Abingdonian 2018

61 www.abingdon.org.uk Summer Term Minor Counties Division. The finale to the 2018 school season was the hosting of the annual 1st XI Cricket Festival at Abingdon, involving Cheadle Hulme School, St John’s Leatherhead and Brentwood School. The well-contested festival saw Abingdon finishing second to St John’s. We also got to hear from Lt. Col. Colin Whitworth, who shared his story and some life tips at the festival dinner - but only after the England football team had competed victory over Colombia! Hosting the festival was a great way to finish the season and say farewell to some real stalwarts of the Cricket Club. The festival matches were played across our main pitch on War Memorial Field as well as at the local Abingdon Vale Cricket Club, with whom we continue to build strong club links. They made use of the School’s facilities at the start of the Summer holidays and we now have Abingdon School cricketers representing the club at U13, U15 and through each of the senior teams. In the Lower School, the U12s showed great promise and played some magnificent cricket throughout the season. The U13s got off to a slow start, but found their form in the latter part of the season, with a number of the players stepping up to represent the U14 sides to great effect. In the U14 teams, there was the luxury of substantial competition for places, resulting in a rotation system throughout the term. The As peaked with an emphatic win against Portsmouth Grammar School, with the Bs and Cs following suit. This is a year group with great cricketing potential, which bodes well for the future. On occasion, the U15 sides lost players to the senior sides, presenting chances for others to step up. There is a great deal of cricketing depth in this year group, and we look forward to seeing how the players develop in the senior age groups next year. The senior sides played some great cricket, particularly in the second half of the term, although the 3rd XI’s first game versus Reading Blue Coat probably trumped them all, with the captain respectfully retiring his innings on 80 runs, denying himself the chance of a century, in order to offer others the opportunity to bat before winning the fixture. Special mention must go to Oscar Fountain for his 4 wickets in an over, including a hat trick for the 1st XI, and also to Jack Deeker for scoring a century for the U12Cs on debut for the School - quite some achievements! Overall, the Cricket Club ended the 2018 season with a win percentage just below 60%. Full Colours were awarded to captain Oscar Fountain as well as Fergus Mitchell, Max Owen, Samuel Warren, Josh Washington and William Webb, while Half Colours went to Daniel Bacon, Sam Collins, Joshua Franklin and Jamie Lawson. Lower School Full Colours were awarded to Alastair Gray, Max Siriwardene and Max Struthers with Half Colours going to Geordie Anderson, Ollie Northwood, Marc Sherriff and Joshua Willson. James Golding