Wellington College Yearbook 2009/2010 | Page 50

50 ? ? ? ? ? ?? ? ?? ? ? ? ? ? ?? ? ? ? ? ? / ? ? ? ? 51 ? ? ? ? ? ?? ? ?? ? ? ? ? ? ?? ? ? ? ? ? / ? ? ? ? ??????? W e have to start this report with a headline cricketing facility, early season victories were recorded notices. The 2009 season finished on high, with against Malvern, and a near immaculate display away at xi winning the bows Festival played in Marlborough which resulted in a resounding 145 run the 1st sun drenched Brighton amid soaring temperatures. The victory. accompanying cricket matched the weather that week, as an outstanding Eton the xi played their best cricket of the season in a fantastic display of competitive top quality school sport. However a sub-standard performance against xi, resulted in a heavy defeat before our long overdue triumph against Harrow. Being a mainly young, inexperienced side, inconsistency of performance In all, our young and enthusiastic side returned 9 was predic ted and we were beaten away at Cheltenham, victories, 8 losses and a draw in a season free of rain before bouncing back strongly against Cranleigh, winning affected matches. the game by 9 wickets well before tea. Other than the festival victory at Brighton, the highlight of the season was without doubt our defeat of Harrow—the first time for 16 years. This success on Turf against one of the country’s strongest cricketing schools was something that our players will remember for years to come. Anyway to go back to the beginning, the team were led admirably throughout season by Mickey Barkett [Hl], who As the boys returned after awa r d s ow b at t i n g . . . . . . . half term exams were in full flow, so practice sessions were william leit h [ s] ow b ow li n g . . . . . . an g us bo o byer [pn ] ow f i e ldi n g . . . . . . . . to m wood [ h g] p r i n c e c h r i s t ian v icto r bowlin g . . . . . . . . . . . . . alec barket t [h l] b ryan c u p ( jun io r) . . . . co n n o r n urs e [ a] h u x ta b le c up (o ut s tan din g perf o rman ce ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . o liv er barker [ h g] an dr e w n e wman ( bat t in g/bowlin g ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . james ren dell [ s] depleted and we faced and lost against two very strong sides in Tonbridge and Charterhouse. A disappointing performance against Radley, where we failed to chase an achievable target, left the boys with two weeks of cricket to try to get back to winning ways. Free The 1st XI: Standing: G. D. Franklin, M. T. Boobbyer, Max Tulley [Bd], Will Leith [S], Ollie Barker [Hg], Angus Boobbyer [Pn], M. Farrington (Scorer) Seated: Charlie Pickard [Bl], James Rendell [S], Alec Barkett [Hl], Mickey Barkett [Hl] (Captain), Pete Carmody [M], Tom Wood [Hg], James Brooks [L] from the pressure of exams, xi then played their best performance of the season against an experienced, tough twins who, in their last game for Wellington, put on over cricket of the season. Tourists and confident Sedbergh team. Our top order were put 50 in little more than 6 overs with shots of great power and a very calm head. Frustratingly for Mickey, he did Melbourne Grammar School were decisively beaten as we under considerable pressure from the opposition, however, to all parts of the ground. Again, the consistency of our not pass a score of 50 all season, despite looking classy finally put behind us our seeming inability to chase down we fought our way to a commanding total of 245. Will Leith bowling and fielding proved too strong for the opposition, whenever he was at the crease. His season finished on a totals. We performed admirably in a narrow defeat to a [S], a Colt, scored his maiden College 100, batting with great who fell well short of the target: an outstanding end to an real high at Brighton, in his last game for Wellington, as he strong m.c.c. side containing two of Wellington’s finest determination and concentration, skill and class. He was impressive season. struck 48* against Oakham off 32 balls in a winning cause, modern day cricketers, Charlie Hodgson [A 1991–1996] well supported by one his peers, Angus Boobbyer [Pn], who Aside form the Barketts’ performances, three all including two imperious straight drives for 6. His twin, and Hugo Shephard [Bn 1998–2003]. An emphatic winning continued to show great consistency in the middle order. rounders deserve a special mention for their efforts. Alec Barkett [Hl] spearheaded the bowling attack, taking draw against Free Foresters, that included a blistering 100 To see a pair of Colts share a stand of over 100 against Will Leith passed 500 runs and took 17 wickets with 40 wickets in 2009. Alec bowled with pace, aggression from Alec Barkett, increased our players’ confidence before such a competitive team was a real highlight of the season. his ever reliable left arm spin; Angus Boobbyer had an and consistency throughout the summer and was without heading down to the South Coast for our annual Festival. Despite a resilient fight from the opposition, our outstanding all round season, scoring over 450 runs and at all times captained the side with a great deal of maturity the doubt the best seamer on show across our circuit. He It was at Brighton that our players reached the summit bowling proved to be too strong, as Sedbergh fell 27 runs taking 29 wickets and spinning all rounder Tom Wood took key wickets at crucial times and more often than of their season. On day 1, having been inserted by the short. Seam bowlers A. Barkett and Boobbyer were well scored over 450 runs and took 17 wickets. James Rendell not, the opposition tail (and indeed top order) could home side, our team of 5 sixth formers, 4 Colts, a Junior supported by the classy left-arm spin of Tom Wood [Hg]. [S] also scored freely and is surely one of the cleaner not cope with his array of fast and straight bouncers and Colt and a Yearling, amassed 270 in 50 overs. Bizarrely, no To complete the clean sweep and to win the festival, we had strikers of a cricket ball at Wellington and James Brooks yorkers. These two senior members of the squad were batsman passed 50, but this merely highlighted the strength to beat a young, talented team from Oakham. For the third [L] kept wicket impressively all season and also scored excellent role models for our younger cricketers and true of the team performance. On a hard, abrasive outfield, day in a succession, we batted first and put the pressure useful runs in the lower-middle order. gentlemen, on and off the pitch. They are sure to be a our fielders and bowlers showed great discipline and heart on the opposition by amassing a commanding total of 270. aside, all these players and the other cricketers who great asset to the owcc. to overcome a strong Brighton team and we emerged Again no batter scored beyond 50, but the champagne played in the Festival, will return next year to build on victors by a margin of 27 runs. The following day saw our moment of the innings was the partnership of the Barkett what was a successful and enjoyable season for the Following a full pre-season programme in our indoor The Barketts xi.