The traditional Nationals warm up of the Rugby School Challenge saw us enter two teams and with the club coming second in the boys’ team competition as well as second in the combined team competition, it was our best ever result in this competition. Injury and exam preparation saw the regulars joined by Oliver Palmer (U6, L), Alfie Weston (4th, BH), Ben Southall (4th BH) and Kieran Thorley (5th, BH). The culmination of the target season is the British Schools and Young Shots Championship. College was able to field two boys’ teams but unfortunately injury meant that the girls were not able to build on their success at Harrow School. The A team of Oliver Palmer (U6, L), Thomas Hartley (4th, H), Killian Hughes (5th, S), Alfie Weston (4th, BH), Ben Southall (4th, BH) and Shakhin Zamani (5th, NH), all shot well and came a fantastic seventh place, with Oliver coming 19/92 and Thomas 40/92. The B team of Henry Johnson (5th, H), Tommy Haddock (3rd, H), Christian Campbell (4th, BH), Pat Euarchukiati (L6, BH) and Jack McClure (5th, L) came a joint seventh in their respective competition. Despite illness striking one of the team on the morning of the competition, meaning they had to travel light, the team did especially well!
Olympic disciplines and that more hot shots can join Oliver, Thomas and Christian on the various Talent Pathway programmes being run by British Shooting. Confirmation of our partnership with British Shooting was received during the Summer Term when we were visited by Christian Schofield, Pathway Co-ordinator and Talent Coach, to see how our new Down The Line (DTL) coaching programme was developing.
Mr Chris Reid
Cricket Cricket Tour
Over the course of Easter holidays, we took 14 pupils to Dubai to take part in the ARCH U19 Trophy at Emirates School as part of our pre-season preparations. The focus of the trip was very much on development, as the squad contained players from the Fourth Form upwards. We played four 40 over matches in the main competition and two T20 games against local club sides. All the games were played at first class facilities and proved to be excellent preparation for all those involved. The standard of opposition was strong and the boys were challenged in all areas of the game. The honours were even in the T20 games and the squad won 2 and lost 2 in the main competition.
1st XI
Record: played 13; won 6; lost 7; abandoned 8
Usually the British Schools and Young Shots Championship would have been the end of the season but the exciting declaration of clays as an official College sport for the Summer Term meant not only that the club could continue to develop its sporting target skills but also that it could now ensure that pupils are exposed to the
to play. They posted a strong total of 257 for 6 from their 40 overs, with Alex Mason (2006-2001, H) scoring 88. Josh Dell was once again in fine form with the bat, scoring 80, but despite his efforts, we fell short of the target by 34 runs. The following day saw a fine victory over the Gloucestershire Under 17 side. Half centuries from openers James Palmer and Matt Ward put us in a strong position before a fine 90 from Jono Jamieson-Black helped us to set the County 304 to win from their 50 overs. They were always under pressure to keep up with the required run rate and they were eventually bowled out for 231. A thrilling last ball defeat to Clifton College followed but 149 from 35 overs was always going to be difficult to defend; the boys stuck to their task and kept the pressure on Clifton but they snuck home with one ball to spare.
SPORT
Coming 10th and 20th from a field of 23, the boys’ teams continued their progress. Special mention should go to Christian Campbell (4th, BH) who replaced Pat Euarchukiati (L6, BH) and scored a respectable 36/50. But the performance of the day must go to the girls’ team of Lucy Cieslik (L6, Q), Alisa Sedova (4th, W), Molly Corbett (3rd, W) and Daisy Broughton (3rd, W), who came second to the very strong Wellington College team by only nine.
The game against Abingdon School was again rain affected but it failed to overshadow a magnificent 135 from Matt Ward. We then reduced the opposition to 72 for 6 before the weather closed in. A nine wicket win over Sherborne School followed, which included a strong all round performance from Josh Dell; 85 not out and 3 for 21 from his 10 overs. Further frustration then followed against Rugby School when rain intervened after James Palmer’s commanding 89 left us stranded on 142 for 3 after just 22 overs. The format then changed to T20 on the Friday evening before Speech Day, when we welcomed the University of Bristol Cricket Club. Batting first, we posted 146 from our 20 overs; Matt Ward top-scored with 53 not out. The game went down to the final over, with 13 needed to win. Joe Warner held his nerve with the ball and won by 4 runs. The traditional Speech Day fixture against the Gloucestershire Gipsies then followed, when the teams play for the Martin Stovold Cup. The Gipsies, captained by M. P. Briers, proved too strong on this occasion and won by four wickets with an over to spare. Fittingly, Kyle Stovold (2001-2006, NH) hit the winning runs after a magnificent 85 not out from Jack Dymoke (20072012, NH).
Josh Dell (Captain, U6, H)**, James Palmer** (L6, BH), Matthew Ward* (U6, L), Jono Jamieson-Black** (L6, H), Daniel Ward (5th, NH), Jason Soames (5th, BH), Gianluca Mech* (U6, Xt), Max Dymoke (L6, NH), Benedict Frisby (L6, L), Joe Warner* (U6, S), Max Hickman* (U6, H), Edward Cutler (U6, S) Coaches: Mr Matt Coley; Mr Mark Briers ** denotes Full Colours * denotes Half Colours The regular season was unfortunately marred by some extremely poor weather (snow on the morning of the Radley College fixture!), but despite having eight fixtures abandoned, the XI still managed to complete 13 matches, winning six and losing seven. The season began with the visit of Wellington College for a 30 over match. Josh Dell batted superbly to score 101 not out as we posted a total of 156 for 4 from our allotted overs. The rain then intervened and sadly no further play was possible. The Old Cheltonians were the next visitors to College and a number of recent OCs turned up
A trip down to Taunton for a new fixture against Kings College proved to be a tough lesson for the XI. Kings have become somewhat of a force to be reckoned with on the schools’ cricket circuit, and their side contains a number of players on the books at Somerset County Cricket Club. Our bowlers fought hard and restricted their scoring during the early part of their innings, however, the opposition’s depth showed and they scored quickly at the end, posting 266 from their 50 overs. We then became bogged down and the pressure led to wickets falling at regular intervals. A spell of 4 for 11 from one of their spinners ripped the heart out of our middle-order and we eventually fell for just 100; a tough lesson in all areas of the game. The John Harvey Cup is a 50 over competition contested between ourselves, Radley College, Bradfield College, Winchester College, Marlborough College, and St Edward’s School, Oxford. Points are on offer in each game for batting, bowling and then winning the matches. Having lost the Radley fixture to rain, we faced Bradfield in our first match. We scored 235 but
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