The 1st XI boys cricket team once again toured Yorkshire and were hosted at Ampleforth College from the 22nd-25th June, playing three days of cricket in a row. They were superbly hosted by our Benedictine friends and all involved will remember another enjoyable touring experience.
Friday saw Downside play Queen Ethelburga’s College, York and Marcellin College, Melbourne in back-to-back T20’s fixtures. Although losing to Queen Ethulburga’s in the fist match was not the ideal start to their tour, the second game saw Downside take four Marcellin College wickets for only four runs in the opening two overs, before they rallied to reach 159-7. Downside chased superbly in an exciting game which eventually saw us reach 135-9 but pride has at least been restored. The evening ended with all four schools enjoying a BBQ together the late evening sunshine.
Saturday was a declaration game for a combined Downside and Ampleforth College ‘Benedictine X1’ against the touring Australians. In the week after losing the first Ashes Test, it was very pleasing to see the boys produce the team performance of the tour. Toby was the man of the match, with an outstanding 5 wicket haul for just 22 runs from 7 overs to leave the visitors 163 all out from 43 overs, which we duly reached in just 40 overs for the loss of 5 wickets to record a famous victory over a strong Australian side.
Sunday began with Mass in the Abbey and would witness another great fixture played in hot & sunny conditions against Ampleforth College in a 30 over game. Whilst the hosts eventually reached the target of 200 runs we had set them with two overs to spare, the match will be remembered for U6 player Archie scoring a truly outstanding 103 not out in our innings – a great way for his time at Downside to come to an end and a fitting end to another great season of cricket at the school.
The tour party returned on Sunday evening exhausted but elated after a wonderful tour. Thanks must go to Mr Taylor, Mr Staines and Mr Jones for organising and leading such an enjoyable trip, as well as driving the tour party to North Yorkshire and back in one weekend! Special mention to the U6 leavers – Matthew, Archie, Joe, Leo, Tom, Zach & Ivor for all that they have contributed to Downside cricket. The five other tour players will return next year and can look forward to being joined by some emerging talent from the younger years groups ahead of the 2024 season.
