Wednesday, 16th May

 

Cricket v St Andrew’s

1^st XI Won by 7 wickets (DG)

2^nd XI Lost by 70 runs (CS)

3^rd XI Lost by 9 wickets
We were put in to bat in the sunshine for a 20 over game on a very damp strip and it was clear that runs were going to be difficult to find. Jay and Philip saw the shine off the ball but were unable to put the ball away for more than the odd single and then Daragh skied an easy catch. Pat and James stayed at the crease for a long time and put on 40 for the fourth wicket until James lofted a simple catch. Pat continued to score some useful runs and had faced 45 balls by the time he was bowled going for the big hits with a couple of overs to go – he made 24 including a nicely timed six and James made nine.

Unfortunately nobody was really able to connect regularly with the ball, and our final score of 67 was simply too few. St Andrew’s chased hard from the start, and had two big boys who were able to hit the ball for four with ease, and they soon passed our total in the ninth over.

Philip did well in captaining the side, although we need to make sure we always have a man at square leg and a man behind square, Jay bowled very well and Alex managed to pitch a few deliveries nicely near the end of his spell.

A positive start, though we need to be more confident in hitting the ball hard if we are to post any challenging totals.  JB

 

Colts A Lost by 8 wickets

Finally a sunny day for some cricket! The Colts A team travelled away to Eastbourne to play St Andrew’s. We batted first in a 20-over match and struggled against some good bowling. We were 43-2 at one stage, but our innings lost momentum and we finished our 20 overs on 60-9. Sam Allen batted well and was the only player to reach double figures, scoring 12. Extras contributed a valuable 26. After tea St Andrew’s made a good fist of chasing down our score. Marcus Prest bowled very well with 1-6 off 4 overs and Sam bowled tidily to take 1-9 off his 4 overs. However they had two good players who hit a steady stream of boundaries and they cruised to a win on 61-2 off 9 overs. MH

 

Colts B Lost by 20 runs
The sun came out, the grass was cut and dry and we were able to start the cricket season albeit three weeks late! The boys were like horses ready to bolt. The format of the game was 'Pairs Cricket' – each batting pair faced four overs. For every wicket lost, 5 runs was deducted from the total. We batted first and managed to score 70 runs. Bradley Ellison and William Barker both hit massive boundaries! They looked deservedly delighted with their achievements. We started off very well in our defence of our modest total, taking a wicket in the first over by Captain, Andrew Taylor. Andrew bowled particularly well throughout the game and was ably assisted by Nick Berry and Vadim Novick. Although we gave a solid account of ourselves, we failed to defend our total. St Andrew’s won the match comfortably but all was not lost…we managed to play a cricket match, the rain kept away and we planted the seed for yet more cricket to come. Well done, boys, on our first outing of the season. May the next one be victorious!  RS

 

 

Wednesday, 2nd May

Cricket v Vinehall
Colts A Lost by 6 wickets

The Colts A cricketers had a tough opening match away at Vinehall. With all other cricket matches cancelled due to wet grounds, the Colts were very pleased to have a game. For half of the team it was their first ever match with a hard ball, having been in the Under 9s last year. We agreed to play 20 overs each. Ashdown batted first and were soon in trouble at four wickets down for only three runs against Vinehall’s very good opening bowlers. There was a brief recovery led by Dominic Yorke with 7 and Josh Burvill who top-scored with 9, including two lusty blows for four. However, we lost our last four wickets all on the score of 20. Marcus Prest bowled beautifully and clean-bowled three batsmen in his first eight balls to reduce Vinehall to 1-3. Vinehall responded well and hit three boundaries quickly. We took one more wicket, by Sam Allen, but Vinehall cruised home on 22-4 to beat us by 6 wickets. Nevertheless, I am sure the team will have learned much from today’s game and we have time to improve before our next match in two weeks. MH

 

Saturday, 2nd July

Cricket v Brambletye
1^st XI               Lost by 66 runs             
Sending Brambletye in to bat in the traditional all day fixture, Ashdown made early inroads into their line up, with Nikko Elliott claiming three good wickets, to leave the visitors at 36 for 3. However, the hosts failed to capitalise on this and some steady partnerships allowed the score to creep up towards a final tally of 181. Gus Turner claimed 3 for 39 off his eight overs and Will Payne also grabbed a couple of late wickets. Ollie Line was the most economical of bowlers conceding less than two runs an over off his six.

The game was ultimately lost in the opening spell of the Ashdown innings. Loose shots and poor decision making left the side in tatters at 16 for 4. Enter Greg Atkinson. He bludgeoned a marvellous 61 to move the home side from the depths of despair into a position of real strength. He clubbed eleven boundaries and made all the bowlers toil with some power and precision. He was eventually dismissed and, whilst Will Payne batted with calm and purpose, he was fatefully adjudged to have been run out and from there, the tail offered little resistance.

The lads could at least feel proud of the way that they handled themselves when things went against them. They were tested on a couple of occasions and showed real maturity in concentrating on the next ball rather than dwelling on the recent past. Some teams do not find this gentlemanly trait so easy.

Hats off to Brambletye for their play, they were the better team on the day. Fortunately, many of this XI will get their chance for revenge in twelve months time.  KR  

2^nd XI               Lost by 4 wickets        
We batted first in our last fixture of the year. We started sensibly, with William Womersley playing well. It was a shame that he got out just at the point when he looked ready to kick on with his innings. He made a well constructed 35. As a team we didn’t really capitalise on our start and only posted a total of 106. We knew we were going to have to bowl sensationally well to defend it.

We made a good fist of bowling. Jeehoon Chang bowled their opener with a fine yorker and when Ivo Kleinwort bowled a triple wicket maiden it looked like we might be on the way to victory. Unfortunately we weren’t as sharp in the field as we needed to be and Brambletye got home with 4 wickets to spare. Our season ended with a creditable performance and I hope the boys learn from the travails of this hugely enjoyable season.   GdeM

3^rd XI               Lost by 54 runs             
Both teams took a hat-trick in this game which could have gone either way.  Losing the toss we were asked to field; our bowling was pretty good in terms of not bowling wides, with Sameer and Alistair doing particularly well. The honours went to Pablo however, for his hat-trick – one caught, one LBW and the third fittingly caught and bowled. Well done!

It was a shame that our fielding let us down, with many fours crossing the boundary needlessly and some silly overthrows near the end. Though we took eight wickets, we dropped our catches and allowed a couple of their batsmen to build an innings, and they were able to post a good total.

In reply Sameer and Edward batted nicely, but for the first eight overs or so there were too many ‘dot’ balls; we were tentative, not running our singles and being afraid to go for the big hit. Sameer holed out and then Alistair, who never got going today, was foolishly run out. Ed was joined by Oli who picked up the pace and when Oli went for a good 18 Pablo carried on the good work with a quick fire 14. Once Pablo gloved one onto his helmet and was caught there was very little resistance and the match was lost.

A disappointing way to end the season but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.  Again, we seem to have brought out the best in our opposition!  JB

Colts A           Drew                           
The final match of the season and always one we look forward to – against our local rivals, Brambletye.  We agreed to play a time game, with the stipulation that the team batting first could face 27 overs and the team batting second would face 23.  If the allocated overs were finished before 6 pm, then play would continue until 6.  We batted first and made 136-8 off 24 overs by tea, at which point we declared.  The foundation of our total was a brilliant batting performance by Dominic Prest, who gave a superb display to score 50, including ten fours.  His innings was a combination of style and brutal power.  He was well supported by a number of others, particularly Felix Deere with 17 not out, Cameron Galloway 12 and Lex Wills 10.  Will Brockman 8, Luke Berry 7 and Ollie Wills 6 all played nicely and between them contributed a useful 20 runs.  The pick of the Brambletye bowlers was Georgie Leafe, the only girl the boys have faced on the circuit this season.  She opened the bowling and gave an excellent display of medium-fast bowling to take 5-27and at one point was on a hat-trick.

Colts B           Lost by 26 runs             
The final match of the season and we were unable to produce a second win of the season. Brambletye elected to bat first playing a 22 overs aside format. Fred and Robbie opened the bowling brilliantly. After 6 overs Brambletye had lost a wicket and had not taken their score into double figures. However, as the innings went on, our bowling slightly went to pieces and Brambletye’s big hitters went to work. By the end of 22 overs, they had scored 109 runs.

Under 9A        Lost by 47 runs              
We travelled up the road to play our friendly neighbours, Brambletye, on Saturday afternoon. It was to be our last game of the season. We had lost heavily to Brambletye in the beginning of the season and they were unbeaten. The stage was set for both teams to 'prove a point'.

We won the toss and sent our hosts in to bat. We bowled brilliantly. The score at the half way stage was 63 runs. We tightened the reins and managed to restrict Brambletye to 102 runs which became 202 after adding the 100 plus runs to the total. Felix bowled particularly well and Freddy (Floyd) was amazing in the field.

We started our run chase conservatively but positively and looked to be gaining some momentum, but then the wheels came off slightly. We lost 7 wickets from just one pair, largely due to some sublime fielding from Max – Brambletye’s king-pin fielder. We never really recovered although Marcus and Dominic put on a valiant show at the end. We managed to score a respectable 155 runs, thus losing the game by a considerable margin.

Well done boys on a spirited performance and for the tremendous improvement made over the season.  RS

Under 9B        Won by 11 runs             
The final game of the season has come around and we readied ourselves for a good match against Brambletye, always a tough fixture. Ashdown won the toss and were put in to bat. Our opening pair set a steady run rate with William Barker and Nick Berry setting a slow but steady pace. But soon the partnership was broken and two quick wickets later Ashdown were left on the back foot on 25-2. The rest of our batting was much the same with everyone getting a small share of runs but no really strong partnerships were built. Not until William Harris came in. He managed to smack 30 runs in the last 4 overs, including four 4s and two 6s. Ashdown eventually ended their innings on 115.

Thursday, 30th June
Senior Inter-Patrol Cricket
The final round of matches saw some very good cricket.  The Kangs played the Rhinos where the winner of this game would be crowned champions for 2011.  In the perfect finish the scores were level with the last pair at the wicket and all three results possible with one ball to go.  Nikko Elliott duly hit a boundary to give the Kangs victory.  Today’s results were:

Kangs 66-5 beat Rhinos 62-1
Eles 57-1 beat Hippos 54-3

Overall Results:
1st    Kangs
2nd   Rhinos
3^rd     Eles
4^th     Hippos

Wednesday, 29th June
Senior Inter-Patrol Cricket
Today we began the senior Inter-Patrol cricket competition, with two rounds of matches.  Teams played seven-a-side with eight overs per innings.  Bowlers were limited to two overs each.  Batsmen had to retire at 20, but could come back in if their team was all out.  The results were as follows:

Rhinos 44-0 beat Eles 42-6
Kangs 42-1 beat Hippos 39-5
Kangs 78-5 beat Eles 56-1
Rhinos 56-1 beat Hippos 55-1

Junior Inter-Patrol Cricket

1st      Kangs
2nd=   Eles, Rhinos
4th      Hippos

Sunday, 26th June

Cricket v Hornsby House         
Colts A            Won by 6 runs           

Cricket v Windlesham House
2^nd XI               Lost by 3 wickets       

This match was lost in the first half an hour. We batted first on an admittedly green pitch, but we did not adjust to the conditions. Our top order gave away their wickets with an array of poor shots and abysmal running between the wickets. It was thanks to an excellent 20 from Eric Park that we got anywhere near respectability. Jeehoon Chang and Ollie Crawford also provided a rearguard cameo. We reached a total of 76-9 from our 25 overs.

We knew that we would have to bowl and field without fault if we were going to defend that small total. We almost pulled it off. Jeehoon Chang and Ollie Crawford opened the bowling and bowled beautifully. Jeehoon picked up four quick wickets and Ollie took one. Our catching was outstanding, with Lindsay, Taylor and Womersley taking sharp chances. Luke Walters made his debut for the 2nds and bowled some unplayable leg spin. We had Windlesham in all sorts of trouble at 47-7. However, we were always 20-30 runs short of what we needed and Windlesham got home. This felt like one that got away. Let's hope we put in a full performance next week. GdeM

3^rd XI               Lost by 93 runs            
A little disappointing today; although there were some good moments we never got into our stride with the bat and too many of us got ourselves out needlessly.  Winning the toss we put our opponents in for a 25 over game.

Our bowling was really quite good at times.  Alistair bowled a steady spell for only a few runs and Oliver got 5 wickets in a rather less consistent manner. Sameer generated some good pace and James, Carlos, Pablo and Ilya all had a bowl. Their batsmen certainly went for their shots and hit the ball strongly; our fielding was a little indifferent and, apart from a great short catch by Oliver and some good work by Sameer and Pablo on the boundary, we looked rather sloppy at times. Eventually we bowled them out for 158 in less than 22 overs which was an encouraging performance.

It was always going to be a big total to chase, but our reply started well with Sameer hitting the first ball over the boundary. Oliver was then caught first ball making a tentative loft to short square leg; but Alistair and Sameer played themselves in nicely. Unfortunately Alistair skied a wide ball and was caught, whereupon James slogged and was well caught in the deep for a duck. Pablo looked good for his six balls, scoring off every one of them before he was disastrously run out when the calling went wrong. Sameer stayed around long enough to score a decent 18, but thereafter we offered little resistance.

One more match to go. Let’s try and concentrate a little more next time and see some of you build an innings rather than throw your wickets away.  JB

Colts A          Lost by 64 runs            
The Colts A team were well beaten by Windlesham House in their eighth match of the season.  Windlesham batted first and scored 141-5 declared off 26 overs.  Milne batted very well for Windlesham and scored a fine 54.  He was well supported by two other players who scored 25 and 24 respectively.  We had to bowl with a wet ball early on, which made bowling a bit more difficult.  However, we didn’t bowl well enough as a unit with too many loose balls.  The pick of the bowlers were Felix Deere with 2-18 and Will Brockman, whose excellent leg-spin went unrewarded.  Other wicket takers were Lex Wills and Sam Allen with one each.  After tea Dominic Prest and Luke Berry began our run chase and got us off to a good start with a partnership of 26.  However, once they were out – Dominic for 19 and Luke for 14 – our innings struggled and we were all out for 77.  A well deserved win for Windlesham House by 64 runs.  MH

Colts B           Lost by 140 runs          
The long drive down to Windlesham made the boys restless in the bus as they anticipated and sensed that a good game was imminent. Having arrived at Windlesham, Ashdown unfortunately lost the toss and the boys were put in to the field. The first few overs were promising with the opening bowlers, Fred Cox and Robbie Brooks, keeping the run rate down and eventually pressuring the opening batsmen to an early wicket with a beautiful ball taking out off stump from Cox. The wicket streak continued for Ashdown as James Ross proceeded to take three more wickets in his first three overs, two bowled straight down the middle sending the bails flying, and one LBW. Ashdown were on course for a low score from Windlesham as they were on 47-4. However, the middle order batsmen got their heads down and managed to rack up a very good fifth wicket partnership of 90, finally leaving Windlesham with a score of 186-7.

Under 9           Lost by 3 runs              
We travelled to the beautiful setting of Windlesham House on Saturday afternoon. Our field was nestled on a hill, all set for a good game of cricket. We batted first and scored 132 runs. The pick of the batsmen were Freddy (Floyd), Felix and Marcus. The ball was harder than usual and the pitch wet so the ball came on a bit quicker than most of our boys were used to facing. We knew that we needed to bowl well in order to defend such a modest total.

And bowl well we most certainly did. Marcus, Morten and Charles bowled a good line and length but the pick of the bowlers was Vadim – he has come on in leaps and bounds and was rewarded with a wicket. We made it difficult for our hosts, who needed 9 runs off the last over. Then they needed 4 runs off the last 3 balls. Then they needed 2 runs off the last 2 balls. They smashed the ball to Marcus. Marcus collected it quickly. He threw the ball. It flew through the air. It hit the stumps. The umpire contemplated his decision. A cry of NOT-OUT was heard. Windlesham won.

Well done boys on yet another close game (losing by only 3 runs) and for playing like real little cricketers.  RS

Wednesday, 22nd June
Tonbridge U11 six-a-side tournament

Tuesday, 21st June
Ashdown House U-13 Six-a-Side Cricket Tournament

A VI          Runners-Up
B VI          Semi-Finals

1^st VI           4^th           
After a superb term of hot sunny cricket we were greeted by soft soaking rain that fell consistently throughout the day and only the diehard coach, parent and player would consider it appropriate to play cricket in these conditions. Fortunately all schools involved were made of such stern stuff and the tournament commenced with Ashdown vs Cottesmore.

Our bowling was rather wayward and Cottesmore took full advantage racking up 79 in 5 overs. William Payne and Nikko Elliott did well to put on 61 runs, but the score was always out of reach.

Cumnor batted with similar success and our bowling and fielding were still on a par with the weather. (ie well below par!). They scored 84 and once again William and Nikko batted nicely but we fell well short.

In the final match we managed to raise our game and restricted Brambletye to 46. We chased well but missed out on a few loose deliveries. In the end we finished on 46 for the loss of the same wickets and the game was formally declared a tie.

Well done to all for persevering and to the loyal support of those parents who braved the day.  DG

Saturday, 4th June
Cricket v Wellesley House

1^st XI             Won by 1 wicket       
The long trip to Wellesley House rewarded us with the best game of the season.  Wellesley batted first and showed their usual positive intent on another great pitch and very quick outfield. Ollie Line brought about the breakthrough and when Briac Bombrun ran the other opener out in rather spectacular fashion we sensed an opportunity. Enter Bedford of Wellesley who batted with supreme confidence and dealt with any stray deliveries with devastating effect. He racked up a deserved 100 n.o. and the hosts declared on 183 for 4.

For the third time this season Ashdown faced the prospect of following a big first innings. Our openers went cheaply before William Payne (52) and Nikko Elliott (46) managed to lay the foundation for an unlikely chase. Gregory Atkinson has made a name for himself as a bit of a ‘slogger’ but showed remarkable control and shot selection as he edged us closer to the total. At 170 for 5 we looked a sure thing, but the fall of three wickets for one run once again placed the result in the balance. Requiring two to win Greg got the short ball he was waiting for and smashed it…….. back at the bowler who took a superb catch and he was out for 51. The last pair of Simon David and Archie Kay had the task of scoring the two runs required for victory. A scrambled bye brought the sides level and Simon who had batted for quite some time fittingly hit a boundary through mid wicket to give Ashdown the closest of wins. Well played both teams and thank you to Wellesley for a great barbeque after the match.  DG


Colts A           Lost by 7 wickets      
This was not a vintage performance from the Colts A team!  After the long, but comfortable, two-hour coach trip to Broadstairs, we arrived in fine fettle.  When Luke Berry drove the first boundary in the second over it looked as if our openers were set to continue their recent good form.  Disaster then set in with the loss of five wickets in fairly quick succession.  At 29-5 we needed a steady partnership.  Will Brockman and Cameron Galloway applied themselves well and batted sensibly, adding 13 runs patiently against some good bowling.  Will top-scored with 11, our only batsmen to reach double figures, but our final three wickets fell quickly and we were all out for a disappointing 59.  Luke and Dominic Prest both dismissed an opener for 0, but Wellesley then brought in two excellent players at numbers 3 and 4 who certainly gave our boys a lesson in quality batsmanship.  Felix Deere and Will both bowled three very good overs of leg-spin.  Will clean-bowled one of their players with the score on 56 with a fine delivery, but a four off the first ball of the next over saw Wellesley through to victory on 60-3.  Hopefully we will get back to our best form in the next match!  MH

Cricket v Cumnor House
Colts B         Won by 5 runs            
Victory at last (albeit against the Cumnor C team)! Today was one of the most enjoyable afternoons of cricket I have had in ages. Cumnor opted to bat first and played some good attacking shots. We struggled to find our line and length although there were some very good spells from the likes of Taylor, Brooks, Cox and Lisser. Just as importantly, Magnus and David got their first wickets of the season and Alex his second.

1^st XI              Won by 8 runs           
Ashdown hosted Cottesmore in a 25 over match. Oliver Line (52) and Michael Berry (51) gave us the perfect start but we could not capitalise and, despite finishing on 151 for 6, it felt like we had missed an opportunity to completely dominate an innings.

The Cottesmore innings began rather sedately and, after eight overs with just 21 on the board, you would have been forgiven to think the innings was not going to get going. Enter Alex Walker the Cottesmore captain who batted superbly and put us under immense pressure from the moment he came to the crease. He finished on 86 n.o. and very nearly won the match for his side. In truth we felt like we had held on for the 8 run win. Much learnt and a cracking game to watch. Well played everybody!    DG

2^nd XI              Drew                        
We batted first on what looked a very flat track at Cottesmore. So it proved. We posted an imposing total of 167, with half centuries from Womersley and Kleinwort. Womersley showed great power and timing. Kleinwort was gritty and played a very mature supporting role. Charlie Keen tacked on a scratchy 31 for good measure. We knew we would have to bowl well to collect all ten wickets. Sadly we didn't put the ball in the right areas often enough and the pitch wasn't doing the bowlers any favours.  Crawford and Kleinwort were the pick of the bowlers, both taking a pair of wickets, but we dropped catches and in the end were fortunate our target wasn't chased down. In the end a high scoring draw was probably the fair result. GdeM

3^rd XI              Won by 11 runs          
Another close game which this time went our way!

With several people absent we were only able to field ten with all men standing; thus we took to the field, won the toss and elected to bat in a twenty over match. We got off to a fairly brisk start with Alistair hitting a quick 21 after seeing himself in for a couple of overs while Sameer kept things steady at the other end. James also hit 13 and Carlos 8 and Sameer deserves great credit for carrying his bat through the innings, accelerating the scoring in the final few overs for a splendid 33 not out.

Our reply started well with a wicket for Sameer in the first over, but the runs started to come though they never overtook us with the run rate. Alistair kept wicket for the first eight overs to allow James to bowl, which he did well, with a maiden for his first over and a wicket in the second. Luke was clobbered for a few in his first couple of overs but kept his head and bowled most effectively. Alistair also bowled well off a short run up gradually building up the pace and only gave away 12 runs off his four overs. Pablo came on to bowl with four overs left to bowl a glorious maiden over and it was suddenly uphill for our opponents. Eventually, with twenty needed off the final over we restricted them to 9, with Pablo bowling their number six with the final ball of the match.

An exciting win, all from cool, consistent bowling that never allowed their hard hitting batsman (43 not out) to get into his stride. You deserved this one boys – a tremendous game.  JB

Colts A.         Won by 62 runs          
The Colts A team had a good win away at Cottesmore in their sixth match of the season.  We batted first in a 20 overs per side game and scored freely to finish on 148-8.  Ollie Wills was the star performer with a superb 55.  He put the loose ball away very well, hitting eleven fours and a six.  Felix Deere hit a very good 24 and, in partnership with Ollie, they added 71 for the fifth wicket.  Other useful scores came from Luke Berry with 14, Lex Wills 13 and Dominic Prest 11. 

After tea we made a good start to reduce Cottesmore to 17-3.  Dom took 2-10 and Luke 1-12 to make early inroads.  Felix bowled some quality leg-spin and took 2-12, both clean bowled.  Will Brockman bowled two promising overs with his new spin bowling, taking 0-7, but keeping the pressure on.  Aaron di Comberti Black took a wicket, dismissing their key batsman for a well compiled 48.  Sam Allen bowled two tidy overs, taking 1-1.  Lex finished the match in style with 2-0 off two overs, both clean bowled, as Cottesmore were bowled out for 86.  Good catches were taken by Will, Dominic, Felix and Aaron and we claimed a run out after a brilliant throw by Ollie.  Cameron Galloway was tidy behind the stumps and Juan Trevino and James Bradley made some good saves in the field.  A very good team performance and a well-deserved third win of the season!  MH

Colts B          Lost by 8 wickets        
Upon winning the toss, Ashdown chose to bat. It was a fairly slower start, but Jack Lisser and Alex Jones managed to maintain a healthy partnership to get the team off to a good start. Unfortunately, a moment of indecisiveness and some strange running later meant that we were soon one wicket down after a run out. Wickets began to fall rather quickly after this opening event with the next 5 wickets falling within 35 runs. However, the arrival of Edward Garner, our boundary hitter, lifted the heads of the team, as he managed to score 26 runs in 10 balls with only one single being hit in his entire innings. He struck the ball all around the park until a very strange delivery had him caught at point to a very good piece of fielding. Ashdown finished their innings on 76 all out with the possibility of a victory in their sights.

After tea the bowling was opened by Jack Lisser and Fred Cox. Both bowled magnificently, each taking an opener and sending him back to the pavilion. Cottesmore were currently 4-2. This gave the entire team a huge confidence boost. However, it didn’t last as the new Cottesmore got their heads down and really began to hit some runs. Boundaries began to flow and despite some excellent fielding from Edward Garner, Alex Young and our famous wicket keeper Daragh Massey, who managed to stop a certain 4 with his left shoulder, we were overcome by the big hitting of the Cottesmore batsmen and they reached our score in the 15th over to win by 8 wickets.  NHH

Under 9          Lost by 3 runs            
We travelled to Cottesmore on a glorious sunny Wednesday afternoon. We lost the toss and were sent in to field. Our fielding was the best yet – everyone looked much sharper and more disciplined – making sure to get behind the stumps when a ball was thrown in that direction. In terms of bowling, Marcus was brilliant although he failed to take a wicket. Josh, Ben and Jolly were impressive too and can be very pleased with their progress this season. Our hosts scored 221 runs.

Marcus and Dominic opened the batting and scored a season’s best, 49 runs - a brilliant partnership which set the tone for our innings. Unfortunately for us, we failed to maintain this momentum and the run rate slowed down to a trickle. Charles scored a handful of runs as did Vadim.

We batted sensibly and needed 3 runs off the last over to secure a precious away game victory. But stumble we did. We lost the game by a mere 3 runs – but it was nevertheless a thrilling game and one that was enjoyed by all. Well done on yet another brilliant game…a win is surely just around the corner.  RS

Wednesday, 25th May
Cricket v Holmewood House

1^st XI              Lost by 52 runs          
We faced a strong Holmewood side who elected to bat and, despite losing a few early wickets, continued to be aggressive. This mindset paid off as they set an impressive 174 for 3. William Payne and Nikko Elliott were the pick of the bowlers but we were not able to maintain any sort of true pressure during the innings.

When chasing a big score one of the top five need to bat for most of the innings and despite all reaching double figures, no one could play a match winning knock. Gus Turner batted well for his 24 and Greg Atkinson smashed 28 in his own entertaining way. 122 all out still left us 52 runs short.  DG

2^nd XI              Lost by 77 runs    
We played Holmewood on a glorious summer's day. They batted first and scored 170 runs all out. Crawford, Kleinwort and Chang were the pick of the bowlers. We fielded with good intensity but overall our bowling was poor. Our chase never really got started as we found ourselves behind the rate and losing wickets at regular intervals. Although we never threatened their total we dug in and were not bowled out. The better team won. GdeM

3^rdXI              Lost by 4 runs           
A tremendously exciting high scoring game where we could have tied the game on the final ball!

Losing the toss we were asked to field, whereupon JT and Sameer bowled accurate opening spells with some pace with Sameer dismissing one of their openers cheaply.  Luke then came on and bowled beautifully, earning the accolade from the umpire at the other end for the best over he had seen bowled this season, conceding only 19 from his four overs. The opposing captain attacked the bowling and was sportingly retired upon reaching his 50. Pablo and Ilya also bowled well – we only conceded 8 extras in the entire innings including one four leg byes and Ilya took a super catch at deep mid on. Well done all of you!

Chasing 135 was a tall order, but we went for it from the start with JT knocking a measured 28 and Sameer chipping in with 10. A mini collapse looked like ending things with a possible hat-trick chance when Luke went first ball leaving us on 57 for 4, but Pablo steadied the ship with a nervous James who was dropped twice in single figures to take the score to 86 before Pablo was caught for 5 going for a big shot.

Douggie came to the crease and our last recognised pair knuckled down to the task in hand. James led a charmed life in the 30s and then really started playing, hitting some superb cover drives. With two overs remaining we needed 15 to win, when James made room to hit a good ball that turned a 1.5 feet from outside the off stump, missed and was bowled. Douggie hit another four and we needed eight off the final over to win. Douggie missed three good balls, took a single, ran a bye with Felix and we needed four to tie off the last ball. Going for a huge heave he was bowled and the match was lost, but what an exciting game!

Well done to James who scored 59 and Douggie 21, to all of you for making such a good fight of it and to Holmewood for playing the game in such a pleasant and sporting manner.  JB

Colts A         Lost by 4 wickets       
The Colts A team played their fifth match of the term away at Holmewood House on a glorious summer’s afternoon.  We agreed to play 20 overs per innings and batted first.  Lex Wills and Luke Berry made a bright start, adding 25 for the first wicket before Lex was out for 13.  Dominic Prest hit his first three balls for boundaries and he and Luke added 34 quickly.  At 59-1 in the ninth over we were looking set for an excellent score on a good pitch with a lightning fast outfield.  However Luke was bowled for 25 and Dom was out for 19 two runs later and we were 61-3.  Our innings faltered from this point onwards, with only Aaron di Comberti Black showing good form with 16.  We finished our 20 overs on 97-8, probably 20 to 30 runs short of a good total.  We didn’t bowl with enough penetration after tea and Holmewood cruised to 78-1, with a couple of dropped catches helping their cause.  We did well from this point to take five wickets fairly quickly, but Holmewood won off the first ball of the last over, reaching 98-6.  If we had scored those extra 20 to 30 runs, it could have been a very interesting finish!  MH

Colts B          Lost by 115 runs        
The Holmewood House game is always a key fixture for Ashdown. The Colts B boys set out to put a great victory under their belt on a glorious summer’s afternoon. Ashdown won the toss and elected to bowl first. A good opposition opening pair managed a partnership of 42 before Fred Cox bowled off stump out of the ground with his first ball of his first over. Cox didn’t stop there either. In his third over he took another wicket in the same fashion, sending another batsman walking back towards the pavilion. His excellent bowling inspired others to follow suit with Alex Young, Archie Boyle and Nicholas Berry all taking superb wickets. Unfortunately, the opposition batsmen had a different idea and started to get their heads down and score some runs. A few sturdy partnerships later and they finished their innings on 142.

Under 9          Lost by 132 runs         
After our last game which went down to the last over, we could have been excused for thinking that our next game was going to be yet another tightly contested game. We couldn’t have been more wrong.

We were sent in to field and although we bowled well (for some of the boys, they bowled the best they’ve bowled all season), we were hammered all over the park. Our hosts managed to score a mammoth 247 runs. Misha and Dominic bowled very well and have come on in leaps and bounds.  Chasing that score was always going to be difficult. Marcus and Vadim opened the batting and managed to put 27 runs on the board – Vadim scoring an impressive 17 runs. Unfortunately for us that is where the run chase stopped.  We never looked like threatening their total – their bowling and field was just too strong. We scored 117 runs and thus came second by more runs than I care to count. We’ll learn from this one and hopefully make amends in our next game.   RS

Saturday, May 21st
Cricket v Cumnor House
1^st XI            Lost by 106 runs           
It is not often that a team dominates all aspects of a cricket match. The Cumnor team did just that as their batting, bowling and fielding proved to be better than the Ashdown X1. William Payne 3 for 20 and Nikko Elliott 3 for 20 bowled superb spells but the support bowlers could not maintain the pressure on the batsmen. Cumnor batted with good positive intent on a great pitch and a lightning fast outfield.

We simply served up too many ‘boundary’ deliveries and they did not miss out. Simon David took two great catches behind the stumps and Gus Turner held on to one that went many a mile into the air (I believe his chest took the brunt of his effort!). These were the only highlights of a lacklustre fielding performance and, when all was said and done, Cumnor had set a formidable total of 189 for 9.

Chasing a big total means someone has to bat for most of the innings and create as many meaningful partnerships as possible. Michael Berry (20) made a positive start but, when he and Ollie Line fell in quick succession, we were firmly on the back foot. When regrouping you have to play the percentages right and having Nikko run out (a fine piece of fielding) was a devastating blow. Poor shot selection and execution resulted in a regular fall of wickets and only a lusty 21 from Jay Beale caught the eye in the latter stages of the innings. 83 all out and soundly beaten means we will have to make quick improvements before we face Holmewood House on Wednesday!  DG

2^nd XI            Lost by 8 wickets        
In truth this match was lost in the first half an hour. We batted first and let ourselves down with our application to the cause. We gave our wickets away cheaply and found ourselves in a big hole 30-6. Luckily Oscar Lindsay played a captain's innings and made a resolute 26. He displayed the attitude necessary to succeed and I only hope that others in the side take notice. We made a total of 89, which was never going to be enough. Chang and Park bowled well. Kleinwort picked up a wicket with a lovely delivery and Rory Craig took a blinding catch. Unfortunately these were the few high points as we slumped to a humiliating defeat. Against good sides you can't give wickets away. Lets hope we've learnt the lesson.   GdeM

3^rd XI            Lost by 8 wickets          
Batting first in a 20 over game with all boys in the 1s and 2s playing for a team, we played sensibly against a strong Cumnor 3^rd XV who sportingly bowled nine of their players. Ilya and Edward opened, the former staying in for 25 minutes facing some good bowling and hitting one tremendous four for his five runs, and Edward played very well (staying in for half an hour) until attempting an impossible single in a moment of madness and confusion to run himself out for seven (all sensible singles). We then threw a few wickets away with tame catches spooned up until Dougie came in with the score at 20 with six wickets down and hit a confident 11 before being bowled by a very good ball. His partnership with Felix (who played very well and remained unbeaten on four) saw our score double. However, our depth in batting was a little suspect and our last three wickets fell in successive deliveries to give a hatrick to their final bowler, all clean bowled.

With the total at only 42 we did our best. Luke bowled some outstanding deliveries that bamboozled the boys at the crease and his figures of 16 for 2 (clean bowled) from his four overs are excellent. He so nearly emulated his opposite number’s feat with two wickets in two balls. However our total was simply too small and a few lusty blows before tea saw Cumnor safely home. We would certainly have had a better game against the visitor’s 4th XI, but I was pleased with the way in which we went about the game and we battled well against an accomplished team.  JB

Colts A        Drew                             
The Colts A cricketers had a very exciting match away at Cumnor House and the honours were shared with a draw after a tense finish.  We played a time game, not limited overs, and batted first.  Luke Berry and Cameron Galloway recorded their best opening partnership of the season so far, adding 62 before Cameron was run out.  Dominic Prest looked in good form before another unnecessary run out cost him his wicket for 8 and we were 83-2.  However, Luke continued to hold the innings together before he was out – another run out! – for 35.  Will Brockman with 11 and Ollie Wills with 13 not out batted steadily to keep our score moving along.  Ollie hit three excellent boundaries to boost our score at the end and we declared at tea on 121-6 off 27 overs. 

We made a good start after tea with both Cumnor openers out with the score at 11, one bowled by Luke and the other caught and bowled by Dominic.  Any thoughts that we might make quick inroads through the middle order were dispelled by the Cumnor third wicket pair, who both batted very well and added 50 together.  Felix Deere bowled a terrific spell of well-flighted leg-spin and when he took two wickets in the space of three balls in his fourth over Cumnor were suddenly 62-4.  A run out in the next over had them 67-5 and we sensed a possible victory.  Ollie bowled three very tidy overs only conceding two runs – his best spell of the season.  Will bowled a very good spell of medium pace only conceding 10 runs in his four overs.  Cumnor were only able to hit one boundary off him and so we kept their score in check.  We had one expensive over and so Cumnor needed 23 runs off the last four overs.  Luke and Dominic came back and bowled well.  Cumnor needed eight runs off the last over, but Dominic only conceded three and the game was drawn with their final score being 117-5, their sixth wicket pair adding 50 unbeaten.  We put in a good fielding performance today, with Cameron showing good improvement behind the stumps and Felix proving very sharp in his specialist position at short cover.  Well played, boys!  MH

Colts B        Lost by 8 wickets           
Cumnor played some very tidy cricket and outclassed us today. We won the toss and chose to bat, losing four wickets for only 12 runs in the first eight overs; not the start we had been looking for. Our shot selection was extremely poor and too often wickets came as a direct result of not getting on to the front foot and blocking the straight deliveries, of which there were many. Not until the arrival of Garnie and Archie did any batsmen occupy the crease for a significant period of time. These two put on just shy of 30 together and batted with great composure under difficult circumstances. By tea we had managed to post our highest score of the season which was a real achievement against a Cumnor side of such quality and, furthermore, we had not allowed ourselves to be bowled out.

Under 9       Lost by 3 runs                
We travelled to Cumnor House on Saturday afternoon eager to demonstrate our new found confidence, fresh from Thursday’s tournament. Cumnor chose to bat and we relished in the opportunity to bowl first.

We bowled well but unfortunately looked very shaky and mediocre in the field – dropping too many catches and missing the odd run-out opportunity. Catches win matches! We managed to restrict Cumnor to 217 runs. The best bowlers of the day were Marcus (3 wickets) and Vadim (2 wickets).

We knew that, in order to win the game, we would need to bat sensibly yet aggressively. We started off well and everyone contributed with the last pair needing 25 runs to win. We got very close but fell short by just 3 runs. Marcus and Josh were the pick of the batsmen. Special mention must be made of Josh’s innings where the spectators were treated to a bucket full of 4s! Well done, Josh. The end result was a thrilling game albeit one that we failed to win.  RS

Thursday, May 19th
Ashdown House U8 Cricket Tournament
Today we held our annual Under 8 cricket tournament in what were simply glorious conditions.  We were joined by seven sides from London and the teams played in two groups of four.  Each pair batted for two overs, meaning that an innings lasted for ten.  Matches therefore lasted about an hour.  We started at 10:30 and then played the second round of matches at 11:30.  After two hours of cricket all the players, staff and parents went up to the dining hall where we all sat on the grass and enjoyed a terrific barbecue, finished off with strawberries and cream.  The third and final round of group matches started at 1:30 with several teams in with a chance of going through to the final.  In Group A Westminster Under A and Eaton House The Manor were joint first, but Westminster went through to the final by virtue of having won the match between the two teams, albeit by one run.  Merlin finished third, narrowly ahead of Ashdown House.  In Group B the powerful Finton House side swept all before them with three big wins, playing some excellent cricket.  Knightsbridge were second, Garden House third and Westminster Under B fourth.

Archie Kay and Ollie Line gave us an early breakthrough and wickets fell to Greg, Tife Osho, Nikko Elliott, William Payne and two for Henry Smith making his debut.  Simon David was once again quietly competent behind the stumps and a good team effort in the field proved too strong for our opponents. St Andrew's were all out for 41 giving us a resounding 147 run win.  DG

2^nd XI              Won by 3 wickets        
This game was all about maturity. It was not an easy afternoon. The breeze from the sea was chilling and spread across the outfield as we bowled first. We bowled with good consistency and although we gave up some early boundaries we managed to peg St Andrew's back. Ivo Kleinwort was the pick of the bowlers, taking a terrific 5 wickets for a measly 7 runs. Charlie Keen complemented him with a couple of wickets himself. Although we restricted St Andrew's to 76 all out, we fielded quite poorly, dropping several simple chances.

3^rd XI              Won by 40 runs            
We played a pairs competition, five pairs a side starting on 100 runs. Each pair batted for 4 overs and every player bowled at least 2 overs with the exception of the keeper. A wicket resulted in the loss of five runs.

We won the toss and elected to bat with Edward, Alistair, Carlos and James all contributing well to our total, and Pablo top scoring with 22. Our high total was equally the result of wides and no-balls too, which counted for two plus any runs scored off the bat.

Our bowling was marginally better than theirs, with Ilya bowling the one maiden of the match and only conceding two runs off his two overs – splendid! Luke bowled nicely and Peter improved enormously in the course of his spell. James had a run out with a direct hit, though we let rather too many shots cross the boundary.

With more that 50 required from the last two overs, victory was assured, but with a short boundary a big score had always been possible.

Well done everyone – we all learned something about our individual game today, even if it was how to keep our hands moving in the cold wind!  JB

Colts A.         Lost by 7 wickets          
The Colts A team played their third game of the season against St Andrew’s and, after two wins, we came back to earth with a bump today.  Batting first in a 20 over game, we found ourselves 17-4 with batsmen getting out to poor shot selection and execution.  A superb partnership of 70 for the 5th wicket between Luke Berry and Lex Wills gave our innings some respectability.  Luke batted very well for his 51 (retired) including eight fours.  Lex gave valuable support with his patient 22. We finished our 20 overs on 90-5.  After tea we bowled rather inaccurately and gave St Andrew’s 30 runs in byes, wides and no-balls.  Felix Deere, Ollie Wills and Luke took a wicket apiece, but the steady approach by the St Andrew’s batsmen saw them win quite comfortably with 94-3.  MH

Colts B          Lost by 12 runs                                  
The boys headed down to the coast to play St Andrew's, always an anticipated game. We opted to play for the pair’s rules. This involved one pair of batsmen batting for four overs each before both retired and the next pair followed suit. Wickets lost would result in -5 runs for the team but no loss of player. We got off to a steady start with Jack Lisser and Alex Jones and a slow and steady run rate was set by the two. Soon to follow was big hitter Robbie Brooks and James Ross who smashed a quick 25 partnership in their spell together. However, the St Andrew's boys soon brought on their secret weapon and wickets began to tumble. We finished our innings on 77, but knew that our bowling attack was solid enough to steal a victory.

Under 9          Lost by 26 runs             
On Wednesday afternoon we hosted St  Andrew’s. They were a credit to their school in every respect and we had an extremely pleasant fixture.  We were sent in to bat and managed to score a respectable total. We scored 157 runs. The best batsmen were Hugh, Felix and Freddy. Hugh smashed a few 4s and has looked on top form, while Felix and Freddy dominated their respective pairs and added handsomely to the total. Callum and Jolly have improved enormously and are beginning to bat with real confidence.

We were desperate to bowl well and I think this may have been our downfall. Some of the boys tried too hard and were probably over-thinking their actions and their delivery and, as a result, we gave away far too many extras. Hugh looked solid in the field and was very close to running someone out towards the end of the game. The game was a humdinger in the sense that the result went down to the last two overs - we needed to take two wickets.  Unfortunately for us, St Andrew’s was up to the task and managed to see off our attack and win the game by 26 runs. Well done boys on a brilliant performance and for being true little gentleman on and off of the field.   RS

Wednesday, May 10th

Cricket v St Ronan’s
1^st XI               Won by 8 wickets       
St Ronan's batted first and, having scored 22 runs off the first three overs, immediately had Ashdown on the back foot. It took a brilliant piece of fielding by Jay Beale to break the dangerous opening stand with an excellent run out. William Payne finished with 3 for 10 and Gregory Atkinson bowled some lovely leg spin and finished with 2 for 9. Gus Turner, Ollie Line and Jay all picked up a wicked and Simon David took three stumpings. St Ronan's finished on 113 all out at the tea break.

Ollie (10) and Michael Berry (37) once again gave us a sound start with an opening stand of 30 for the first wicket. William Payne strode to the wicket and picked up where he had left off against Yardley Court. He and Michael batted intelligently and enjoyed a 50 run partnership. Nikko Elliott (10 n.o.) looked very good and kept his composure despite hitting some great shots straight at fielders.

It was however once again a superb display of batting by William (50 n.o.) who fittingly hit the winning runs giving Ashdown an eight wicket win.  DG

2^nd XI               Won by 8 wickets
As badly as we played on Saturday there was always the hope that it was just a bad day at the office. We put that performance behind us in style as we restricted St Ronan's to a total of 78 before easing to a comfortable victory. It was set up by our bowlers who kept the runs down early and then fed on the opposition's impatience. Henry Smith picked up 3 wickets and Jeehoon Chang 2. But the pick of the bowlers were Ivo Kleinwort and Ollie Crawford who bowled with great consistency. Our fielding was almost immaculate. We ran out two with direct hits and Eric Park took a tremendous catch at mid-wicket. Our chase got off to the worst possible start as we lost Oliver Clark Hattingh to the first ball of the innings. However a partnership of 70 between Ivo Kleinwort (41 n.o) and Sameer Mohinani (23) saw us home. It was a tremendous all round effort. Well done! GdeM

3^rd XI               Lost by 1 wicket          
Ashdown had lost the toss and were put in to bat on a rather dark summer’s afternoon. We got off to a rocky start as Edward Hannay was caught off a good delivery which was unfortunately sent straight to the bowler. But James Taylor and Alistair Gethin steadied the sinking ship by running quick singles and hitting the bad balls, racking up a partnership of 35 before disaster struck again - yet another caught and bowled, this time taking our opener Taylor for 25. Unfortunately things did not improve from there. James Hendry and Pablo Valencia were both bowled by the same bowler, leaving Ashdown with a score of 43-4. However, Ilya Laptev saw that there was trouble and had decided to get his head down and stay in. There weren’t may runs scored but he blocked the good balls and went after the bad, which is exactly what everyone needed to see. A partnership soon began to grow and reached 18 before Gethin’s off stump was sent spiralling after a jaffer of a ball. Soon it was down to Carlos Espinosa and Felix Radmall who made a short partnership of 13 before the rest of our wickets toppled, leaving Ashdown with a score of 93-9.

Michael Berry and Oliver Line gave us a 20 run opening stand before we lost both quite quickly. William Payne looked very determined and made a positive start to his innings. Nikko Elliott smashed a cover drive straight to a close cover and when we lost our next two wickets without adding to the total we looked in serious trouble at 36 for 5. William was then joined by Tife Osho (13) and they put together a gutsy match saving 42 run partnership. William finished on 50 having batted for almost the whole innings. It was a superb knock and finishing 16 runs short of a win was a great achievement after the early collapse. Game drawn.  DG

2^nd XI                Lost                          
Lost by an awful lot.

3^rd XI                Lost by 8 wickets       (BW)
Colts A         Won by 49 runs        
The Colts A cricketers made it two wins from two games with a fine victory over Yardley Court.  We agreed to play 25 overs per innings, with Ashdown winning the toss and batting first.  Luke Berry started brightly with three boundaries, but when he fell for 12 we were 18-2.  Dominic Prest then launched a blistering attack on the Yardley bowlers, scoring 69 off 33 balls, most of these runs coming off their two very good opening bowlers.  Dominic hit nine fours and three sixes in a brilliant display.  When he was out we were 98-4 in the twelfth over.  Our scoring rate then slowed appreciably, but the middle and lower order batted sensibly and kept the score ticking over.  With 17 from Felix Deere, 10 from Ollie Wills and 8 from Will Brockman we reached 154 all out in the 23rd over.  After tea we made a fine start with the ball, restricting Yardley to just 5 runs from the first four overs.  Dominic took a wicket, Luke took two in the next over and then Will took a wicket (thanks to a fine catch by Lex Wills), plus a run out and we had taken five wickets in the space of three overs.  We kept the pressure on with some very good fielding and tidy bowling.  Cameron Galloway took a fine catch with the gloves.  Will took two wickets in an over and bowled steadily and Felix looked very promising with his leg-spin.  The whole team kept their concentration very well in the field.  Dominic came back at the end and bowled with pace and aggression, clean bowling the last two batsmen off successive balls to wrap up the win.  He took 3-17, Luke took 2-10 and Will chipped in with 3-12.  A very enjoyable afternoon and the match was played in excellent spirit.  MH

Colts B            Lost by 8 wickets        
Ashdown lost the toss and were put into bat. Despite a vastly improved batting performance, we were outclassed today. As with our last match, we were in too much of a hurry to make big runs and simply did not play straight to some very straight bowling. However, after losing early wickets, Andrew and Jack steadied the ship and things were looking up. Having got rid of the opening bowlers, I had hoped that the boys would start to increase the run rate but owing largely to a lack of foot work, we were unable to get the ball off the square. Robbie came in and hit some great shots giving our tally a much needed boost and we finished with a respectable 70-4.

Cricket v Brambletye
Under 9            Lost by 110 runs         
We hosted our neighbours, Brambletye, on a glorious Saturday afternoon, fresh from our Wednesday’s victory. What we didn’t know was that we were in for a treat – a fielding exhibition of the highest standard.

Unfortunately for us, it was not we who performed well in the field, but rather our unassuming visitors. Brambletye fielded brilliantly and hit the stumps with almost every attempt. We finished our overs on 115 runs.  Freddy (Floyd), Marcus and Hugh, once again contributed with the bat.  We tried our level best to defend our modest total but we never really looked like taking too many wickets. Felix, Arthur and Alex were the pick of the bowlers with Marcus looking extremely sharp in the field. The end result was a convincing defeat and one that we hope to rectify when we meet again at the end of the season. We lost by more than a century of runs.   RS

Wednesday, May 4th
Cricket v Vinehall
1^st XI             Won by 20 runs              

I cannot remember the last time we had to prepare for hard pitches with good carry and bounce at the start of the season! Vinehall won the toss and elected to bowl in a shortened limited over match (22 overs). We lost our first wicket early on but Michael Berry (23) and William Payne (35) steadied the innings with a 54 run partnership. William looked very comfortable scoring all round the ground and Michael used his strength to muscle a few boundaries that gave us some momentum after a slow start. Nikko Elliott (15) maintained the rate and played two superb drives down the ground and was a little unlucky when he got a sharp rising delivery that he could not control. Gus Turner showed he was quite capable and scored a brisk 20 n.o. and we finished on 131 for 5.

The bowlers made a steady start and William once again played a key role picking up two early wickets. Vinehall then had a good 4th wicket stand of 38 until Gus had immediate success picking up two wickets in his first over. Vinehall simply ran out of big hitters and good line and length from Nikko sealed a 21 run win. Well played!  DG

2^nd XI             Won by 28 runs             
It was idyllic spring sunshine that greeted us as we started the cricket season. We batted first and got off to a steady start. Clark Hattingh (11) and Kleinwort (15) saw us through the opening overs with a couple of mature innings. They set the platform for our stroke makers, Womersley (35) and Lindsay (22), to thrive. The boys struck the ball nicely and our score began to climb. It meant we could be slightly more carefree in the later overs and we were able to tack on enough runs to set a competetive total of 125-5. The highlight of the innings came off the last ball as Sameer Mohinani, who has played cricket for all of a week, dispatched the lone delivery he saw to the boundry. It will be tough for him to keep up his 400% strike rate!

3^rd XI             Won by 73 runs              
Ashdown 134 for 2 (20 overs)   Vinehall  61 for 8
We played a fifteen over game due to a delayed start.

Winning the toss we elected to bat and quickly started off in fine form, captain Alistair hitting 13 quick aggressive runs to get us going before playing across one of the few straight balls. James them came in and clonked several hard shots, losing a ball in the woods and went on to carry his bat for 51 not out with 11 fours – well done JT! Edward stayed at the crease for quite a while for a sensible 11 before being well caught and Luke partnered JT to the end of the innings for a fine 25 not out with some of the best shots of the day.

Our bowling was most encouraging and we only bowled 13 wides. JT again bowled well taking two wickets (and two catches) and Luke bowled some lovely leg spin including a wicket maiden. Carlos, Felix and Pablo all bowled with improved accuracy and Ilya gave little away in his two overs.  

Edward gained in confidence behind the stumps, Peter had a go at a catch and Alex managed some super fielding. So we limited them to only 61 and won by 73 runs.

A good performance and deserved win, set up by some positive batting.  Most encouraging boys - well done!JB

Colts A.         Won by 82 runs             
The Colts A cricketers made a hugely encouraging start to the season with a fine victory at home to Vinehall.  We played 20 overs each and batted first.  We lost Cameron Galloway early with just 2 runs on the board, but Luke Berry and Dominic Prest then had a scintillating partnership, adding 61 in six overs.  Luke fell for 20 and Dominic was out shortly afterwards for a superb 42, including nine fours.  At 71-3, our innings needed to keep its momentum and we managed this with some good batting from several boys: Felix Deere hit 11 on debut; Ollie Wills hit a fine 29; Will Brockman played very well for his 15 retired;  Lex Wills looked good for his 17 retired;  Sam Allen played well for 6 not out at the end.  We finished our 20 overs on 161-6. 

After tea we put together a solid bowling and fielding performance to restrict Vinehall to 81-8.  Luke and Dominic bowled steadily and should develop into a useful opening combination. Both took an early wicket to dismiss the openers.  Will Brockman bowled well, taking two wickets for no runs.  Aaron di Comberti-Black was probably the pick of the rest as far as accuracy was concerned, bowling a steady two overs.  Lex came on and took three wickets for one run in his over which wrapped up the match.  Our catching was impressive with Felix taking three catches and Sam taking two, one of them a beauty diving forward at square leg.  This was a fine team effort which hopefully bodes well for the rest of the season.  MH

Colts B          Lost by 6 wickets           
Despite the beautiful afternoon sunshine and the stunning view, it was a little disappointing to lose our first match of the season. That having been said, the boys will have learnt a great deal from today’s experience, including what it feels like to face a genuinely fast bowling attack.

Under 9          Won by 32 runs             
1, 2, 3…1 sunny afternoon, 2 enthusiastic teams, 3 overs per batting pair - and the cricket season began. We chose to field first and did very well. For the first game of the season and indeed the first cricket match ever for some players, we bowled well and were disciplined in the field. The pick of the bowlers were: Morten 1 wicket for 4 runs off 2 overs and Felix, who took 2 wickets for 6 runs off his two overs. Vinehall scored a respectable 159 runs.

We went in to bat and certainly looked the part. Not only did everyone bat impressively and sensibly, but we guarded our wickets, remembering that we lost 5 runs for every wicket lost. The best batsmen on the day were: Hugh, scoring 17 runs, and Marcus, Freddy (Floyd) and Felix who all managed to score a solid 6 runs each. We ended up scoring 191 runs, thus winning our first game of the season by 32 runs. Well done on a disciplined performance on and off of the field.  RS

We played Holmewood on a glorious summer's day. They batted up first and scored 170 runs all out. Crawford, Kleinwort and Chang were the pick of the bowlers. We fielded with good intensity but over all our bowling was poor. Our chase never really got started as we found ourselves behind the rate and losing wickets at regular intervals. Although we never threatened their total we dug in and were not bowled out. The better team won.    GdeM

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