Stopfordian 2010–2011 - Stockport Grammar School

The Stopfordian 2010–2011
In a very short term, a blink of an eye, we faced Birkdale. They
were also dispatched and sent back to Sheffield with a lesson
on team work dished out by our 11 boys.
Merely a couple of days later King’s Macclesfield were our next
port of call (another away fixture!). It is always a close run
thing against our local rivals but our team were by now a welloiled
team of talented individuals who know the importance of
learning from mistakes and all chipping in together. The now
brilliant opening pair of Jones and Francis were once again on
form and soon notched up the 25 each required before they
had to retire. Hugo Taylor, James Fleming and David Paterson
also played their part and the match looked finely poised at the
break with our score standing at 95. As Wellington said after
the Battle of Trafalgar “It was a close run thing” and so it was.
Eddie Parry and Richard Seed made important contributions
with accurate bowling. In the end the match was a rare tie
with Macclesfield also scoring 95!
Another away match, this time at Merchant Taylors’, stood out
for one big reason and one big score, Edward Francis and 94!
This imperious display made sure of the result but we must
not forget the improved batting from Hugo Taylor, demon
bowling from Eddie Parry and Taylor Entwhistle (still only a
Year 5, watch that name!) and another great team effort with
the fielding. No ball was ever given up on no matter how far
away or how fast it was travelling.
Brimming with confidence, the boys once again faced Bolton
in the AJIS Cup quarter final. However, Bolton had
strengthened their team with some younger players (a warning
for next year!) and their accurate bowling made it hard work
for our batsmen. However, the boys never gave up and the
rear guard of Theo Whitley, Eddie Parry, David Paterson et al
saw us on the way to a respectable score of 85. Despite some
excellent bowling from David Paterson, James Fleming and
Edward Francis as well as super-tight wicket keeping from Ben
“safe hands” Jones, Bolton overtook our score with two overs to
go. A huge disappointment for a team that had got into the
good habit of winning. However, the boys soon picked
themselves up and were looking to how they could learn from
the experience and become better players. Perhaps the 6-aside
tournaments would present that opportunity…
One positive feature of the 6-a-side tournaments was that
both would be at home as they are fixtures we host every year.
The IAPS tournament took place first and had a smaller
number of teams than usual but still proved to be an exciting
and close event. Our boys played magnificently against a very
strong Altrincham team and came out on top by one run. It
was Altrincham we faced in the final too, but this time the
result went the other way. Altrincham needed two off the last
ball and their batsman (familiar with one or two of our players
as he plays for Cheshire) played a superb last shot for four
runs. To lose in such a way was a disappointment but the
team were proud of the way they played individually as well
as a team and they were the first to congratulate the successful
Altrincham boys. Sporting behaviour was again a feature of
this year’s team.
The last tournament was our last chance to win some
silverware. I did not need to remind the boys that in my five
years at Stockport Grammar I had never won the trophy! The
sun shone down on the Senior School pitches (the grass pitch
looked better than the one at Old Trafford!) and all 12 teams
turned up looking forward to an exciting and close
tournament. We fielded A and B teams, both of which had a
chance to progress in the tournament if they played their best
cricket. Altrincham were once again playing and our boys
were hoping for a chance to over turn their previous close
defeat. Sure enough that chance would come… All the usual
suspects were there in fact. Bolton looked strong, fresh from
their AJIS Cup semi final win. Merchant Taylors’ looked very
good as they edged our B team in a closely fought match.
The B team played some exciting cricket but did not make the
semi finals; the A team found themselves playing their semi
against Altrincham! This time there was no doubt over the
result, with a superb team effort mirroring the England’s team
performances against India in the tests this summer.
Paterson’s accurate wizardry with the ball, Fleming’s steely
nerve bowling out the last over, Whitley’s dynamic fielding,
Galloway and Taylor’s accurate bowling and of course, the
demon pair of batsmen who rarely let anyone else have a
chance to bat; Jones and Francis.
Merchant Taylors’ had looked extremely strong and
overpowered Bolton in their semi final. So all that stood
between our boys and that shield and medals were 10 overs
of “blink and you’ll miss it swashbuckling Cricket”. But, once
the match began, there was only thoughts of the next ball.
Edward and Ben played some magnificent shots and worked
together as if they were twins! They left Merchant Taylors’
with too much to do. Accurate bowling and sensible fielding
placements (another area of Edward’s captaincy he had
developed) meant Merchants never got near and our boys
came home with a gold medal and I can say at last that one
of my teams has won the Reeman’s Shield! At last!
And with that the whirlwind was over. Looking back over a
summer of sports: the end of the football season, great golf
(The masters) inspiring Tour de France, fantastic cricket (tests
against India, the highlight for me and many others was the
moment the Indian Cricket captain MS Dhoni decided to
reinstate Ian Bell after he’d been run out in a bizarre incident
just before tea in a test at Trent Bridge. Although Bell was in
the wrong (he thought the match had finished for tea!) and
definitely out, Dhoni decided that it was not in the spirit of the
game for his dismissal to go ahead. For once the spirit of the
game was more important than the immediate result. This is
a strong value encouraged in the boys and girls of SGJS Cricket
teams. This season has been a fantastic success because the
A team won an important trophy. However, what made me
most proud of the cricketers this year has been their sporting
ethos, never say die attitude and encouragement and
inclusion of others. Well done!
M. Johnson
Junior School 111