Cricket  Reports (1974)

Played 11 Won 2 Drawn 3 Lost 6

The 1st XI record is a modest one to say the least, the only victories being over the Old Boys by 2 wickets and Herschel High School by 54 runs. With so few boys in the Sixth Form with any cricket ability and the Fifth Form players inevitably taking time to adjust themselves to the higher grade, we expected a disappointing season; but this does not excuse the lack of concentration and determination shown by many batsmen which cost us the chance of winning or drawing several matches.

The task of captaining the side fell to T. Fazakerley and, although he showed sound cricket sense, he would have got fare more from his team with a more authoritarian approach. The cares of the captaincy often seemed to weigh him down and his own form with the bat was very depressing, not least to himself. The best batting performances came in the last week of the season when N. Stevens scored 64 and A. Thom 45 against Herschel High School, and the latter went on to make a fine 71 against The Staff XI.

The bowling relied heavily on A. Thom and G. Lowe. In his first season in the 1st eleven, Thom took 25 wickets, including 5 for 26 against John Lyon School. G. Lowe bowled with more accuracy and penetration as the season progressed and his best performances were 5 for 44 against R.G.S. High Wycombe and 4 for 22 against The Staff XI.

J. Kirkham and J. O'Connell did most of the slow bowling but they were generally too loose in either line or length to be really effective at this level.

The fielding, which could have done much to compensate for frail batting, rarely rose above the mediocre, although the steady improvement in the wicket-keeping of S. Entwistle was an encouraging feature.

Perhaps the most challenging fixture was against the Royal Grammar School, Colchester. This school has a strong cricket tradition and good amenities for playing the game; it was no surprise, therefore, when they scored 202 for 7 declared and then bowled us out for 75. There was clearly much to be learnt from such powerful opposition.

Many of this season's problems have been the result of a young side's lack of experience at senior level. I believe that much has been learnt in adversity and that we now have the nucleus of a team which will go from strength to strength in the next two seasons.

Full colours have been awarded to G. Lowe and A. Thom; and half-colours to S. Entwistle.

R. G. Birch

A combination of rain-soaked pitches and incomplete teams reduced the fixture list to three matches. In the first of these we beat Vyners School, White taking five wickets and Parfitt scoring twenty runs. In our second match we were heavily defeated by the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe. The final game was played against a Staff XI who won the match, despite a very sound innings by Parfitt who scored 36.

A. R. Thacker

This was a good season for a relatively inexperienced side. Five matches were played, of which the team won two, drew two and lost one.

In the game against Roxeth Manor School, who were all out for 40 runs, Rice, on devastating form, took 6 wickets for 13 runs and Baker, also bowling well, took 2 for 14. St. Nicholas replied with 41 for 2, of which Rice scored 20.

Against Gunnersbury School our bowlers again did well to dismiss their opponents for 31, leaving an easy target, which our batsmen passed without difficulty.

We were fortunate to draw our game against John Lyon School, but the draw with Dr. Challoner's School was well-earned. Our opponents scored 109 runs, Baker taking 7 wickets for 42 runs. This fine bowling performance and C. Churchward's score of 40 runs, which helped us to a score of 76 for 8, saved the day.

Five matches only in the summer term is little enough, but these results do indicate that, with practice and confidence, an inexperienced team can do well.

Shapiro, Wells and Speck showed as promising batsmen, and Woodall and Knowles could become useful bowlers in time.

We are grateful to Froud, Thornton and Watson for their support as reserves.

R. W. NOBLE.

Played 6 Won 1 Drew 2 Lost 3

This was a disappointing year after the successes of last season. We won only one game, mid-way through the season, against a weak Gunnersbury side.

The team never settled down. There was no dependability in the batting and the bowling lacked penetration. Fielding was slack and many chances were missed.

A fighting draw against a very strong Vyner's XI was the highlight of the season. Against Faraday School, however, our batting collapsed and thus we were knocked out of the Esso Trophy Competition in the first round. Against the hostile bowling of a Dr. Challoner's School XI we put up a more respectable stand, but there is much room for improvement, as our final defeat of the season, by St. Benedict's, showed.

Though the season produced a few good individual performances, these were not supported by the general standard of play.

N. Hicks (Capt.)

Played 8 Won 4 Drew 3 Lost 1

This was an improved set of results compared with last year, particularly so after the team lost its opening bowler and batsman, Searle, for the latter part of the season. Much of the credit for the continuing good fortunes of the team was due to Hughes, who bowled well and achieved a great deal of bounce, which troubled all sides. The bowling generally showed much improvement and more variation and imagination than that of visiting sides, and if Walton and Neal could add greater accuracy to their skill and subtlety they could do very well. The batting also showed some improvement, particularly that of Smith and Hazard; but all batsmen need to achieve a good standard generally and not to concentrate on one or two strokes. Finally, my thanks to Costa for captaining the side sensibly and keeping wicket ably, and to the whole side for their enthusiasm and support.

M. Fountain

Played 6 Won 3 Drawn 2 Lost 1

The enthusiasm shown by these young cricketers, even before the season began, was more than matched by their ability. A very sound balance of batsmen, bowlers and all-rounders was the reason for some fine team performances. Of the batsmen, the most consistent was Bracey who, with an average of 34.9 runs, displayed considerable maturity and great concentration. He was fell supported by Kirkham (average 20 runs), Shipperley (average 15 runs), and Gislingham (average 13 runs).

The side's bowling contained a splendid variety of pace and action. Gibson, Gallaghan, Hutton, Kirkham and Hamilton bowled well throughout the season with the latter leading the averages and also proving to be a thoughtful and enthusiastic captain.

There are, I feel, a number of outstanding performances which deserve special mention: Bracey, 42 not out against Gunnersbury; Kirkham, 40 against St. Benedict's; Hamilton, 7 wickets for 5 runs against John Lyon School and 7 wickets for 13 runs against Christ's College. In spite of these fine individual performances, the side's success is largely due to fine team spirit and the all-round strength of the squad. We can certainly look forward to some exciting cricket as this side moves up through the school.

The following played regularly: Hamilton (captain), Bracey, Kirkham, Gislingham, Shipperley, Wrothal, Hutton, Gibson, Callaghan, Ayres, Jones and Roon.

C. N. CHARLESTON.