Cricket is the major game for boys in the Summer Term and has a long history at the College.
The year 2005 saw the 150th anniversary of the first two-day Colours Match with Rugby School - a fixture that was played at Lord’s Cricket Ground until 1972. Famous Old Boys include A G Steel (Captain of Lancashire & England in the 1880s and President of MCC in 1902); R H Spooner (England from 1905 until 1912) and M G Griffith (Captain of Sussex in the 1960s).
Facilities Matches, Competition and Events
The XI plays on one of the most beautiful school grounds in the country and there are seven more cricket squares and fourteen artificial cricket nets on site.
In addition to excellent outdoor facilities there are five indoor nets within the Sports Hall complex and winter coaching is aided by the use of two bowling machines.
Sixteen teams compete in the big block fixtures against major schools which include Eton, Radley, Wellington and Winchester; there are five teams at Yearlings’ level, four at Junior Colts, three at Colts and four Open XIs.
Major tours take place every three years with the most recent ones visiting South Africa (2003 & 2006). There is a traditional festival at the end of the Summer Term with matches against Cheltenham, Haileybury and Sherborne. The Junior Colts 1st XI also plays in a festival at the end of term along with Eton, Shrewsbury and Uppingham and has had success in the Lord’s Taverners Competition. In recent times, the Colts 1st XI has enjoyed post examination tours to the south coast to play against teams from Eastbourne College and Brighton College.
Many of the recent leavers have enjoyed playing for the Marlborough Blues and a young and promising side reached the semi-finals of the Cricketer Cup Competition in 2005. One of that side, Robbie Williams, signed his first professional contract for Middlesex CCC on leaving school in July 2005. His four years in the XI brought him 108 wickets at an average of 9.96 although the record number of wickets for the XI belongs to Richard LeQ Savage (formerly of Warwickshire CCC) who took 154 wickets in three seasons up to 1974).
Keen cricketers in the Sixth Form also have a unique opportunity to do the ECB Level 1 Cricket Coaching Course under the tutelage of an experienced ECB Coach.