Sports Report – Cloister Time 2024, Week 5

Thursday 14th May 2024: Cricket: National U15 Cup v Millfield School (a)

On Thursday 16th May lead by Mr Flynn, Mr Gover and Mr Smith the U15A's headed down to Millfield to play in their 2nd round National cricket cup match.

Millfield won the toss and inserted us into bat on what looked to be a really good batting wicket. We notched up a total of 158/9 including a standout performance from Amar (I) with 61 off 71 balls including a crucial partnership of 44 between him and James (A) to take us from 56-5 to 100-6 when we were under real pressure. Some late blows from Casper (E) and Holly (I) also helped us with our very defendable total.

Our bowling innings started well with Casper (E) taking a wicket with his very first ball!! The Millfield batters looked to be in control but some tight bowling from Ray (D), Tom (E) and Issac (K) reduced Millfield from a comfortable 49-1 to 128-5. Winchester had a sniff for sure but however it was not meant to be as the Millfield lower order did their job and knocked off the runs with 3 wickets to spare.

A fantastic effort from all the boys, one which they should be very proud of. I know as coaches we certainly were. (TJF)

Golf U16s v Charterhouse (a)

After an unexpected downpour (responsible for Athla's demise), the U16s were given the go-ahead to travel to Charterhouse away. Winchester's 1st pair Phoom and Bibee started strong, with a 2-hole lead at the fifth. However, after an unfortunate twist of events, Charterhouse began creeping up to only just beat Winchester. In the meantime, 2nd pair Bruno and Nigel quickly pulled away from Charterhouse from the off, winning by a convincing 5 holes. Having won the first few holes in the final two games, Charterhouse's 3rd and 4th pairs managed to keep their early momentum through the round, with the Winchester pairs never quite recovering from the early Charterhouse blitz. A close 3-1 loss overall, but a good performance throughout the team. [B Lewis, E]

Saturday 18th May 2024

Athletics: Home meet v Bloxham, Canford, Charterhouse, Dauntsey’s, Marlborough & Portsmouth Grammar School

The Winchester home meet has grown to such an extent that we now host six other schools with over 200 visiting competitors as well as parents / spectators making it the biggest single inter-school sports fixture we host. On a fantastic day up at the University of Winchester Stadium the WinColl team pulled out all the stops to take the win in the overall Boys’ competition. There were equal 1st place finishes in the Junior & Senior Boys and 3rd place in the Inter Boys, based on some outstanding individual performance as well as strength in depth by having athletes compete in every event.

Across the competition there were multiple 1st places: Athletics’ captain Gus B (F) claimed his customary double victory in the SB 110m Hurdles and High Jump, Jad G (C) threw a new pb to take 1st place in the SB Shot, Issa D (I), running up an age group, grabbed 1st place and a new pb in the SB1500m. In the Inter Boys competition Felix C (E) continued his progress with an excellent new pb and 1st place in the 100mH, Ivor M (G) galloped home for 1st place in the 800m with a new pb and Ed F (B ) took the Discus victory with a new pb. In the junior boys’ competition Osamede A (G) took 1st place with a new pb in the Shot to go alongside his 2nd place finishes in the 200m, discus and long jump. There were also season’s bests or new personal bests for Seb P (K) in the JB 80mH and 300m, Jayden O (C) in the JB Triple jump, Kaito K-W (F) in the SB400m, Jeffrey C (C) in the SB Long jump, Tominiyi O (D) in the SB Triple jump and Anthony CB (B) in the SB Javelin.

The highlight of the afternoon was the final event of the competition, the Senior Boys 4 x 400m. A superb performance from Jeffrey, Gus, Anthony and Kaito saw them run a controlled race to provide Kaito with the opportunity to anchor the team home in a new school record, breaking their record from the start of term by five seconds!

Many thanks to JGW, JXD, JS, DJR, NAT2, WEG for their help as timekeepers, CSM and OXM for recording all the results and AF and Ernest Y (G) for painstakingly collating and entering every result.

Cricket v Bryanston School, St Edward’s Oxford, Butterflies XI

On a slightly overcast, but warm day, Lords lost the toss and were asked to bat by Bryanston. We had to work hard, particularly in the first 10 overs or so, where there was a slight inconsistency in the bounce of the wicket and the Bryanston bowlers produced some good deliveries. However Charlie in particular was quick onto anything pitched short to him and played some good pull shots and with Henry rotating well, they put on 92 for the first wicket. Unfortunately, both were bowled in quite quick succession by the Bryanston left arm spinner, who bowled very tidily, Charlie making 56 and Henry 24 respectively.

Seb and Jack kept the scoreboard ticking along, although both found boundaries quite hard to come by, however they put on a good 83 run partnership before Jack was also bowled for 41. Aaron, 12 off 10, Stephen 14* off 11, James 9* off 9 pushed for quick runs at the end of the innings, all making useful contributions and Seb made 59 from 67 which enabled us to post a competitive looking 241-5 from our 50 overs.

Bryanston started their reply quite well and were 44-1 off 10.5 overs (Aaron taking the wicket), when it rained very hard for about 20 minutes. After some "mopping up" of the surface and removal of covers by both sets of players, we were able to continue. Bryanston were now set 216 from 39 overs (Duckworth Lewis calculation).

Henry brought on Tom Howard (Lords debut) and George and that certainly had the desired affect of drying up the runs. Tom initially took 2 wickets also and was replaced by Amar Fernando (Lords debut), who bowled a very consistent line and length and soon had the Bryanston batters in trouble. He bowled an excellent spell of 6 overs and finished with figures of 4-20, George at the other end bowling his 8 overs 1-30, also a good spell. Tom H returned and bowling with good control and decent spin, picked up a further 2 wickets to finish with figures of 4-28 and Bryanston were all out for 124 in 31.3 overs, a win by 91 runs.

This was a good performance with some good contributions all round with the bat and fantastic debuts with the ball from Amar and Tom. However, I felt that we also probably had the best of the conditions (PNG)

2nd XI v Butterflies (h): Won by 7 wickets. 199 for 3 against 197 for 3.

The mighty 3rd XI won the Toss and put in Bryanston for a T20 Blast. We started well with an early wicket but then a strong Bryanston batter smashed some great shots to put us on the back foot. When he was dismissed him for 74 we kept the score down with some tight bowling which meant we were chasing 139 for victory. Vikrant Kheterpal and Isaac Haines started well and kept us on track. When Vikrant was caught behind we carefully played the ball around well with some excellent running between the wickets. Isaac was the main stay making 45 and running himself out needing just 1 to win. James Kitson came in and smashed a 6 to secure a great win for the 3rd XI by 4 wickets. 144 for 6 against 138 for 8. (JRD)

The Senior XI Girls enjoyed a closely fought fixture which Bryanston narrowly won off the last ball. Winchester posted 97 off their 20 overs with some outstanding batting from Amara, Maya (Capt), Kansola, Cleo and Bea. All players contributed with the bat, and it was particularly pleasing to see some well taken singles as players ran intelligently between the wickets. We only lost two wickets which was testament to carefully placed shots and sensible defensive play.

However, Bryanston prevailed with the bat scoring 101 as their middle two pairs hit a number of boundaries. Kansola and Maya took several wickets with Maya delivering the ball of the day to clean bowl a Bryanston batter. Kansola took a first rate caught & bowled, Kate and Amelie managed some tight bowling throughout the game and Seraphina, Anna and Michele set the standard in the field with accurate throws and plenty of backing up. Overall, this game was played with an excellent spirit by all players and the two teams were evenly matched. [AEH].

This was a disappointing end to the season for the Senior Colts. Inconsistent bowling and fielding mistakes resulted in St Edward’s scoring about 40 more runs than they should have done. The team batted well again and started at a good pace, but could not maintain the rate once the St Edward’s bowlers tightened up their line and length. This team has improved hugely since their first game, and it is frustrating that they have no more games in which to improve themselves; the results column does not fairly reflect progress or positive attitude. They have shown that they have the ability to perform well at senior level in the coming years. Lost by 13 runs. 125 for 5 against 138 for 3 [LNT]

Having eventually navigated to the (comparatively) vast arena of Wadham College Sports Ground, Sen: Colts ‘B’ were invited to a ‘Hundredesque’ 16-over format by our hosts. Promoted to open, Gianna-Garcia (27) and McGregor (13) dealt admirably with considerable sideways movement on a simultaneously green and dusty wicket. The lush outfield necessitated aggressive running and ‘Coach’ Douglas was pleased to see Gordon (15*) and Street (7*) push the score from 55 to 84 in the last 3 overs. A couple of excellent catches were held early in the St. Edward’s innings by Mehrotra and wicketkeeper Spier (who has been a most reliable gloveman all season) to leave Teddy’s 44-3 in the 9th over, but their captain held firm and scored a well-deserved fifty to bring them over the line with a couple of overs to spare. Nevertheless an enjoyable end to the B’s season in the Oxford sunshine – ‘Coach’ Douglas will produce full statistics imminently with accompanying ‘insights’ appropriate to 21st century ‘data science’. Lost by 10 wickets. 84 for 3 against 85 for 0 [‘Coach’ Douglas]

The Yearlings A travelled to Bryanston for their fixture against a mix of their U14’s and U15’s. Our team secured a well-deserved victory, demonstrating strong performances both in batting and bowling, with some excellent fielding too. Unfortunately, Casper (E) lost the toss again, and our opponent decided to bowl on a slightly soggy pitch. Batting first, we posted a total of 119-8 in our 30 overs, with a strong recovery from 37-5 off 13. Casper's impressive half-century set a solid foundation for our innings, with Hector (H) and Issac (K) adding valuable runs to the total. In the second half, our bowlers executed their plans effectively, leading to a successful defence of our score. Ollie's (B) consistent line and length were instrumental in maintaining pressure on the batsman and as a result claimed 2 early wickets, setting the tone for the innings. Ray (D) then maintained pressure and took 2 quick wickets. Casper's all-round performance was a highlight of the match; in addition to his stellar batting, he chipped in with 2 important wickets. Max (F) then bowled with much control and precision, taking two more wickets for the Yearlings team. Overall, it was a comprehensive team effort with significant contributions from both our batsmen and bowlers, resulting in a well-earned win. Winchester won by 45 runs. [Henry, I] (It should also be added that Henry took a stunning catch to remove their dangerous opener - JPT).

A lovely first trip to Bryanston was punctuated by a rain storm and culminated in a peal of church bells to celebrate a second YB victory.

At times we batted well, but all seven wickets were clean-bowled. The pitch kept low and the ball swung, but this doesn't excuse all of these. Sid opened and scored 20. Slade contributed 14 not out and Bertie Duckworth made a welcome return to form with 20 not out. The total of 132 from 20 felt a little light and a lack of discipline in the field let us down at the start of the chase.

It was only when Sam took two wickets from his first over that we felt like we had any control. He ended with 3-20 from a very accurate spell. Then Nikandros blew the middle-order away with 3-9 and victory was ours. (PAH)

Yearlings C v The Portsmouth Grammar School (h): Lost by 10 wickets. 101 for 6 against 103 for 0.

Tennis v Eton

Facing a strong Eton team, the 1st VI started slowly, trying to get used to Eton’s immaculate sandy courts. Our 2nd pair of Park and Hammerson-Jones had a tiring start to the day, taking both of their first two sets to a tiebreak, after being down 4-1 in the first match. The pair tried their best to overcome the big serves from Eton, however, in the end, both tiebreaks were lost by a tight margin (9-7 and 7-5). The 3rd pair of Sawbridge and Garrett also had a tough start to the day losing their first two sets 6-2 and 6-3.

Eton were winning 4-2 and it was looking like a long day until our 1st pair of Cao and Latimer, playing beautiful tennis throughout, picked up their 3rd win of the day against Eton’s first pair. Park and Hammerson-Jones then defeated their opposing pair 6-2 to take the overall score to 4-4. It all came down to Sawbridge and Garrett against Eton’s 3rd pair. Another tiebreak. A couple of brilliant forehands and excellent net play by Garrett and Sawbridge respectively gave the team two match points, with one on Ivo’s serve, at 6-4 in the tiebreak. A tense 7-shot rally proceeded, which was ended convincingly, at the net, by Garrett with a delicate drop volley to complete the comeback and bring Winchester the victory at 5-4 overall. [M Park, (F)]

The 2nd VI went to Eton to play on the clay. Tait (G) making his return after a successful debut for the 1sts. Williamson-Jones (A) and Inglis (B) continued to pick up on their unbeaten partnership but could not keep the run going, losing to Eton’s first pair 2-6 but winning their other games 6-1, 6-1. Sophia (H) and JP (E) won one and lost a close game in a tiebreak. Sadie (I) and Tait (G) fought well but struggled to find some fluency, winning just one match. Lost 4-5. [H Williamson-Jones, A]

The 3rd VI faced a very strong performance from Eton which ultimately led to the collapse of our team. Eton came out serving strong and finishing clinically. Some notable forehands from our 3rd pair Haoyang C. and Joshua M. as well as some beautiful serves from our 2nd pair Stefan U. and Will C. were unfortunately insufficient to win sets. Special mention goes to 1st pair Oli F. and Martin M, who, after some great teamwork, managed to win back games from a tough opponent, including a 30-minute long deuce. Although the score is perhaps a disappointing one, all three pairs showed a great improvement in the level of tennis, led by our glorious captain William Chipperfield. Lost 9-0 [M Moreno de Barreda, I]

It was a tough afternoon of tennis for the Senior Colts A against Eton who went home 9-0 victors from this encounter at Littleton. Despite some great shot making from T Coles and W Budden in particular, the Winchester pairings struggled to string their good shots into a consistent run of points. Hopefully a good week of weather and tennis on the training courts will see the Sen Colts A bring more consistent form to their next fixture. [TERC]

The Senior Colts B fought a close match with Eton coming out narrow victors with 5 sets to 4. Henri B and Jason C were unbeaten in their pairings and played remarkable, yet consistent, tennis. The win was brought home by Tristan F and Rufus W, with Tristan holding serve under pressure to win their final set 7-5. A glorious afternoon of tennis for the Sen Colts B. [TERC]

The U15s match against Eton was a lot of fun and a closely fought affair. All six first round matches were exciting contests with four of them going to tie breaks and a fifth going to 7-5. Both the As and Bs were losing 1-2 after the first round, having weathered the home disadvantage match-ups.

In the second round G Dolgopolov and F Matthews won 6-1 and A Nottin and D Kasimov won 6-2 leaving the As at 3-3. Meanwhile H Shen and W Suksriwong won the only match for the Bs, and so after the second round the Bs were at 2-4 meaning they could still win.

In the final round Alban and Dima played the Eton A1 pair and beat them 6-1 with the Eton coach commenting on how strong both their serves were. Unfortunately all five other pairs lost the final matches, despite winning plenty of games.

After the matches the Eton and Winchester boys continued to play in the sunshine while waiting for the Eton coach to arrive. The final scores of 4-5 and 2-7 will leave the Winchester teams looking forward to a rematch next year at Eton. [LJR]

The Yearlings tennis team enjoyed the fine hospitality of Eton's numerous courts to come away happy with two wins and two defeats. The A team narrowly missed out on their victory 4-5, which was disappointing but they must have all been happy with their performance. The B and C teams, however, both made up for this with clear victories with scores as high as 8-1. The Ds, after a closely fought match from all 3 pairs ended up with a frustratingly close score (4-5) similar to the As. The hearty match tea at the end was well deserved by all! – [Match report written by Player of the Match T Petrow (A)].

Rowing: Thames Ditton Regatta

After a thrilling first event of the season at Bristol and Avon Regatta, in which our J14 A quad (JP) won gold in the J15 4x Category, the JP rowers continued their successes at the Thames Ditton Regatta in London. Rowing on the River Thames against the backdrop of Hampton Court Palace is always a terrific experience and even more so for the young rowers as they competed against some of the best schools in the country.

After a loss to Radley B in the semi-finals of the J14 8x Cup, we quickly bounced back with two resounding victories over St. Paul’s B and Bryanston to win the Plate competition.

The J14 A Quad endured an unfortunate loss in the first round of the ‘Top’ Category to Molesey Boat Club after our boat’s rudder snapped just prior to racing. Despite this, they entered the Plate Competition and achieved two wins over Tiffin A and St George’s College A to win the category. Our J14 B and C crews rowed very well with one crew winning the General Class category by several lengths against Bryanston B. All in all, it was a terrific outing for the JP rowers in which each of the 15 boys came away with silverware. They hope to continue their successes next Friday as they compete in the National Schools Regatta on the Olympic Rowing Lake at Eton Dorney. [BKP]

Sunday 19th May 2024: Croquet ~ Southern Schools’ Invitational Tournament (n):

It was a privilege and a pleasure to see a team of four playing on Surbiton CC's top-quality lawns again this year in the glorious sunshine. Although we were missing one of our top players, Winchester won 2 of their 5 matches, including a 6-0 win in the final round. Taanvir strung together some impressive breaks and was the best player in the tournament, while our younger players Oli, Oliver and Anthony showed great skill and promise once they adapted to the unfamiliarly perfect playing surface. [DIF]

Finally, congratulations go to Mr Paul Gover, our Head Cricket Coach, for successfully achieving his ECB Level 4 Coaching Award. This course is an incredibly demanding one requiring extensive work across multiple modules and Mr Gover deserves our praise for earning this coaching accolade.

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

Sporting quote for the week:

“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do, and mostly live.” Dalai Lama

M.S. Burley

Director of Sport

21st May 2024

X: @WinCollSports