: Unsurprisingly, given this season's results, the current Wykehamists made short work of their decrepit forebears on Wykeham Day. The first pair of Lee and Van-Every even came close to inflicting an ignominious bagel on RJHM (Coll: 2004-9) and H. Duncan (Coll: 2016-21). The old-boy pair escaped with one game and a trace of their dignity remaining. The highlight of the day was the match between the respective first pairs with Van-Everys major and minor facing off in a clash sure to produce a frosty drive home, whatever the result. Freddie and Chris eventually prevailed 8-6. A good day had by all and signs that the OW team will be getting much stronger very soon! (RJHM)
During the morning some outstanding tennis was on display as the House doubles finals were played. In the seniors’ competition an incredible array of power and precision was on show and it looked like the Freddie’s pair of Chris Lee & Xingchen Cao might warp things up very quickly. However, the Hopper’s pair of Ollie Gibbon and Tom Howman launched a brave fight back and took the 2nd set to a tie break but couldn’t quite push the match to a deciding set.
In the juniors’ final there were several long and hard-fought rallies between the College pair of Oscar Oldenhove and Harry Latimer and the Furley’s pair of Lukas Brunner and Jack Bristowe. In the end some of the added experience from Brunner, who has been playing up in the School 1st VI all season, proved pivotal and Furley’s took the title.
Croquet v Old Wykehamists / Demonstration Game: Won 14 – 10.
A very civilized and pleasurable game ended in a narrow victory for the current pupils. With thanks to the OWs who played, and best wishes to Aston Wade, who was unavailable due to commitments in even more important croquet fixtures, if you can imagine such things.
Fencing
Wykeham day morning saw the finals of the individual sword and house competitions in the PE Centre. In the Sabre final Edward Thomson narrowly beat Kostya Evdokimov by 15-14 with the trophy going to College. It was a high-quality final with the score see-sawing with a final tense deciding point. The Foil final saw Adam Porter against Gleb Koval. Adam got off to a quick start leading 9-3. Gleb came back with four hits in a row before Adam regained composure to win 15-9. The Epee final was another tense affair, once more contested by Adam Porter against Gleb Koval. They stayed within a couple of points, until Gleb lead 8-7, went on to win two more points to 10-7, but then a fightback from Adam saw him take the narrowest of victories 14-15.
The Inter house match between “Trant’s” (Kostya Evdokimov, Sebastian Yap and Adam Porter) vs “College” (Edward Thomson, Johan Thomasson, William Goltz) started with sweet revenge for Kostya against Ed (15-14) in the Sabre. Sebastian vs Johan in the foil saw a clean sheet for Seb, but Johan did well to hold his technique. The last bout saw the exiting Captain, William Goltz, handing on the baton to incoming Captain Adam Porter in the Epee. In the end it was victory to Trant’s, who now have three fencing trophies including the historic Kirby Foils trophy. (NAT)
All fixtures details can be found on: https://sportsfixtures.winchestercollege.org/
Sporting quote for the week:
“Mistakes are the necessary steps in the learning process; once they have served their purpose, they should be forgotten and not repeated.” (Vince Lombardi, Former NFL Coach)
M.S. Burley
Director of Sport
21st June 2022
Twitter: @WinCollSports