Boys’ Cricket

1st XI

For the second September running, a programme of cricket was put together at the start of the Michaelmas Term. This initiative over the last two seasons has been welcomed by many of the school’s top cricketers who can continue to excel at the game throughout September. Fixtures were played during this period with the highlights being a win over a combined Gloucestershire and Somerset Academy side and a loss by one run to Glamorgan Academy. The September cricket programme has certainly been a great success and I hope that this will continue in the future.

Having had October through till half term with no cricket, the winter training programme was certainly busy. Many of the top cricketers now have to balance winter training with the expectations of their cricket academies and the winter training period has become an essential part of each cricketer’s development.

There was a short pre-season prior to the Summer Term, starting with fixtures against a Cardiff Metropolitan University side and Marlborough College. Both fixtures were played without many of the academy players who were playing representative cricket during this week and both games ended in narrow losses as a result. The first competitive Saturday fixture of the term was on the Close against Wellington School. Signs through the winter would certainly have indicated that this would be a strong 1st XI and it was not unexpected that a nine wicket win against Wellington School was secured on this opening Saturday. Next came the opportunity to play against a touring side from New Zealand. No touring side had been able to visit Clifton since the summer of 2019. Once again, the side played some excellent cricket and won the game by five wickets.

The T-20 season starts early in the term and there were resounding victories over Blundell’s, Wellington School, South Gloucestershire and Stroud College before a frustrating loss to King’s Taunton, meaning that Clifton would not reach the latter stages of this competition. It is certainly tough to proceed to the quarterfinal stages when it is necessary to secure victories against King’s and Millfield, but this is a target for the future.

The standout performance for the 1st XI came against Malvern College on the second Saturday of the term. Clifton batted outstandingly to post 257 for nine in their 50 overs, much because of a wonderful innings of 136 from Captain Ben Kellaway. The Malvern chase started very positively, Clifton taking key wickets at key moments in the game. Eventually Clifton produced an exceptional bowling performance to win the game by 19 runs.

As mentioned earlier, it was disappointing not to be able to beat King’s in our T-20 clash, but it was also disappointing not to perform at our best when playing them in a full 50 over game on a Saturday. King’s is a tough place to go away to and win but on this occasion the side did not perform anywhere near the level they would have hoped. This was followed by an under-par performance on the Close against Millfield School who coasted to an impressive 112 run win.

Public exams have certainly had their effect on school cricket in recent years and this year was no exception; the pressures of playing during the tough exam period can certainly affect individual performances. As the exam season wanes the two day game against Rugby School becomes a highlight of the season. This year Clifton made all the running in the fixture, winning all of the six sessions played. However, as is the quirkiness of cricket, the game ended in a draw, despite Harry Robbins taking three wickets in the final over of the game, meaning that the Rugby School number 11 had to survive the final delivery in order to secure a draw.

It is always interesting to compare yourselves with sides from other parts of the world and it was also a unique opportunity to play against Rhonda Bosch High School from Cape Town on a Saturday. Having been in an excellent position to win the game with 20 overs remaining, the side struggled to maintain the required run rate and a subsequent collapse under pressure resulted in a disappointing Clifton loss.

Unfortunately the latter part of the season was affected by some inclement weather but a very convincing win against Abingdon School on the last Saturday of the term set up what looked to be a promising fixture against Magdalen College School in the final week of the term. As with the Rugby School fixture, this was to be a two-day game with 100 overs being bowled in each day. As the second day unfolded, the drama of timed cricket became apparent, something the players do not experience enough. Magdalen were in no position to declare on day two and so attempted to bat as long as they possibly could. Clifton bowled 68 overs in the second innings with Ryan Kilmister remarkably bowling 30 overs consecutively. Eventually the last Magdalen wicket was taken with Clifton being set a target of 70 to win. In very contrasting fashion, Clifton scored the 70 required from just 12 overs, securing a 10 wicket win. It was a brilliant day of attritional cricket.

Looking back, it was probably a season in which there was a huge amount of expectation about what the 1st XI could achieve and perhaps the side will reflect on not quite living up to this expectation. Our season and the success of it will always be based on whether or not we are competitive and beat King’s Taunton and Millfield and though this year we fell somewhere short, there is always this goal going forward. I have greatly enjoyed my 19 seasons overseeing the cricket at Clifton College and I am very proud of how the cricket has improved in that time. Clifton is certainly on the map as a strong cricket school and I very much hope that there will be more success in the future.

John Bobby

2nd XI

It is a rare thing to have such a pool of talented cricket players representing a school. To this end, the nomenclature of the side needed reviewing, as this is no ordinary 2nd IX. Another strength of the team was that the rich seam of talent came from no one year group and throughout the season it has been great to see players from across the year groups working together and learning from each other. As in all talent pools, there has been much flux into the 1st XI and the team has offered 32 students the opportunity to represent senior cricket. A huge amount of cricket was played too. Thirteen games were played and fixtures versus Bromsgrove, Abingdon and Exeter were cancelled or abandoned due to rain.

A season opener against Cardiff Metropolitan University 2nd XI provided a good opportunity to develop our limited over game. Although a loss, it was a close game. Cardiff Met posted 120 and Clifton’s chase reached 116. The next two Saturday fixtures against Kingswood School and Malvern allowed us to post some large batting targets, scoring 183 and 223 respectively. Ted Philips scored 58 and Marcus Allan 57 against Kingswood with some tight bowling, particularly from Daniel Broome (3-1) and Katie Dolman (2-22). Malvern saw some more impressive batting performances with Jonny Sadler (114) taking advantage of some fast outfields, hitting 13 fours and Will Windows (67) not requiring use of the outfield by hitting three sixes. Jacob Stevenson, Daniel Broome and Charlie Allen all bowled extremely well to keep the visitors’ run rate down and take regular wickets. Prior Park provided more opportunity for an on form Sadler to score another 50 and we posted 146-6 and were able to restrict Prior Park to 104 with both Philips and Irfan taking two wickets apiece. King’s College, Taunton provided a competitive game, eventually winning by one wicket. King’s won an important toss and sensibly elected to bat. Dolman, Broome and Stevenson all bowled well to take two wickets each and kept a very good King’s batting line up to only 151. After a good start we were not able to manage a controlled chase and the balance slid towards King’s. Convincing wins against Monkton Combe, Taunton School and Queen’s College, Taunton led to the final game of the half term against Millfield. A frustrating game where a good Millfield side forced some poor batting performances. Only Marcus Allan (30) and the extras total (42) were able to make significant gains. Millfield chased us down for only the loss of three wickets. The game against Cheltenham allowed us to reorganise and demonstrate some cool batting to chase down the Cheltenham total of 188. Aaron Davies was the pick of the bowlers, taking (3-25). After a shaky start losing some early wickets, Marcus Allen (31), Sam Brooks (48) and Joseph Davis (39) all contributed to a successful run chase. Hereford Cathedral School provided our last competitive game, despite a heavy rain burst on arrival at the ground. Hereford won the toss and set a total of 88 in a now shortened 20/20 game. There was excellent bowling from Teddy Hallett (3-12), Will Maxwell (2-18) and Will Windows (2-2) and sharp ground fielding, creating and taking chances. Both Syed brothers set the ball rolling and contributions from Windows and Fielder set up the win.

Thank you to all those who have contributed their time and positive attitudes towards the team. Some excellent performances from all who played but particular mentions go to Jonny Sadler, the highest run scorer with 302, and Dan Broome who contributed 12 wickets. Thank you also to Mr O’Sullivan who has umpired many of the games.

Ben Bates & Alan O’Sullivan

3rd XI

It has been a great season for the 3rd XI. Although not the unbeaten season to which we were all aspiring, the boys can hold their heads up high as the two losses went down to the final over and both matches could have easily gone in our favour. Further highlights include a 42 run victory over King’s Taunton and a superb last ball win over Cheltenham where Will Faulkner drove a huge six back over the bowler’s head. Throughout the season there were some fine individual performances: Archie Symonds and Fin Fielder achieved half centuries on several occasions; Felix Willis and Arran Sen made important contributions with the bat; with ball in hand, the Neil brothers were a constant threat; and Rui Palmer’s pace struck fear into the opposing batsmen. A special thank you to Will Maloney and Oli Neil who co-captained the 3rds this year. Their enthusiasm and energy on the long Saturday afternoons propelled the team on a regular basis.

Adam Dixon

4th XI

First up for the 1862s was Wellington on the Plateau. A huge six from George Millet (‘Steak’) early on in the innings looked promising, but a full collapse of the batting lineup saw the fall of the middle and bottom order in a matter of minutes despite resistance from Jacob Thompson, hitting a glorious cover drive for four. However, the seam attack of Will Stoodley and Scott Wilson made light work of the Wellington lineup, bringing home the first win of the season.

BGS away began with some good runs from our batting lineup. Zaki Adamson and Joe Naughton made 40 odd for the first wicket before George came in for a big biff making, accompanied by Sonny Walton and a brief moment of Tom Murray swinging like a rusty gate. We defended the total comfortably and a special mention goes to Scott for taking a 5-for (the first in the 1862’s history), accompanied by the big quicks of Alex Warren and Will to dismantle the BGS lineup on the way to victory.

The winning streak continued against King’s, Taunton. A superb bowling performance skittled King’s for a low total of just over 100, which gave us an easy chase. After a tidy start from our openers, a classic mid-innings collapse was halted by Sam Russ hitting a few boundaries and the entry of Scott at number 11. He went on to hit winning runs at last man - 4* (2)with a glorious cut off a full ball to see the team home.

Next was BGS on the Close. A good start was created by Joe and Zaki, followed by great runs from Steak and finished off with a huge six from Will. The rest, as they say, is history. We defended the total well in front of the whole school. Special mentions go to the pace attack of Alex, and to Will and Scott for some very tight bowling. A comfortable win meant we won the series 2-0 against their 3rd/2nd XI.

The match against Taunton saw us lose the toss and go out to field, bowling our opposition out for just shy of 100. Ned McKinlay nicked off several batmen before the balls were helped on their way to the boundary rope by Sonny behind the stumps.

Zaki’s spell of googlies made it tricky for the Taunton batsmen throughout the middle overs after one over from Alex where the batsman played and missed at all six balls on fifth stump. Tom and Will were sent out to the middle to open the batting. Will played a fine innings to take a chunk out of the total, followed by a classic 1862s batting collapse. Joe played a reverse sweep/switch hit on his first ball, going for two, and then his second ball went straight into the hands of cover, leading to the entry of Alex at the crease. It only took him one ball to win the game and lose the ball, giving himself a season strike rate of 600. For the second time in the season (first by Alex and this time by Captain Max Hanson) someone managed to get out twice in two balls.

Our next match was against Millfield, a team who had evidently spent longer coming up with sledges than they had batting in the nets. The 1862s didn’t have a brilliant innings with the bat, leading to us being 86-8 after the front row bowling areas for 16 overs, but a great innings from Will and an amazing tenth wicket partnership between him and Alex led to a respectable 134 off 20 overs. At the break we weren’t too confident, considering the potential hitting ability of the opposition. Cue Zaki Adamson. Having been given the chance to bowl fast for the first (and only) time this season, he tore through the Millfield batting lineup, claiming a season’s best of 6 -11 from his four overs. This allowed the 1862s to bowl out Millfield for 38, claiming a 96 run victory. One win away from an unbeaten season…

“Brothers,

Our final away game of the season was at Cheltenham.

Tom moved up the order to form a new opening partnership, which did not disappoint. Tom and Zaki made 100 for the first wicket of eight overs, with Zaki making the team’s first ever 50 (63) and Tom making 43. When Will and George got together in the late middle overs the fireworks began with sixes all around the ground. This momentum was carried forward by Ned, making 23 off not many deliveries, even bringing out the reverse paddle for four. The team finished on a huge 200 off the 20 overs. Cheltenham 3rds looked to have a sturdy batting lineup but tight bowling from Ned, Alex and Will secured a convincing victory, with lightning fast stumpings from Sonny.

“Tour next lads?” - Max Hanson

“Strength and Honour”

Max’s Army

Sonny Walton (ST), Tom Murray (ST), Zaki Adamson (ET) and Max Hanson (ST)

U15a

A very good season for the U15As. Losing the first game narrowly to Malvern by nine runs, the team bounced back and were on a winning run, playing against a tough circuit of schools. The U15s love their cricket and are always in the nets or practising their fielding and have a good work ethic. This showed in the results against King’s Taunton, Millfield, Marlborough, Cheltenham, Winterbourne in the Area Cup Final and Marlborough in the Regional Cup Final. Zaman Shafi was an inspirational captain, leading from the front. His field placings, bowling changes and encouragement for his teammates was excellent. The brilliance of his wicket-keeping and batting at three meant that he scored important runs. Syed, Brooks, Hallett, Warby and Shafi have been a strong top five, getting valuable runs over the course of the season. There were outstanding hundreds from Syed against QEH, Brooks against Cheltenham and Davison against Hereford, whilst the wickets were shared equally among Litt, Moloney, Read, Martin, Willis, Brooks, Hallett, Warby and Herring. The boys have shown great character, composed and calm under pressure. The players who stepped up from the Bs all played their part and the culture between the As and Bs was good.

Reggie Williams

U15b

A fantastic season for the U15Bs. We saw a high level of performance from various players and the team as a whole that was unmatched in previous years. The opening bowlers of Unwin, Weston and Dixon left opposition sides reeling, middle overs spin from Delaney and Bahl bamboozled, and the batters, often Fraser-Hawkins, Davison and Hammond, came out to send the ball to all parts. Others contributed so much in runouts, catches, and death bowling, batting steadily to allow the others to shine and so these names are just a few of the stars in the group. Wins against Millfield, King’s Taunton, Cheltenham College and Malvern show the high ability in this set of cricketers. It would be a mistake not to acknowledge the fantastic contribution of Adam Davison in this report. He averaged 116 as an opening bat for the first half of term and kept wicket admirably, contributing stumpings over the course of the term that would grace an A team. The attitude to training was positive too, with bowlers charging in the nets and batters grooving the game. Club cricket helped them to put lessons learnt into practice and benefitted the group. The area for this group to work on for senior cricket is fielding, which can be inconsistent. Well done for your excellent cricket and for bringing many a smile to the faces of parents and coaches alike.

Jay Gardner

U14a

The U14A team had a fantastic first season at Clifton. Early fixtures against Malvern and a cup game against Kingswood demonstrated the batting prowess of Lewis Popple and captain Logan Bowden as well as a very handy bowling attack led by Rhys Baker and Mac Isaacs. The first challenge came at King’s, Taunton. On a very batting-friendly pitch, the hosts scored 260-5 off their 30 overs. The enormity of the chase was met head on by Popple who scored an aggressive 120 off 80 balls, ably supported by Baker and Seb Bowen. Unfortunately, Clifton finished 18 runs short but it was a brilliant effort and one that gave the coaches plenty of confidence for the season. Next up, Taunton School and it was the turn of Bowden to raise his bat, with a 120 leading the team to a comfortable victory. A trip to Millfield always prompts some nervousness from the coaches but the team had a new sense of togetherness and brought up a five-wicket victory. Harry Brunskill and Oli Hosier were the pick of the bowlers, with runs from Popple and supported by Nathaniel Phillips.

A couple of 20/20s bookended half term, with a victory against Marlborough resulting in yet more runs for Popple (88*), and a first appearance on the Close against local rivals QEH in the cup. A bowling performance to remember saw Taylor Hodgson, Rhys Baker and Rhys Davies keep the opposition to 77 all out, before Popple and Phillips steered the team to victory.

Cheltenham were next to visit the Plateau and were restricted to 142/6 off their 30 overs following excellent bowling by Toby Littlejohn, Brunskill and Baker. Baker then showed off his allround talents with an unbeaten 40, along with Bowden (40*) to win with five overs to spare.

The final of the regional cup was against Beechen Cliff on the Close. Clifton batted first and saw contributions from Bowden and Sai Kollareddy to take the score to 126/6 off their allotted 20 overs. A nervous crowd watched the visitors’ openers race to 25 off the first three overs before Seb Bowen was able to pocket a catch and remove their danger man. After that, tight bowling by Baker, Davies and Littlejohn ensured the cup win in what turned out to be the final game of the season as rain denied the team of games against Bromsgrove and Abingdon.

A superb and thoroughly enjoyable season, this team have shown excellent spirit and resilience and we fully expect that their cricketing journey at Clifton is only just beginning.

Charlie Balfour & Charlie Callander

U14b

Despite the season being bookended with fixtures cancelled to ‘rain stopped play’, the spirit of the U14B team couldn’t be dampened. From the initial training sessions, a strong team morale was forged among the boys, and this grew when the term started with a victory against Malvern College. A superb bowling display from

Ben McKinlay saw him picking up wickets with a caught behind, knocking over a stump, and trapping a batsman for lbw. This bowling was helped with Will Brown hitting a masterful 39. However, with the next fixture against the stiffer competition of King’s College, Taunton, Clifton were undone. This was despite the over of the season from Will Jephcott (. W W 2nb W .) and Vinnie Sims hitting a skilful 25. A victory the following week at Taunton School was sealed when Eddy Muggridge finished with fantastic bowling figures of 4 for 8 from two overs. However, the term ended with three losses in a row against Millfield School, Marlborough College, and Cheltenham College, and the final two matches of the term (Bromsgrove School and Abingdon School) being rained off. An honourable mention to Matthew Lane for returning to wicketkeeping after a two-year hiatus and taking a catch behind the stumps in every match! Among the challenging matches, the team showed great sporting conduct and camaraderie throughout the season and they have been a real pleasure to coach. Well done, and thanks.

Patrick Jones

U14c

This was a great season for the U14C squad and the spirit in which the game was played was superb. The team was made up of boys who had played a fair bit of cricket and others who were new to the game and it was excellent to see the boys bring on and help the less experienced players. Charlie Williams did a great job of creating a positive team atmosphere as captain. They trained well in the week and took on board the feedback given to them. The highlight of the season must be the final ball victory against Taunton School where Clifton needed just one run to win. Archie Johnson got bat on ball and set off, passing Peter Yang running flat out to the other end to scramble home! This was a great day out in the sun. We hope that boys enjoyed their cricket and some of the new players have enjoyed learning the game. Please carry on playing and loving the game, win or lose!

Nick Luker & Dom Harris