Results:
BCS 253 – The Elms (Trent College Prep School) 233
BCS 266 – Aysgarth 233
BCS 281 – Repton Prep 217
BCS 267 – RGS The Grange 228
On a beautiful sunny morning the U11s set off early to Repton Prep School for the IAPS U11 Cricket Festival. There was a little trepidation in the air as we had never been to an IAPS cricket festival before and so didn’t really know what to expect. The Year 6s had also been on a residential all week so we weren’t sure how tired they would be. We needn’t have worried though as the boys did the school proud in emerging victorious after 4 matches against top schools.
The format was a round robin where everybody played everybody else. The first game was played against The Elms Nottingham which feeds into Trent College. Remi arrived in the knick of time after representing the district at football in the morning! We batted first and set a total of 253 (starting on 200) which seemed competitive but we weren’t really sure. Most pairs batted well with Remi and Toby striking the ball well at the end. The team’s bowling though was fantastic. James set the tone with a wicket in the first over, and whilst the Elms were in touch at the halfway stage, the accuracy of Kanav, Pranav, Remi and Toby who all got wickets made sure that in the end it was a comfortable victory, with the Elms finishing on 233.
The next match was against the powerful Aysgarth and again BCS batted first. Aarya and Greg set about the opposition attack with a wonderful opening stand of 24 in two overs. This set the tone for the rest of the innings and a formidable total of 266 was achieved. The bowlers once again delivered sustained accuracy and in truth the scoreline never looked in danger, with Aysgarth finishing on 232.
So far so good with the hosts Repton next up. For this game we played on the 1st XI square which suited our stroke players as it had more pace in the wicket. Once again Aarya and Greg got us off to a flyer before Harry started losing balls in the hedge. In truth every pair batted well and we posted a commanding total of 281. This was far too many for Repton to chase who finished on 217 after losing numerous wickets.
The last game, against RGS, was probably the toughest as they bowled well and restricted us to 265. Again, every pair did the basics well and we only lost 1 wicket. Our running between the wickets really pressurised the opposition and this added to our total. James, Greg and Kanav capped some fine bowling displays to finish, resulting in RGS being restricted to 222.
In truth I was so proud of the boys as it would have been easy to slip up but their attitude all day was magnificent. We had the odd bad over with the ball but the next bowler would pull it back either with a wicket or a tight over. To lose only 3 wickets in batting during the whole tournament was amazing. Aarya showed his class at the top of the order but everyone contributed to what was a magnificent team performance. The team was ably led by Greg, who has displayed great leadership qualities this term and I thank him for his support. Other thanks must go to Mr Matthews who Umpired all day allowing me to coach the team from the side.
Well done to all the boys who thoroughly deserved their victory for all the hard work they’ve put in over the last couple of years.
Mr Protherough
