As the County Championship enters its final, doubtless rain-affected week, it seems a good time to report on the 1st XI’s thrilling win in the ONA match back in July and some welcome recognition for the progress of Y12 keeper-batter Poppy Camplin, who – in breaking news! – has been called up to the Southern Vipers Emerging Players Programme for 2023/24.
After bowling the ONA out cheaply, with all the bowlers performing with credit, and Jimmy Herdman sending down rockets that must have touched 80mph, the school seemed confident of victory at the halfway mark on the last Wednesday evening of the Summer Term. Jack Davis, once again, was the only ONA batter to hold us up after skipper, James Bird, had been bowled by a rapid Herdman yorker. It was great to see Y13s, Elliot Crouch, George Greenwood, Nathan Delavere and Dan Rutt returning for a final time to wear the new school caps. This fantastic foursome have done so much to put senior cricket on the footing that it is, post-pandemic, and current players owe them a debt of gratitude. However, before we knew it, St Bart’s were four wickets down with zero on board as Callum Johnson, in particular, bowled with bite and guile.
Step forward Herdman and Bart’s Captain, Harrison Blakemore, who were not only calm in the storm but made the weather themselves with an astonishing unbroken partnership of 120 – full of forthright drives, crunching pulls and clever sweeps, which had to been seen to be believed. (Fortunately, Mr Robbins was a witness.) Thanks to all who took part and especially Mike Hart for umpiring and adjudicating player of the match (it went to Y9 Ben Lawson for his relentlessly accurate bowling), Will Herrington for organising the ONA side and, most of all, Tricia Ray for the ONA’s sponsoring of food in the Falkland clubhouse afterwards.
With a strong Y10 cohort and some new players in Y12, next season holds plenty of promise – and it will be hoped that Poppy can turn out for us in the second iteration of the Toby Radford Trophy, which received national press coverage in The Cricketer over the summer, if her commitments with the Vipers, the leading women’s side in the game, allow. Many congratulations to her and best of luck.
At our recent Open Evening, our Year 10 Living for Sport group had a great opportunity to work alongside athlete Mentors Toby Garbett and Susie Dear.
Both Toby and Susie worked on team building activities, including rowing machines, with our Living for Sport group and gave them an insight into working towards challenges. They also encouraged many of the visiting Year 6 students to try out the rowing machines.
