On Sunday 21 June 2009 the first Abingdon School Community Twenty20 Cricket Tournament was held in memory of Gerald Smithson, former Abingdon School cricket coach and groundsman. Teams of current boys, alumni, parents and members of staff assembled to compete for the inaugural trophy and a fantastic time was had by all.
We were honoured to welcome Devon Malcolm, former England cricketer and legendary fast bowler, to Abingdon as our guest of honour. At lunchtime Devon spoke about how pleased he was to see so many enthusiastic cricketers coming together to promote the sport within the school community. He also gave a very lively re-enactment of the iconic nine wickets he took against South Africa at the Oval in 1994! he tournament consisted of six matches giving each of the four teams a chance to face the other three.
The trophy was won by the pupils’ team who were undefeated on Sunday with three successive wins first against their teachers (a very tense opening match), then against their Abingdon predecessors (the OA team) and then finally against their parents. The last match was particularly close fought with the winning runs being scored in the final two balls of the game!
Everyone played very well and while thankfully none of the windows in Main School fell afoul of any stray cricket balls, there were some close encounters had by cars passing on Park Road with a couple of exuberant sixes! The event concluded with a barbecue held on Waste Court field in front of the new sports centre at which John Bunce, the OA Club Chairman, presented the trophy in the absence of Ann Smithson, Gerald Smithson’s widow, who unfortunately couldn’t be with us this year but is very much looking forward to next year’s tournament, which will take place on Sunday 27 June 2010.
A fantastic sense of community and camaraderie pervaded the day and the photos, which I know everyone is keen to see, will be up in the tournament gallery over the next couple of days. They will also be added to the photo album on the Old Abingdonians page on Facebook - if you are on Facebook, check out our page and become a fan.
