On Friday, schools from across the North of Cumbria came together at Carlisle College, to compete in the Lord’s Taverners North Cumbria Secondary Table Cricket Competition. With 15 teams participating, competition was fierce.
The teams were placed in four pools with the winner of each pool progressing to a semi-final and then to a playoff for 1st or 2nd and 3rd or 4th place, with the top three teams progressing to the county competition in Penrith on the 21st March.
Our William Howard team were very excited travelling to the event. On arrival, they went straight over to a table for some pre-match practice and get the feel for the table and the balls they would be playing with.
The team played brilliantly in their pool games against Ullswater Community College, Whitehaven and Cumbria Academy for Autism, winning each of them with ease. They supported and encouraged each other brilliantly and it was lovely to see how their extra practices in the lead up to the competition had paid off.
In their semi-final, they met Carlisle College. This was an interesting game as the WHS team found themselves playing against former WHS members, which meant that the match was very competitive. William Howard kept their cool and came away with the win, putting them into the final to play for 1st or 2nd in the competition. The team were elated as they knew they had now secured themselves a place in the county competition in three weeks’ time.
In the final, our team met Appleby Grammar. It was a close fought match, but Appleby Grammar came out on top, playing some fantastic table cricket.
Congratulations to our William Howard team players – Andrew (Captain), Samuel, Nicky, Summer, Eve, Harry and Emily. They played brilliantly as a team and demonstrated some exceptional batting and fielding skills earning themselves a well-deserved second place. Good luck to you all in the county competition in March!
Congratulations to all the schools who took part and made this such a great day of inclusive sport.
Thank you to Hannah Paling and John Hughes from Cumbria Cricket for running such a great event and to Melanie King from Carlisle College for organising to host it. A huge thank you also to the Carlisle College Level 2 Sports Leaders who officiated and without whom the event wouldn’t have been possible.
