T
he 2008 cricket season proved
to be a very special season for a
lot of reasons. We started with
an emphatic victory over King's
Bruton. When Alex Barrow and
Jos Buttler went out to bat, noone
expected what followed, with the first wicket
falling in the 50th over, after a mammoth school
record opening partnership of 340! Jos finished
on 227 not out and Alex, chasing his hundred, got
out on 95. Interviews, TV cameras, newspaper
headlines all followed, in what must go down as
one of the most memorable moments in King's
cricket history. The rest of the season certainly
had a lot to live up!
After several matches were hit by rain, it was
Jos and Alex again who ensured a ten-wicket
victory against Queen's. And the first half of
term ended with a young and inexperienced
team beating the MCC. Alex Barrow scored a
well deserved 115, with Will McKegney adding
a well-worked 47.
In the National Twenty20 Cup, Jos blazed away
against Dauntsey's and Truro, notching up two
unbeaten tons in each match! We managed to
secure a good away win at Sherborne to advance
to the quarter-finals to face Millfield. In what must
be the highlight of our season, we beat Millfield on
our home ground by eight wickets! Craig
Meschede's control with the ball and a disciplined
fielding display enabled us to limit Millfield to 151
for 5. Tom Halliday was an asset in the field and
added a competitive edge to our team ? After the
early loss of a wicket, Will Hardwick hit a few lusty
blows, allowing Nick Evans and Jos to see us
home safely to another historic win. A trip to
Repton for the semi-final was very disappointing,
as panic set in after a middle-order collapse. It
was not meant to be and Repton went on to win
the competition in emphatic style.
In the mean time we had excellent victories over
the XL Club, Todd Barrett picking up 6 for 36.
Our match against Canford once again came
down to the wire, with Ross Chadwick and
Craig Meschede making significant contributions
with the bat, and some disciplined bowling from
Will Webster and Nathan Smith ensuring
Canford fell just short in the run chase. We
also went on to beat Clifton in the following
week. After a nail-biter against Taunton, the
end of the season was very disappointing, as a
couple of unnecessary defeats spoilt what was
up till then a fantastic season.
Alex Barrow scored an impressive 742 runs
during the season, and is to be congratulated
on being selected as part of the Somerset
Academy. Craig Meschede has also made an
immediate impact and we look forward to
watching his progress in the Somerset set-up.
Nick Evans has already established himself as a
fine batter and excellent fielder, whilst Will XXX,
Nathan Smith and Miles XXX will no doubt have
benefited from their first year in the team.
When he was injury-free,Tom Halliday was an
asset in the field and added a competitive edge
to our team. Ed Nash once again proved his
worth and was always willing to put the team's
interest ahead of his own, and made some
useful contributions lower down the order.
Finally, a big thank you to the most important
ingredient in our successful set-up, Dennis
Breakwell, whose enthusiasm, knowledge and
energy continues to be a great source of
inspiration and encouragement for all of our
budding stars. I'm sure the boys and parents
join me in saluting you once again for the
endless hours that you spend coaching, and
preparing your excellent cricket wickets.
Can 2009's achievements exceed this year's
successes? I look forward to reporting in a
year's time!
Aluredian
83
Cricket
1st XI
by
Andy Jones
Nathan Smith ? bowls a
hostile spell during the
outstanding Twenty20
victory over Millfield