By now, most of you will have heard about the passing of Douglas Henderson in mid-February after a short illness. There is a brief mention in the new edition of Wisden for which, he was the Schools Cricket editor for 17 years. A more comprehensive obituary will appear in the 2023 edition.
This column will now be edited by Robert Morris, who has also taken on the Wisden mantle. Rob spent much of his working life teaching Geography and ICT in both independent and sate sectors, coaching and running sport especially Cricket as well as being an A level examiner for 30 years and writing several textbooks.
He is still very active in cricket as chair of his local ECB Premier League club and a member of the league committee. He is also a qualified coach and Premier League umpire.
Rather like Douglas, Rob feels strongly about various aspects of the modern game such as over exuberant encouragement of teammates and so-called banter, though he is ambivalent about what format schools should play and believes that there is a place for multiple formats
Here are the details for ordering Wisden 2022 at a substantial discount:
For schools (including members of staff, pupils, and parents) who wish to order the new edition of Wisden annually, the best price available is the less-than-half-price (£28.50) offer if you take out a subscription. To subscribe please visit: www.wisdenalmanack.com/subscribe.
For those who prefer not to subscribe, the 2022 edition (hardback or soft cover) can be ordered for £36 (post free) from https://wisden.com/shop/wisden-cricketers-almanack-2022-hardback. The large format edition and Shorter Wisden ebook can also be ordered from the same website.
When I received my copy last week, I was a little surprised at the brevity of the Schools Report with a smaller number of schools than usual submitting their averages. I compared the number with the number in the first Wisden I was given in 1976 to find that only a third of that number made their way into the 2022 edition. While I can accept that many schools had truncated seasons, many simply did not send in reports compared with the last normal season in 2019.
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Once again, the season has opened with fine, if a little chilly conditions. Some schools taking advantage of the weather with pre-season tours and festivals despite the return of exams this summer albeit with many of them truncated in terms of content. However, with most of the current Year 13/Upper Sixth pupils having never experienced external exams, I day say the spectre of the R-word will loom its ugly head before long with SLTs and parents taking would be cricketers away from the sport. In my time of running school teams, I found that those boys who managed their time efficiently and were able to play their cricket were able to be successful in their A levels and make their UCAS offers. I am dismayed these days by the number pupils who spend their time gaming in their spare time prioritising this over academic work and other aspects of their school life such as sport and music.
Highlights this week include a remarkable match at Felsted where over 660 runs were scored in a hundred overs with three centurions, Walter Forsey and Harry Gallian (son of Master i/c Jason) for Felsted and Alex Pierson for Bishop’s Stortford High School. In the U17 cup, Henry Rogers scored 102 for Hurstpierpoint in their win over Wilsons.
While another top performer this week was F Tomlinson from Eastbourne College who scored an unbeaten 125 against Whitgift on Saturday
Results
Week Ending 24th April
*Bryanston 1st XI 75-9 (20 overs), Hereford Cathedral School 76-1
New Hall School 115-5 (20 overs), *Bryanston 1st XI 83
Hereford Cathedral School 109-6 (20 overs), *Bryanston 1st XI 110-2
*Bryanston 1st XI 92-5 (20 overs), New Hall School 94-2
M.C.C. 295-3 (50 overs) (S Street 123), *Bryanston 1st XI 214-8
M.C.C. 187-6 dec, *Rossall 152
*Rossall 217-6 (40 overs), Giggleswick 117
*Shrewsbury 231-9 (50 overs), MCC 233-3
Old Rossallians 195 (40 overs), *Rossall 193-8
Eastbourne College 257-6 (F Tomlinson 125 not out), *Whitgift 157-10
Glamorgan CCC 149 (50 overs), *Shrewsbury 150-3
Warwickshire EPP 92 (50 overs), *Shrewsbury 93-3
Felsted 381 (W. Forsey 109, H. Gallian 105) (50 overs), Bishop’s Stortford High School 281- 4 (A Pierson 126*)
Cranleigh 253 (50 overs), *Bede’s 256-9
Schools Under 18 T20 Cup
South-East Region
Group 1
Lingfield 67, Brighton 68-2
Eastbourne 160- 6, Bede’s 163-5
Final: Brighton 151-7 Bede’s 153-3
Bede’s win the group
Group 2
St John’s 136 ao, Seaford 138-7
Cranleigh 162, Kent College 30
Final: Seaford 132-7, Cranleigh 116
Seaford win the group
Group 3
Simon Langton 180-8, King’s 134-7
St. Lawrence 206-2, Ashford 179-6
Final: St. Lawrence 204-0, Simon Langton 128-6
St. Lawrence win the group
Group 4
Hurstpierpoint 205/3, Skinners 92/5
Sevenoaks 113-9, *Tonbridge 113-2
Final: Hurstpierpoint 145-7, *Tonbridge 127-9
Hurstpierpoint win the group
North London Region
Group 1
Berkhamsted 204-7, Aldenham 123-9
Merchant Taylors’ 175-6, Forest 70
Merchant Taylors’ 170-4, Berkhamsted 145-8
Merchant Taylors’ win the group
Group 2 Preliminary Round
UCS 118-8, Chigwell 120-2
South Central
Group 5
St Edwards, Oxford 202-1, Reading 54
St Edwards, Oxford 180-4, Dauntseys 98-7
The Cricket Paper National U17 Cup (35 overs)
Preliminary Round
Hurstpierpoint 241/5 (Henry Rogers 102), Wilsons 125/9
Stephen Perse 78 (A Datta 6-3), Perse 80 for 0
Stamford 211-8, Loughborough GS 119-4
Queen Mary’s GS, Walsall 107, Wrekin 87
Girls Cricket
Surrey CAG 196-7 (30 overs), *Cranleigh (girls) 198-6 (G Lawes 111 not out)