The summer season got under way with a return to tennis, cricket
and rounders; students have donned their whites and returned to the grass for
an action-packed term of sporting successes.
The tennis season kicked off with a match against pupils
from Lord Wandsworth. Year 10 students Marcus Hillman provided the following
report on the opening match of the season:
‘With high spirits, the Shiplake boys went into the match
looking to start the season with a victory. All three pairs had a close first
game, with the firsts scraping a 6-4 win and the third pairs narrowly defeated.
With the majority of the points being won at the net, Will Tompkins, Miles
Firth, Matthieu Guize and Ben Tracey showed skill and precision to return some
tough shots- but the opposition was stronger. The following two matches were closely
contested, and Marcus Hillman and Alex Sutton managed to win both of their
matches. Shiplake showed promising technique, but the team need to strengthen
and build confidence in the coming weeks. The final score was Shiplake 3- Lord
Wandsworth 6.’
The cricket season has also started this term, with some
difficult games against local rivals. Director of Sport Mr James Gaunt offered
the following report from the Shiplake U15 A XI’s first game:
‘This was a fantastic game of 20/20 cricket, which went down
to the last over of the match. Shiplake fielded first and started brightly with
Freddie Bowcock bowling a very impressive opening spell, getting four overs,
fifteen runs and two wickets. However, Shiplake lacked shape in the field, and
granted Oratory too many easy singles and boundaries. This would eventually
prove costly. The usually tight Ollie Simpson bowled with a little more
inaccuracy than normal, and two heavy hitters from Oratory added a significant amount
of runs in the middle and latter overs of their innings. Ben Westbrook Burr
bowled nicely, conceding only 19 runs from 4 over’s. Oratory finished on 144-6,
leaving much work to be done by Shiplake at the half way point.
The Shiplake innings did not start well with Freddie
Bowcock, scorer of a well-crafted 47 the previous Saturday, being bowled for
nought. However, Ollie Brown stepped up and smashed a very impressive 51 runs
from only 37 balls. Ollie was well support by Lewis Bishop, who grafted for 11
runs off 19 balls, but once he was dismissed, wickets fell too regularly. That
was- until Ollie Simpson and Darius Braun came to the crease. These two showed
the rest of the Shiplake team how to run between the wickets and that, coupled
with Simpson’s ability to hook the bad ball to the boundary, meant that it was
game on again. Unfortunately, his dismissal for 25 was probably the turning
point. Despite an admirable effort from Jacob Bowley and the staunch Braun who
finished on 19 not out, Shiplake were to pull up just three runs short, having
needed eight from the last over.’
The girls enjoyed an intense match to return to rounders;
the 1st IX fought a well-matched game against Bearwood College,
that saw them walk away having been narrowly defeated by just half a rounder.
The summer season continues with more action-packed fixtures
this Wednesday 6 May.
For more photos from the event, please click here.