News reaches me from Glasgow that schools are taking any return to normality very cautiously. This coming Saturday may see the beginnings of inter-school matches while hitherto it has been practices only and even that has often been optional.
Even in England, where most areas seemed to be carefully dipping their toes into the waters of inter-school matches, I am still being bombarded with requests for new fixtures after sudden cancellations, so we are not over the worst yet.
Poor weather on Saturday was widespread which – maybe combined with some exeats – means that there are far fewer results than usual from normal matches and very few of those are yet all day. I’m still slightly mystified that even MCC are playing overs matches, even though it is a shorter game than usual. You can read my thoughts on that from two weeks ago here.
.
For the National Twenty20 competition, progress is patchy. Some areas – the North East, North London and the South East already have an area finalist, while the North West, the South West and South Central are not far away from reaching the same position. Other areas seem to have hardly begun (unless they have been extremely reluctant to report their results). Indeed, I know of one group who, like Glasgow, have intentionally delayed the start of the competition until next week. Cutting things a bit fine, especially if it rains.
Finals Day is at Arundel on Sunday June 27th from 10am. Some schools, as above, may be reluctant to commit to inter-school matches because of the continuing nervousness about Covid affecting Teacher Assessed Grades, but at least the latter will be complete by half-term. As long as boys (sic) are still in school, then there is scope for considerable catching up as long as exam-years pupils have not returned in droves to Rock or Abersoch (now that they can no longer retire exhausted from exam pressures to Magaluf).
In short, a slightly jerky start to the season.
Results (see below for National Schools T20)
Free Foresters 213-8 (40 overs), *Clifton 219-6 (B Kellaway 106 not out)
Clifton U17 233-9 (35 overs), *Winchester 129
*Uppingham 221-9 (50 overs), Oakham 224-2
*Queen’s Taunton 121-9 (20 overs), Bryanston 107-6
*Eton 208-9 (55 overs), Charterhouse 166
Eton 188-9 (45 overs), *Marlborough 166-9 (E Hilditch 5-26)
Eton 228-5 (40 overs), *Winchester 171
MCC 193-7 (40 overs), *Cathedral School, Llandaff 152