The Salopian no. 157 - Winter 2015

34
SCHOOL NEWS
overs. Chasing such a large score was always going to be
challenging against such a strong side. The opening pair
of Paul Sharpe (37) and Harry Schofield (16) made a good
start, but when Fred Adair and Fred Earlam failed to make
and impact, the score slumped to 79 for 4 before a flurry of
wickets left the 2nd XI 101 all out.
So it was a disappointing end to a season which was blighted
by weather and exams. Cricket is a game which tests skill
and concentration and it was not easy to get any momentum
with such a staccato rhythm to the season. Yet there were
highlights to savour; Fred Earlam’s excellent performance at
Malvern stands out, but the recovery to win against Repton
was also sweet. It was a pleasure to work with such a willing
group of boys and testament to their commitment that,
despite the increasing pressure of exams, they were keen
to pull on their whites for the team. Leading batsmen were
Fred Earlam with 124 runs at 41.3, Fred Adair with 109 runs
at 27.3 and Paul Sharpe, who started the season at number
11 but finished with 86 runs at an average of 43! Leading
bowlers included George Birt with 7 wickets at an average
of 8.4 and Freddie Rowley also with 7 wickets, at an average
of 14. Many of the Lower Sixth worked hard to improve in
the second half of the season and with more maturity and
the lessons learned from this year, they will provide a sound
foundation for senior cricket at Shrewsbury next season.
Matthew Barrett
U17 XI
U17s School Sports Cup
1st Round Shrewsbury v Ellesmere
(Home)
Ellesmere 107 for 8 (Cooke 5 for 22)
Shrewsbury 108 for 1 (Home 45 n.o.)
2nd Round Shrewsbury v Wrekin
(Away) won by 8 wkts
Wrekin 103 for 6 (Lloyd 2 for 18)
Shrewsbury 104 for 2 (Hargrave 37 n.o.
Panayi 35 n.o.)
3rd Round Shrewsbury v Myerscough
(Home) won by 7 wkts
Myerscough 160 for 8
Shrewsbury 163 for 3 (Garrett 63 n.o.
Panayi 56 n.o.)
19th June Shrewsbury v Sedbergh U17
Cup lost by 3 runs
Sedbergh 236 for 9
Shrewsbury 233 for 4 (Adair 60 Panayi
54 n.o. Hargrave 53)
U16A XI
Played 6 Won 4 Lost 2
A most encouraging season with a
hard-working and committed group of
boys. Paddy Jacob, George Hargrave
and Charlie Home spent much of
the time playing in the 1st X1, but
this provided good opportunities for
others to come in take their chance.
The side was well captained by Harry
Gregson who proved to be a force
with both bat and ball. Other notable
batting performances came from Dan
Orchard, Josh Malyon and Oliver Dixon
who all played some quality innings
at times. The pick of the bowlers was
Ross Orchard who bowled with pace
and accuracy. Arthur Price produced
some decent spells of off-spin and
George Pearce and Joe Thevathasan
probed away with their seamers. The
team fielded very well as a unit and
there were some excellent run outs and
catches. It is hoped that this group of
players will continue to train hard and
enjoy their cricket as a number of them
could play at a good level in the Sixth
Form.
U16B XI
Played 2 Won 1 Lost 1
The first was a (by now) traditional
T20 fixture at Bedstone. We were never
sure what a good total was on this
ground; while our run rate was always
sound, we did lose wickets rather too
regularly, particularly of our potentially
destructive batsmen, and slowed down
in the final overs as a result. We ended
up getting to 91. George Pearce 20 off
20 balls, Tom Atkin 17 from 14,
George Chaplin 16 from 18.
We started to defend this total with
energy, not giving width. But, unlike
us, Bedstone’s numbers 2 & 3 hung on
(George Pearce bowled their #1 for 1
run). Bertie Calvert came into the attack
and was the pick of the bowlers (his
first over was a maiden) but it was too
late as Bedstone were already 74 off 13
overs. Bedstone won by 9 wickets with
more than 4 overs to spare. George
Pearce 4 overs 15-1. Bertie Calvert 1.2
overs 6-0.
After exams a hybrid As/Bs team
headed down to South Shropshire
again, to play a mixed Lucton/Ludlow
team. It soon became clear that we
were rather strong for them, so Harry
Gregson was retired for scoring too
fast while Dan Orchard remained,
aiming to make his first 50 playing
for Shrewsbury School. Sadly on 44
he tried to get there in one shot and
was bowled. Having reduced the
match to 16 overs each way we scored
141. Gregson 35 (ret). D.Orchard
44. G.Pearce 21*.We then kept the
opposition to 76. T.Atkin 2-0-8-3.
J.Malyon 2-0-6-0. A.Price 2-0-15-2.
J.Thevathasan 3-1-17-1.
B.Calvert 3-0-11-1.
U15A XI
Played 21 Won 15 Lost 6
I have never before started a review of a cricket season
with a quote from G. K. Chesterton. Until today.
“There are two ways to get enough. One is to continue to
accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.”
In today’s materialistic society, there may well be some
truth in that statement. However, in the quest for sporting
satisfaction, our desires this year were left, in some
senses, unfulfilled.
Let us get the disappointments out of the way early in the
piece. The U15s finished the season with a sole trophy to
show for their efforts – the Shropshire ESCA T20 title, won
by defeating a strong Ellesmere College side that had beaten
them in the County Final 12 months previously. We were
caught in a three-way tie at the end of season festival at
Uppingham, eventually missing out on the trophy due to
run rate, and lost to Malvern College in the semi-final at the
Midlands T20 Finals day.
I often despair at football managers blaming their most
recent defeat on everything from the fixture schedule to the
alignment of the planets, but in this case there are some
significant mitigating circumstances. The 12-man squad we
took to the U15 festival at Uppingham contained seven