Another week of fixtures saw Shiplake approach the pitches to take on some local rivals. The hard work and training has started to pay off, with success for the Shiplake cricket teams against local rivals including Our Lady’s Abingdon and Reading School.
Cricket
Shiplake College 1st XI vs Reading School
Mr Jonnie Howorth provided the following report from the match:
‘Shiplake College won the toss and elected to field in the T20 fixture on Wednesday 3 May. Right from the start, opening bowlers Alex Bradley and Tom McCooke put the Reading batsmen under immense pressure, conceding only three runs in the first four overs. The pressure eventually took its toll, and Bradley made a deserved breakthrough, bowling the Reading opener with a ball that swung late and took out his off stump. First change bowlers Harry Ibbitson and Callum Heppner-Logan didn’t let up, and continued to bowl tightly as Shiplake created a huge amount of pressure on the Reading batting line up. Both picked up wickets in very tidy spells before the Welsh House death bowling pair of Joe Tucker and Zach Heppner-Logan finished off the innings. Zach had only two wickets, and Joe forced a run out after some excellent bowling.
With only 73 required to win, Will Gresswell, in his first innings for the 1st XI with 27, and Ben Arnold (13) steered the team home to their second win in a row with 7 wickets in hand and six overs to spare.
A comprehensive performance and the team is now full of confidence ahead of clashes against the staff team, and Pangbourne as their next rival.’
U14A vs Thorpe House
Year 9 pupil Josh Howard gives us the following report:
'On Wednesday 3 June the Under 14 As travelled up to Thorpe House School. Shiplake won the toss and decided to bat first. Shiplake experienced the loss of three wickets early on in their innings- however, Callum Theodorou and Dom Hance maintained the score at a steady rate. Batsmen James Roxburgh-Smith put in an impressive performance, helping Shiplake achieve a score of 123 for four. Theodorou managed to get to 50 not out, with Roxburgh-Smith hot on his heels at 27 not out. Despite a solid performance batting, the Shiplake side knew a lot was riding on their bowling.
Thorpe House lost an early wicket, thanks to the bowling of Ben Atkin, and an amazing catch from Joe Ruffle. As the Thorpe House's innings carried on, a number of wickets fell, thanks to some impressive bowling from the Shiplake side. Thorpe House finished on 76 all out.
Man of the match went to Theodorou, for his strong batting performance. Shiplake will head into next week's match confident from a good win.'
U13A vs Our Lady Abingdon School
Mr Nick Brown provided the following report for the U13A game:
‘The U13A team continued their winning ways on Tuesday, with a convincing win over Our Lady’s School, Abingdon. Following a winning formula, skipper Gorringe won the toss and elected to bat. After losing two early wickets Zac Kennedy and Sebastian Hjortland-Marks dug in and put on 85 runs for the third wicket. Kennedy batted with assurance and power, and scored an impressive 55 (retired). Hjortland-Marks did well to score 20. A final flourish from the likes of Elliott Richards, Cameron Jones and Josh Lewis saw Shiplake finish on 143 for four.
Our Lady’s School made a shaky start, losing their opening pair in the second and third overs respectively. At one point the batting side were four for four. Sharp catching and tight bowling ensured that Shiplake strangled any run scoring opportunities, and at the end of the game, our opponents were 37 for 8 off their allotted 20 overs. Rory Diez-Harrison took three great catches at silly mid-on while Ben Willis and Sean Farrell were the pick of the bowlers, with two wickets apiece. Once again we used ten bowlers, all of whom chipped in.
Another great win!’
U13B vs Our Lady Abingdon School
Mr Duncan Miller provides the following report:
‘Shiplake College beat Our Lady Abingdon by 12 overs. Our Lady’s Abingdon batted first, and some fantastic bowling for Kai O’Hare, Harry Watts, Barney Rivetts, Stanley Ingram and Joe Rayner helped to skittle the visitors for just 62 runs. Kai O’Hare bowled a double wicket maiden and Harry Watts was on a hat-trick in his second over. The atmosphere in the field as fantastic, with lots of encouragement for the bowlers. The side was captained brilliantly by Jack Underwood, and the wicket-keeping of Ben Ferguson not only resulted in two wickets (a catch and a stumping) but also saved his side at least 20 runs.
When Shiplake came into bat, Jack Powell and Max Way approached the chase in an utterly professional manner. As a result, the target was chased down without the loss of a single wicket. Both batsmen looked in fine form, hitting a mixture of singles and booming boundaries. Despite reaching the total comfortably, Shiplake batted out the remaining overs, with Max Way retiring on 26 and Jack Powell on 27. Stanley Ingram, Barney Rivetts and Ben Ferguson also made useful contributions with the bat- all retiring when they got to double figures.
An impressive result and a tremendous display of skill and team work; well done U13Bs!’
