Aysgarth School

The Cricket tour of 2010 set off to to Oxford, Swindon and Windsor to compete against a very tough set of opponents. We had a squad of 13 young men who have had a successful season but we were still looking for them to play to their full potential. Following our comprehensive victory over Ampleforth on Saturday confidence was high although we were all a little apprehensive about the games ahead.

Monday 28th June 20/20 match

The Dragon 127-4 vs Aysgarth 128-4 After a long trip down to Oxford we arrived at the prestigious Dragon school a little tired which showed in our opening overs. We put The Dragon into bat and they got off to a strong start with a few no balls and miss fields from our lads, Fenwick held it together with a cracking opening spell. Following a few glares and questioning looks the boys woke up and started to restrict The Dragon with the spin twins of Williams-Ellis and Fawcett. The seamers came back on in the second half and bowled much better with a final over from Darbishire that included 4 inswinging Yorkers. It was like watching a young Darren Gough or even Ian Austen. It was a very gettable total but chasing any total away from home can be tough. In reply, Fawcett went early but the Adair brothers Freddie (21) and Harry (13) steadied the ship against some very good bowling. Freddie was run out with a very close call which brought in Darbishire. Unfortunately the drinks break brought a wicket with Harry trying to push the score on. Bateson(8) appeared and hit 2 fours in his 3 balls but his attacking policy was short lived. In came Orlando Hill who, despite not batting a great deal this term, hit the ball beautifully. Darbishire, under pressure, continued to hit boundaries and hit one over for 20 which put us to within touching distance. With over 2 overs to spare Hill (20no) finished the game but there is no doubt who the man of the match was, Darbishire (53no). We had a wonderful support for the game with an array of parents lining the boundary. The Dragon put on a fantastic barbeque and we continued the post match analysis for several hours.

Tuesday 29th June 30/30 match Prior Park 181-4 vs Aysgarth 182-6

Following our superb win the previous day we moved on to Swindon to play Prior Park who we knew little about. We found out a lot more when we saw 4 or 5 boys above the 6 foot mark. In addition we were told of their unbeaten season on their circuit and a solitary loss in the Jet Cup to an extremely strong Millfield side. Therefore, realising we were playing one of the strongest sides around our success the day before felt a long time ago. Again we put them in and again we started with the athleticism and energy of a parade of elephants at a watering hole. After 6 overs they had passed 50 and I had to call the boys in to politely comment that their performance may not quite be up to scratch. Williams Ellis came to the rescue and slayed the first Goliath only for his bigger brother to replace him. It was a very tough outfield but the boys worked tirelessly and finally held them to 181 which was a great achievement considering our start. In response, Lockyear and Freddie Adair saw off the quick bowlers and settled in at 4 an over. Lockyear went and with a spinner on Bateson was chomping at the bit to get in and launched 22 in 8 balls to accelerate our run rate. Darbishire and Fawcett came in and continued to score quickly but were undone by some impressive seam bowling. That brought in Harry Adair (31no) who looked slightly small in the surroundings. They brought in their fielders in ‘for the small lad’ only to be dispatched to all parts by him and Freddie (71). Freddie was finally run out but his knock was a match winner and oozed class. Williams Ellis came in and cracked a few more fours for Aysgarth to win with 6 overs remaining, a quite exceptional effort. After the game we went onto St John’s Beaumont full of the joys of victory and looking forward to a good nights’ sleep as it had been very hot and tiring. We got to our sports hall and snuggled into our gym mats in the gym suite. Bryan the driver, who was excellent in all he did, was given a camp bed but unfortunately as he lowered himself on he went through bottom of it. Only fair that he shared the floor as well!

Wednesday 30th June 25/25 Aysgarth 194-7 vs St. John’s Beaumont 79 all out

We decided to bat first in our final game with under 11 Archie Stroyan (10), opening the innings. We were 3-2 when Freddie Adair and Bateson both went for 1. However Harry Adair came in and played beautifully for 64, his first 50 for the 1st XI. Fawcett (32) played well and then Hill (49no) finished the innings with some graceful shots. Reaching 194 we knew we had a large total and our bowlers didn’t let us down with the highlight being Darbishire, who was left until later on, mopping up the tail with 3-1 off 2 overs. In all the tour was a great success and the boys certainly showed that they can match the best across the country. Their fielding and bowling is extremely tight and efficient and will keep most teams to a gettable total. Their batting has been the shining light of the season with some outstanding and positive stroke play meaning that the run rate very rarely fell below six an over and considering we were playing schools much bigger than ourseleves we can be extremely proud of our efforts.