Bloxham’s 1st XI cricket squad have enjoyed a successful pre-season, including a trip to the nationally renowned Lilleshall Sports Centre and several matches
After a successful trial with a developmental squad last year, Bloxham decided to hold a pre-season training camp at Lilleshall National Sports Centre. The aim of the camp was to help improve the players’ skills, as well as to address any technical issues, so as to give the team the chance to perform at their highest level in the upcoming season. The two and a half day camp included specialist batting sessions, target bowling and a variety of fielding drills, concluding with a full indoor game. With the HMC T20 coming up as the first major target for the team, the skills were aimed at improving the boys’ T20 development and helping them gain confidence in their own abilities- challenging them to strive even more to reach their full potential. Lilleshall National Sports Centre was outstanding and the staff provided us with all the facilities we needed both on a sporting front and also a personal level. The food was excellent and allowed our players to see how nutrition plays an important role in of player development. The shape of the day allowed our students to enjoy the sporting aspect of the camp, whilst still having the time to study at when they weren’t on the cricket field.
The feedback from the players was extremely positive- they all valued the experience and felt they had the chance to develop their game. Most importantly, the team enjoyed both the training and the fun that came alongside the hard work.
After Lilleshall, the boys had a night’s rest before playing their first pre-season match away at Dean Close. The match was very much a way to see how the players could implement the skills they had worked on at the camp and to allow them to get used to outdoor conditions. Dean Close provided us with the one of the closest games I had ever witnessed, so we knew we would have to play well to gain a win from it. With Bloxham being put into bat first, Dean Close started strongly and had a tight grip on the game for the first 20 overs. A mixture of both poor shots and lazy cricket meant that we knew we had to finish our batting innings well to set a score which would be defendable. Thanks to some late hitting from Sam Manning and Jonny Stirrup, Bloxham ended their innings on 153-9. The team all knew that they would have to bowl and field strongly to have any chance of preventing Dean Close from chasing down the target. Charles Tredwell and Harry Rymer bowled some good spells and, with the help of some excellent fielding, left Bloxham requiring one wicket from the last three overs to win the game. Leighton Webber and William Gurney duly obliged and had Dean Close’s final batsman stumped, giving Bloxham their first win of the 2015 campaign. The win was a great way to start our season but we all knew that we would have to perform better if we wanted to develop as a team. Our next pre-season game would be against Shrewsbury School. This opposition would be very strong and for both Leighton Webber and his coach it would be a chance to get one over on their old school.
The Bloxham team faced Shrewsbury School at home on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Many thanks to the groundsmen for all their hard work over the winter and throughout the Lent Term to provide such excellent cricket conditions for the teams. All the players arrived in a buoyant mood after the win earlier in the week but they knew it would be a real challenge for the team. Shrewsbury won the toss and chose to bat first, racing out the blocks and scoring runs at a fast rate. Bloxham dug deep and managed to take six wickets but Shrewsbury finished on 190-6 off their 20 overs. Knowing this was a tall order, Bloxham went out knowing ‘they would need to play positively if they had any chance of chasing down the large total. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned and Bloxham were always behind the run rate, eventually finishing their 20 overs with a score of 63 runs. Charles Gulliver scored a quick 20 but the batsmen found it tough against some excellent bowling. This game allowed for the players to reflect on the standards that we are trying to achieve and are working towards.
The best thing to come out of the entire pre-season was the unity that has developed within the team and the fact that each player is pushing themselves to develop and improve. The most pleasing aspect from the coaches’ point of view was seeing every player really enjoy their cricket and we’re now looking forward to what we hope is a successful season for Bloxham.
David Finch