South Africa Cricket Tour Report 2008
Day 1 Thursday 11th December
Our flight arrived on time and with little disruption. Having checked into the Breakwater Lodge we had a 2 hour training session with both squads on a club ground with the 2010 World Cup final stadium (taking shape slowly!) as a back drop. It was great to be in temperatures in the mid 20s having left England in the freezing conditions. This was followed by a nice meal on the Waterfront and an early night.
Match One v Bishops @ Bishops, Cape Town 12th December 50 overs
1st XI Report
Our first game on tour saw us take on Bishops, one of the top cricketing schools in South Africa. We had previously beaten the same XI at Eton in July. Having decided to bat second, we proceeded to bowl poorly throughout the Bishop's innings, resulting in a big total to chase; 325-8;Dion Holden (10-1-47-1) & David Lloyd (10-0-42-2) managed respectable figures and saved us conceding even more runs. In reply, we lost early wickets, with only David Lloyd (40), Dion Holden (36), and Alex Sale (28), troubling the scorers. Rupert Salmon contributed a useful 16 but failed to find a partner to ‘tough it out’ and we eventually closed the innings well over a hundred and twenty short. It was always going to be a difficult game so early in the tour, and so it proved to be.
LOST
U15 XI Report
Henry Lewis won the toss and elected to bat on a decent looking wicket. We made a decent start with openers Mark Prescott and Rory Mucklow laying a solid platform. There then followed some kamikaze running and poor shot selection which saw Shrewsbury in trouble at 70 –6. Matthew Gregson and Jack Hudson Williams steadied the ship with an excellent 67 run partnership, taking the score to 137 - 7. Both played some fine shots and took the attack to the Bishops’ bowlers. Unfortunately when they fell in quick succession, we folded to 154 all out.
Bishops never looked in trouble as they punished any wayward bowling to chase the runs for the loss of 2 wickets.
LOST
Match Two v New Orleans @ Boland Park, Paarl 13th December Twenty20
1st XI Report
This was the first of two 20/20 matches on the same day. First up were New Orleans School at the Boland Stadium in Paarl. At this first class venue and on a slow pitch with a magnificent outfield New Orleans batted first and scored 104 for 6, with Alex Blofield (2-0-3-2), Sebastian Shukla (4-0-17-1) and Joe Leach (3-0-14-1) the pick of the bowlers. The fielding and catching was of a very high standard with George Thomason and George Curtis being the pick of the fielders. Tom Shaw kept well behind the stumps and ensured we kept the runs under control. In reply, Shrewsbury cruised to 108 for 4, with Joe Leach 41, Alex Blofield turning in a ‘Man of the Match’ performance 32 not out and Ben Williams (8 not out) all contributing well. Shrewsbury won comfortably, with a few overs to spare.
WON
U15 XI Report
20 20 Match 1 at Bolland Stadium v New Orleans Township School
Henry Lewis again won the toss at this most impressive stadium, with the stunning Paarl mountains as the backdrop. New Orleans scored 96 in their 20 overs with decent spells of bowling from Charlie Farquhar, Archie Darroch and Harry Croft who all took 2 wickets each.
The Shrewsbury innings was well paced and saw us home by 5 wickets, including a fine innings from Jack Bailey (38) and Will Mason (28) who scored shots all round the wicket.
WON
Match Three v Paarl Boys High @ Boland Park, Paarl Under Floodlights 13th December Twenty20
1ST XI Report
This was also a 20 over game at Boland Stadium. Paarl Boys High won the toss and elected to bat first. On a slow and low surface, which was difficult to score on, they totalled 99 for 6, with Joe Leach taking 2 for 14 and Tom Welti taking 2 for 23 .Ben Price on his debut for school kept superbly despite having spent most of the previous week ill. In reply, Shrewsbury eased their way to 103 for 3, winning in the final over, thanks mainly to the dynamic Welsh duo of David Lloyd (28), and Dion Holden (23 no). Ben Williams again proved to be a fearless finisher by producing a couple of quality strokes in the final over, which saw Shrewsbury safely to victory.
WON
U15 XI Report
Paarl Boys batted first and posted a competitive 103 on a surface that was becoming more difficult to bat fluently. Will Mason was the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 10 from his spell ably supported by Mark Prescott with 2 wickets. Shrewsbury’s reply never really got going as we were unable to run any quick singles and rotate the strike early on and this caused the run rate to creep up steadily. We lost wickets at the wrong times and apart from a late partnership from Rory Mucklow and Jack Hudson Williams, which gave hope, it was always a tall order and we ended up 12 runs short.
LOST
Sunday 14th December
A well-earned day off and a trip to Newlands to watch the Nashua Dolphins play the Cape Cobras.
Monday 15th December
Match Four v Western Province Invitation XI @ Edgemead CC 15th December 50 overs
1st XI Report
Joe Leach (capt) lost the toss and we were inserted on a very damp pitch. Throughout our innings we struggled to score quickly. Initially we were pegged back by some good seam bowling. Alex Blofield (42) resisted well and tried to shepherd the middle order towards a good total. But it was not to be as we were undone by a string of poor shots against a very moderate off spinner and we eventually capitulated to 137 all out.
The intense heat of midday was not to do us any favours and as the pitch quickened and the outfield improved runs became easier to acquire. Despite an early breakthrough from Joe Leach and some good bowling from Alex Blofield & Ben Williams our opponents romped home with a number of overs to spare. On reflection greater patience and care with shot selection would have produced a much bigger total but hats off to our opponents for their excellent win.
LOST
U15 XI Report
Played at the slightly less picturesque Edgemead CC (with the view of Table Mountain obscured by a power station!) and in blistering heat it was a bad toss to lose! The bowlers performed very well to restrict Edgemead to 122 all out in 22 overs. James Aston, Will Leigh-Bramwell, John O Hare and Will Mason shared the wickets. Shrewsbury’s reply was positive and Charlie Farquhar played well at the top of the innings for his 16 runs. Jack Hudson Williams and Jack Doyle then put on an 82 run partnership to see us home to an 8-wicket victory.
WON
Tuesday 16th December
An open top bus tour to Table Mountain and some picturesque sights of Cape Town was followed by a few hours on the beach.
Wednesday 17th December
Match Five v Western Province CC @ Vineyard Rondebosch 17th December 40 overs
1stXI Report
Again we lost the toss and the opposition decided to bat. We generally bowled with better discipline but all too often bowled the ‘four ball’. The opposition totalled a very respectable 167 after we tailed off towards the end of our bowling. George Curtis produced a much- improved bowling performance and together with the very consistent Alex Blofield bowled well picking up a number of wickets. The fielding was generally crisp with George Thomason again outstanding but a one handed overhead diving catch from Sebastian Shukla took the prizes for the most spectacular effort. Stephen Leach was promoted to open the innings with David Lloyd and took full advantage of his opportunity. Both were circumspect to start with but as the partnership developed both played with greater confidence. David played the dominant role and after running well in the initial part of his innings after drinks he played a number of excellent attacking strokes that deflated the opposition. Stephen supported him well by rotating the strike and placing his back foot shots carefully into gaps. David (103no) became only the fourth boy at Shrewsbury School to score a hundred on an overseas tour (previously Tom Cox (Sri Lanka 2002), Peter Bailey & James Gale (South Africa 2004). Stephen also passed 50 to finish on 52no and thereby engineer an excellent 10-wicket victory.
WON
U15 XI Report
Henry Lewis won the toss and inserted the opposition on what looked like a decent cricket wicket. They were quickly in trouble as James Aston and Jack Hudson Williams removed the openers cheaply. The WP innings never got going and they were eventually dismissed for a meagre 71. Shrewsbury made light work of the total with Sam Welti hitting some lusty blows in his 25, ably supported by Henry Lewis with 25.
WON
Match Six v New Orleans @ Dal Joshaphat Paarl 18th December 50 overs
1st XI Report
And yet another toss lost on the hottest (36’) day of the tour. The end result was another 50 overs of hard toil for the tourists against a very attack minded batting line up. Despite another promising spell from George Curtis and Alex Blofield the rest of the attack gave away far too many easy runs. Despite this are fielding was again of a high standard but the combination of the heat and the stroke play took New Orleans to a formidable total. In reply a number of batsman got starts but failed to turn them into significant scores( Ben Williams 30,Dion Holden 30,Goerge Thomason 25,Tom Shaw 15) and we were eventually bowled out well short. Perhaps disappointing but the conditions were the most testing on tour to date. More worrying at this point was our lack of penetration and consistency with the ball.
LOST
U15 XI Report
Shrewsbury batted first in the hottest conditions experienced on tour. Our innings never got going and it was only due to a captain’s knock of 36 not out from Henry Lewis and 26 from Will Mason that we were able to post 161 on a slow, low wicket that suited the spinners. Our bowling lacked discipline in the extreme conditions the opposition were severe on any loose deliveries. We were back in the game with 2 quick wickets from Jack Hudson Williams, but were unable to wrest the initiative from the township side. Their star batsman was a class act and scored 50 (in temperatures in the high 30s he batted in a jumper!)
Match Seven v Paarl Boys High , Paarl 19th & 20th December 2 Day Match
1st XI Report
A familiar story with the toss almost cost Joe his job. Once again the team trooped into the field and for the first five overs looked anything but a 1stXI outfit. All this changed quickly as the first wicket fell and spirits were lifted. Paarl BH who we had beaten on our previous visit to Paarl in 2004 were out for revenge but the quality of our bowling on day one ensured that they could not build a significant total on what proved to be another slow and difficult surface. Alex Sale (6-1-19-2) & Joe Leach ( 6-0-11-2) combined to build pressure on the opposition middle order and Tom Welti applied the finishing touches by claiming the best figures on tour 7-4-15-5. Paarl had subsided to 109 all out and Shrewsbury set out in their quest to build a first innings leads. In the end a significant lead was achieved after a number of false dawns and a telling contribution from the tail. Ben Williams (24), Ben Price (28), Rupert Salmon (16), Dion Holden (14), Joe Leach (21) all made good contributions but then fell to carelessness. The most important contribution came from Tom Shaw (11) who with solid technique, maturity and patience ensured that the innings progressed to a point at which their bowling options were reduced and then with the aid of some fine stroke play by Alex Sale (20no) they took the final score onto 166. In the circumstances a telling lead. There was still time left in the day and Shrewsbury used it to the advantage in taking a couple of late wickets and end the session well on top. The team had played their best cricket to date.
Day two dawned eventually and we found the team severely depleted by an overnight tummy bug and many drained by sleeplessness. The outfield look more like a field hospital than a cricket ground. Jack Hudson Williams was drafted in from the U15’s to field when Joe Leach took the first over. Joe (14-3-35-4) then reeled off a ten over spell of the highest quality thus ensuring that our grip on the match remained firm. Alex Sale again supported with his best bowling on tour (8-0-26-2) and Alex Blofield bowled a mean spell (16-3-27-4). Paarl had totalled just 109 leaving us with the tricky task of scoring 58 to ensure victory, this we did and claimed our best victory on tour.
WON
U15 XI Report
Henry Lewis lost the toss again and we had to field in blistering hot conditions. On a slow wicket and even slower outfield Paarl posted 149 – 9 in their 60 overs. Jack Hudson Williams bowled well after lunch and ended up with figures of 4 for 18. Shrewsbury’s reply was sadly inadequate as we were dismissed for 89. Only Jack Bailey provided any real resistance with a stylish 23, but was still 60 runs adrift.
Paarl batted again and we were delighted to have them 4 down at the close. In the morning we bowled and fielded superbly to dismiss Paarl for 90. Stephen Leach ended up with figures of 5 – 28 and James Aston and Harry Croft took fine catches.
We were left a minimum of 70 overs in the day to score the 151 needed for victory. The innings started well with the openers looking in control and settled. Another farcical run out involving Mark Prescott caused unnecessary panic and there ensued a collapse of woeful proportions as we were dismissed for 59. What was disappointing was the lack of application from the Shrewsbury batsman on a difficult but not impossible wicket. Of the 20 dismissals in the 2 innings, only 3 could be attributed to the pitch as batsmen got themselves in, looked comfortable and then threw their wickets away. Hopefully lessons will have been learned from this match.
LOST
Sunday 21st December
The whole tour party enjoyed another 45 over game between the Titans and the Cobras at Newlands.
Monday 22nd December
Match Eight v Primrose CC Rondebosch 22nd December 50 overs
1st XI Report
Unfortunately the weather had turned overnight and the match was eventually rained off. The Group Area club had made a magnificent effort to host the match but after lunch & presentations were made the team headed back to the hotel for the last time.
A disappointing end to what was a very successful and enjoyable tour.
We now look forward to seeing the fruits of the boys labour in the summer of 2009.
MATCH ABANDONED
U15 XI Report
v Primrose Cricket Club
Unfortunately the weather got the better of this fixture and we sat and watched a 5 hour deluge before returning for last minute souvenir shopping on the Waterfront and a final meal with presentations at an Italian restaurant.
MATCH ABANDONED
