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ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE
Cricket
By Simon Roche, Master i/c Cricket
It has been another hugely successful cricket
season at St Edward’s. The sun has shone
readily, and the atmosphere about the Club
has been extremely positive. I’m very proud
that we have continued to play our brand
of competitive but enjoyable cricket against
some tough opposition. The number of
wider school activities taking place in the
Summer Term makes it increasingly difficult
for the boys to commit fully to their sport,
but the whole Club has managed to do
so admirably; we remain one of the top
cricketing schools in the country.
The 1st XI were always going to face
a difficult task following last year’s record
breaking successes, but they have certainly
risen to the challenge. In all, they won 16
matches (making them the joint third most
successful team in the School’s history)
and retained the John Harvey Cup, which
they have now won for the last three
years. They did so by beating Marlborough,
Winchester, Bradfield, Cheltenham and,
of course, Radley. They also beat the
Oxford University by eight wickets. Calvin
Dickinson (
Ryde with Upper Chine
) broke
a number of batting records this year: his
181 versus Oratory broke the previous
30-year-old highest individual innings;
Calvin Dickinson and Will Bull (
Abingdon
Prep
), the 1st XI joint captains, put on the
School’s highest ever opening stand of 239
against the Free Foresters; and Dickinson
and AJ Woodland’s (
Davenies
) partnership
of 276 against Oratory was the highest in
the School’s history. The bowling attack
was led by AJ Woodland, Andy Wyles
(
Dulwich Prep
) and Sam Kennedy (
Northcote
Lodge
), but it was Rory Hipwell (
Pinewood
),
a Fourth Former, who had the stand out
performances of 5 for 44 against Saint
Kentigern and 5 for 28 against Cheltenham.
At the end of a hard fought summer, the
following boys received their colours:
Sam Kennedy, Will Bull, Calvin Dickinson,
Andy Wyles, Aditya Edekar (
Saint Kentigern
Boys’, Auckland, NZ
), and AJ Woodland.
Calvin Dickinson finished the season with
1043 runs, becoming only the fifth Teddies
batsman ever to achieve over 1000 runs
in a season. He was recently selected to
represent Worcestershire’s 2nd XI against
Nottinghamshire where he scored a quick-
fire 40 off the bowling of none other than
England’s Chris Woakes.
Elsewhere there have been some fine
performances from the rest of the Club.
Indeed it was a season that featured 10
centuries. The Yearlings A’s won eight
games, beating the likes of Radley (away),
Rugby, Winchester, Clifton and – rather
impressively – Harrow. The win over
Harrow on Chestnut featured a memorable
finish. St Edward’s were chasing and
required 19 runs off the last over. Ben
Charlesworth (
Our Lady’s Abingdon
) was
on strike; one wide and three sixes later
he was being carried aloft as the Yearlings
celebrations ensued. Charlesworth certainly
had a precocious season: he scored two
centuries for the Yearlings and 587 runs in
total. He was selected for the 1st XI against
Marlborough when he carried his bat and
top scored with 73. The Junior Colts A’s
punched above their weight given that
four of their ranks have been playing in the
1st XI and managed wins at Winchester
(who they beat by seven wickets) and
Oratory. James Curtis’ (
Cherwell
) 117 versus
Oratory is worth noting, as is Tom Powell’s
(
St Andrew’s, Pangbourne
) 106 versus
Marlborough. The 2nd XI beat Harrow,
Bradfield, MCS and Rugby (amongst others),
and there were many other victories in
the ranks besides this. We also fielded our
first ever girls’ XI who had a close game at
Bloxham and for whom there will be plenty
more matches and training next season. It
is worth also noting that Ben Charlesworth,
Rory Hipwell and Harrison Ward (
John
Mason
) were all selected to play for South
and West England U15’s versus Wales and
Worcestershire. The cricketing future at St
Edward’s is very bright indeed.
1st XI Captains Calvin Dickinson and Will Bull with The John Harvey Cup
Ben Charlesworth
(Our Lady’s Abingdon)
following
his match-winning innings on debut for the 1st XI
v Marlborough
Simon Hipwell
Simon Hipwell