Another week of unsettled weather saw some fixtures being cancelled. However, the cricket teams still managed to get to Oxford, to play cricket against the beautiful backdrop of the iconic University. Tennis fixtures also went ahead onsite, with players from local clubs Shiplake and Henley invited to take part.

Cricket

U13A XI vs Magdalen College School

Thank you to Mr Alex Duncan, Luke Theodorou and Zac Kennedy for the following report:

‘The team travelled to Magdalen in good spirits, having not played for two weeks but training hard and looking to bounce back after the defeat by Claires Court. We lost the toss and were forced to bowl and field first, which played to our bowling strength and gave us the chance to put a run chase into practice, which is where we faltered last time out. 10 of the team of 12 bowled two overs each, with Luke Theodorou and wicket keeper Zac Kennedy, both fine bowlers, not involved. This shows the depth of the team and is very different to our opposition this year so far, who all have used far fewer bowlers. The variety we have causes the opposition batsmen problems as they cannot get settled or used to one style. This was by far the tightest fielding performance of the year, with under 10 runs being given away extras. The support of the team toward one another was fantastic. The pick of the bowlers were Ben Willis, Elliott Richards and Luke Taylor although everyone was efficient and accurate, keeping Magdalen under 100 for the 20 overs bowled. They eventually set a target of 93 to win having scored 92 for 7 wickets.

The Shiplake batsmen scored at a good rate early on and both Theodorou and Jai Angell retired on 30 runs, after Max Way and Looney played well but were out to an excellent delivery and excellent catch respectively. In came Kai O’Hare and Kennedy to seal the win and Zac hit the winning four. The match was well contested but from the start Shiplake looked the more determined and skilful team, and won convincingly by 6 wickets with 5 overs to spare. Our next match is away to Bluecoat as we look to put a winning streak together.’

U13B XI vs Magdalen College School

‘Following a close match against LVS Ascot a few weeks ago, the team were confident that they could produce the goods once again against Magdalen College School, Oxford. On a cold and blustery afternoon - but against the backdrop of the dreaming spires of Oxford - the team made a good start in the field, limiting MCS to 99 runs off their 20 overs. The pick of the bowlers were Theo Fewtrell, Ben Ferguson, Anthony Adamson and Tom Sharpe, with a wicket a piece. Ben also scooped two impressive catches.

We were confident that a total of 99 was within our grasp, but the loss of early wickets dampened these hopes. Jonnie Yulhanson and Theo Fewtrell did well to allow us to scrape together a respectable total of 46 all out at the close, but the disappointment that we had not displayed what we were capable of with the bat was evident.’

Mr Nick Brown

Tennis

Master in charge of Tennis Mr Adam Mallins provides the following reports from last week’s tennis matches:

U15 and U14 vs Magdalen School

‘After a drizzly start to the day, a mixture of Year 9s and 10s took to the damp astro to take on Magdalen school. It was clear from the first few games that we were playing some very talented opposition, but the Shiplake boys played some of the best tennis seen this season with some extraordinary long rallies; cross court shots, down the line, smashes and deft volleys were all on show. The final score line of 8-1 to Magdalen suggests that we were completely out-played but this was simply not the case. A great performance from Miles Firth, Joe Kerrison, Jamie Gibbs, Ed Gilbert-Blay and Fred Tracey.’

1st VI vs Invitational VI

‘On Saturday afternoon, Shiplake College invited tennis players from both Shiplake and Henley Tennis clubs to come and play a round-robin tournament with our 1st VI. Despite the wet weather, the match was a great success, with all players being of a similar standard which, in this case, was extremely high. With partners being swapped around there was no result as such, but the match practice will be most valuable for us going into our final fixtures. Thank you to our guests for giving up their Saturday afternoons.’