Early on Tuesday morning, a very excited group of our students boarded their bus for London to compete in the National Table Cricket Finals at Lord’s. They set off in the rain but arrived in London to blue skies in the afternoon.
Their first destination was Hyde Park. After such a long journey, they immediately headed for a refreshing ice-cream and then on to the Diana, Princess of Wales, Memorial Fountain for a paddle.
Their hotel was a very swish Premier Inn near Paddington with wonderful views over-looking a panorama of London. Following a lovely meal, they crashed into bed, exhausted but happy, ready for a good night’s sleep before their big day.
The following morning, after eating a hearty breakfast at the hotel, they set of on their bus for Lord’s very excited but nervous at the same time. The National Finals Day had finally arrived!
They walked to the Nursery Pavillion taking in the view of the amazing stadium and grounds.
They were one of the first teams to arrive, but the Pavillion soon filled up with the 12 teams competing from all around Great Britain. The tables were all set up ready to go and there was a real air of expectation as the officials and volunteers had their last discussions.
At around 10.00am, the teams began to warm up and the pavilion filled with the sound of happy voices and table cricket balls being struck.
At 10.30am, the games got underway in earnest. Our William Howard team played an outstanding first game against The High School Leckhampton, Gloucestershire, winning by 260 runs to 207. Their second game was close fought but our team came out on top winning by 268 to 265 runs against Ambergate College, Lincolnshire. In their third game, they met last year’s National winners, The Wirral Grammar School for Boys, Cheshire. They were a very strong team and unfortunately, our team lost 228 runs to 276. Despite this loss, the team picked themselves up and went on to win their next two games with confidence. They beat Crieff High School from Perth, Scotland 264 runs to 218, and The Angmering School, Sussex – 281 runs to 261.
Apart from their one loss, the teams’ batting and fielding skills improved with every match. Everyone contributed well to the batting score, their fielding skills were tight and they worked brilliantly as a team supporting and encouraging each other. Their captain, Andrew, led well with quiet confidence and scored many sixes.
Our team placed second in their pool. The Wirral Grammar school topped it as they had won all their games. Our students were a little disappointed not to be at the top of their group but soon realised that competing for a bronze medal in a National Final was quite an achievement.
They went into their final match against Chiltern Academy. Bedfordshire, with confidence. They fielded well and went into bat believing they could take the win. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. Chiltern Academy bowled faster then the previous teams they had met making it very difficult to bat with precision and our team couldn’t match their opponent’s score.
Our William Howard team placed fourth. It wasn’t what they hoped and again they were disappointed but after a team talk together, they all agreed that fourth in Great Britain was quite an achievement.
At the end of the competition there was an award ceremony with medals being awarded by former England cricket captain David Gower, and current England player Reece Topley. There was even a little bit of shirt signing.
A tired group of students then boarded the bus for the long return. Amazingly no-one slept. Most of the students sat together at the back of the bus and chatted. On arrival back at school in the early hours of Thursday morning, their parents were there waiting to congratulate them.
Their coach, Tracey Croucher, said: “I am incredibly proud of our William Howard Teams’ achievements. They had to do well in three competitions to reach these National Finals, and their success is down to their dedication, attending additional practices every week prior to competitions, and their incredible teamwork.”
Huge congratulations to the team, Andrew (captain), Nicky (vice-captain), Samuel, Eve, Summer, Emily, Amy, Harry and Lewis.
Thank you to Lord’s Taverners and all those working with them for offering students such an amazing opportunity. Thank you to Sue Bouch and parents for supporting the students throughout the two days. Thank you to all those who supported our cake sale and raffle. Thank you also to those organisations who supported us with funding without which we would not have been able to attend – Carlisle United, Barry Mark Fitness and Lord’s itself.
Congratulations Team William Howard!
See them on the BBC News website, as they prepared for the finals: Brampton school’s table cricket team makes Lord’s national finals – BBC News
