Cricket Report

SPS V Whitgift, 25 May

On the Saturday before Remedy, the 1st XI, U15As and U14As travelled to Whitgift for what were expected to be tough matches.

In the 1st XI match, on a wonderful day for cricket, Whitgift won the toss and chose to bat first on their home wicket which they expected to be flat. It proved to be so, and in their 50 overs they amassed a formidable 304-6. Their score could have been greater apart from some tight bowling from F. de Mestre (0-28 of 10 overs) and S. Jones (0-41 off 10 overs), while S. Bhatia picked up some late wickets (3-39 off 4 overs) to stem the flow in the final overs. Despite chasing such a mammoth, and seemingly unachievable total, the team was determined to put up a good fight. Openers captain N. Malik (26) and S. Francombe (22) got the innings off to a good start, before both falling in quick succession, leaving the score at 69-2 off 12 overs. This brought A. Hillman and R. Walter to the crease, who batted maturely together putting on a 99 run partnership before Hillman fell for 44, with the score at 168-3 after 29 overs. Despite still requiring 137 runs to win, Walter realised the game was in his hands and was determined to see his side home. The 4th wicket fell after 38 overs with the score on 216 which brought D. Pandey to join Walter in the middle. Shortly after this, Walter brought up his second century for the School off just 91 balls, but his celebration was muted as he realised the job was not yet done. Ably supported by Pandey, who finished on 25 not out, Walter then powered St Paul’s to victory with 9 balls remaining and finishing on 146 not out. This secured a remarkable win by six wickets and one which will certainly live long in the memory.

The U15As also secured a remarkable win against Whitgift. Batting first, the team scored 127-5 in 30 overs with T. Raaj carrying his bat for 55. Whitgift were always in the chase but lost wickets at regular intervals, with A. Bhatia the pick of the bowlers (3-25 off 6). In the final over of the match, Whitgift’s final batter was run out by a direct hit from the boundary coming back for the second which would have levelled the scores. This secured a dramatic win for St Paul’s by 1 run.

Unfortunately the U14As lost to Whitgift but they put up a good fight against a very strong opposition which included 10 county age group players.

ECSA Surrey T20 Cup

Earlier the week the U15As first had success then then disappointment in the ESCA Surrey T20 cup. On Monday the team beat St James with Y. Dhasmana (35 out out) and de Mestre (30 not out) impressing with the bat. However, on Thursday a very disappointing batting performance resulted in defeat to KCS Wimbledon in the quarter final. Some excellent bowling, particularly from de Mestre (4-7 off 4), nearly won the game but in the end St Paul’s lost by 3 wickets.

This coming week we have a block fixture against Hampton School.

Written by Alex Langley, Head of Cricket