13 June 2016
On Friday the Under 11A XI set off for Tavistock, the location of our first match, adorned in their tour hoodies and caps. A brief stop for lunch at Taunton Deane Services and then we were back on the road for the match versus Mount Kelly Preparatory School.
Upon arrival the team changed into their whites, put on sun cream and went into a 20 minute warm-up to get the journey out of their legs.
Harry, captain, won the toss and elected to bat. ‘Tails never fails’ I’m reliably informed! Losing three early wickets while still on 1 run rocked the team. However, George and Ben put on a 47 run partnership before Ben was run out for 15. George remained the glue of the side and the ‘tail-end’ wagged a little. George finally retired on 50 not out as we finished the twenty over innings with 104 runs. A competitive score and one we would have readily accepted when on 1 for 3.
After five overs, Mount Kelly Prep was competitive with 38 runs on the board for the loss of only one wicket. However, tight line and length bowling from George, Amar, Edward, William, Alex, Louis and Ben restricted the opposition to 72 for 10 after their allotted 20 overs. Satisfied with our bowling and fielding display, we knew that we had to improve on our shot selection in our next game despite our victory.
Results:
vs. Mount Kelly Preparatory School
APS 104 for 8
Mount Kelly Prep. 72 for all out
Won by 32 runs
Although on a cricket tour, the highlight of the weekend for the boys was certainly the surfing at Polzeath Beach on Saturday. The surf was a clean 2-3 ft. swell, perfect for many of the beginners in the group. By the end of the two hour lesson, almost all of the boys had stood up on their boards. The most outstanding surfers were Dylan, Henry and Harry. Lunch on the beach, followed by a game of football which warmed our boys up. We returned to our Premier Inn Hotel on the crest of a wave and keen to return again in the not too distant future. A steak and chip supper, tenpin bowling, washed down by a dose of England football on the TV completed an exhausting day.
Unfortunately the torrential rain scuppered any chance of cricket on our final day of the tour. However, we returned to school on Sunday still unbeaten. Year 6 were great ambassadors for the School and received many positive comments from a number of people. Both Jon and I would like to personally thank all the tourists for their great company and we look forward to touring with you again in the future.
Ashley
