After a year off due to the pandemic, cricket fixtures have returned, and pupils have enjoyed competing again. With tournament wins for the 1st XI, the girls undertaking a fantastic 24-hour net challenge for charity, an U13 hat-trick and OOs playing in the County Championship, it has been an excellent season.
The 1st XI was triumphant in winning the inaugural Bedford 10s tournament. The team lost a tightly contested match against Rugby School but claimed victories against The Perse School (winning by 7 wickets) and Bedford School (winning by 27 runs) to secure the trophy. Director of Cricket, Neil Johnson said, “It was an excellent win for the boys. After losing the first game against Rugby School, there was a great team effort, everyone stuck together and pulled through for a fabulous win”.
There was also success for the U13A Team as they faced Oundle School early in the season. Form 2 pupil Magnus took 5 wickets for 5 runs in 4 overs, including a remarkable achievement hat-trick. If a hat-trick wasn’t enough, Magnus also hit the stumps twice in two balls. Coach Patrick Latham said, ‘A hat-trick is unusual; a hat-trick off the first three balls of an innings is even more rare, a hugely special moment for the bowler and all those lucky enough present to see it’.
This term also saw another fantastic season for the Girls 1st XI Cricket Team. Perhaps their most notable performance came towards the end of the term when they undertook a 24-hour net session to raise awareness of Girls Cricket and, significantly, raise money for the charity Chance to Shine. The team initially set a fundraising target of £500 but rapidly exceeded this goal and raised over £3,000. Form 7 pupils Flo, Issy and Emma, who organised the event, said, “It went really well, and we weren’t expecting to raise so much money. The School was incredibly supportive of what we were doing, and it was nice to have so much encouragement from the teachers, friends, and other pupils’. Local radio station Stamford and Rutland Sounds heard about the event, and the girls found themselves sharing their story far and wide.
Beyond Oakham, the County Championship has seen several OOs feature with Tom Fell (12) representing Worcestershire and Lyndon James (17) and Stuart Broad (04) representing Nottinghamshire CCC. It was a landmark moment in May when the two counties played against each other, and we understand this to be the first time three Old Oakhamians have played in the same fixture in the Championship.
It has been wonderful to have cricket fixtures return to School life this term and to celebrate success across all our teams, and we look forward to the 2022 season.
