Sports round-up – 18th April 2015
The start of this term has seen us blessed with beautiful sunshine. The ground staff have done a fabulous job and the pitches are already two or three weeks in advance of last year.
On Friday evening, the U18 and U17 boys’ and U18 girls’ tennis teams faced the South African touring side St Martin’s. This was a great fixture prior to our regular school fixtures and played in wonderful spirit. Warminster won all three matches with some great tennis played.
On Saturday, Warminster put out four cricket teams. The 1st XI, U15 and U13 teams faced Sexey's School, whilst the U12s faced Beechen Cliff.
On the same day that three U12 players received notification of their county selection, it was no surprise that same boys played a dominant parts in their match. Opening batsman Ed Vickery had to retire after scoring 50 not out, while Sean Montgomery took four wickets. Bryce Furlong bowled with great pace and in the end Warminster were too strong for their Bath counterparts, winning by 60 runs.
The U13s were too strong for Sexey's School. After Sexey's opted to bat first, Marcus McQuilton, making his debut for the team, quickly got into his stride. His nagging line always had the batsmen in trouble and, with David Aspray standing up to the wicket adding extra pressure, he took four quick wickets. Captain Charles Kidner picked up two wickets, whilst Freddie Mowbray and Alfie Dackombe wrapped up the innings for 70 runs. In contrast, Warminster always looked in control and a solid opening partnership between David Aspray and Alfie Dackombe, and later contribitions from Charles Kidner, saw Warminster home to win by nine wickets.
The U15s had a thrilling tie in their 20/20 game. Sexey's scored 114-3, with one player making 61 runs. In reply Warminster lost regular wickets to the straight ball. The game entered the last ball with Warminster requiring one run to win. However, the Warminster batsman was bowled and the game ended with the scores level.
The 1st XI were keen to make amends for last year’s result and went into the game with great optimism. Wickets were shared evenly throughout the team, but particular mention must go to captain Charlie Collins who bowled with pace and accuracy, Will Heron who bowled a tight nagging line and also Max Trusler whose leg spin continually worried the Sexey's batsman. 158 all out was a par score for the track. Warminster set off extremely positively with Charlie Dunn particularly punishing the wayward bowling and George Elliott strong at rotating the strike. Both passed fifty in an opening stand of 120 runs. Warminster eventually passed their target with three wickets down to record a memorable seven wicket victory.
The boys’ senior tennis team faced a tough afternoon against a strong team from Dauntsey’s. Despite the scoreline for both the 1sts and 2nds, they played some good tennis and it was closer than the results suggest.
The U15A team also faced Dauntsey’s in their LTA Aegon competition. Captain Oliver Morgan led by example. playing some scintillating tennis. Joined by Mark Antrobus, Pierre Emorine and Tomas Gaztelu Diaz, Warminster wrapped up a comprehensive 12-0 victory. The U15B team also continued the tennis success with an excellent 7-2 victory against Dauntsey’s.
The girls’ tennis teams faced Bruton School for Girls. After some excellent performances the previous night against St Martin’s, the South African touring team, the girls were in a confident mood. The 1st team pairing of Hattie Leslie and Lulu Cope were in commanding form, comfortably winning their first two games. In the second round of matches, Warminster’s second pair of Kseniia Gaskevich and Sophie Bourne played a brilliant match to win 6-1. The final matches were all close and could have gone either way but, unfortunately, all the team went down to record a 3-6 loss overall.
The U15s played out fierce games before going down 4-5. Olivia Pratt and Emma McCraith played some fantastic tennis, backed up by the second pairing of Rebecca Pearson and Maisie Fogg and the third pairing of Ellen Reynolds and Abbie Cadwallader. Unfortunately, they just could not get past the final pairings, despite going to deuce on many occasions.
The U14 girls showed excellent tennis etiquette throughout the morning and are to be commended on a good morning of competitive tennis. Despite going down 4-5, captain Millie Dyke and Lydia Kington played some excellent tennis, winning all three of their games. The second pairing of Hattie Dunn and Mabel Taylor gelled well and both players worked through their strokes calmly and consistently whilst the third pairing of Katherine Caldwell and Sophie Watson showed good progress. With continued training in their games lessons and attendance at all lunchtime practices, these players will begin to demonstrate the increased match fitness and shot consistency that the Warminster coaches are looking for in their A team players.
The U13As had a nail-biting match which ended 4.5-4.5. There were some impressive doubles play from Maisie Craven-Smith and Alice Robinson who won two of their games. Well done also to Anabelle Jackett and Charlotte Robinson who made great improvements in each match and grew in confidence throughout the morning.
The Prep School began their summer with fixtures against Hazlegrove U11 in boys’ cricket and girls’ rounders against Bruton School for Girls.
Hazlegrove have a strong reputation for cricket and quickly worked the Warminster bowlers around the park. However, the team never gave up and would have learned a lot from this game. Charlie Kennett and Toby Hirons batted extremely well to score 37 runs from their four overs. However, Warminster could not sustain this momentum and wickets were lost at regular intervals and in the end they went down by 79 runs.
The U10 girls’ rounders teams faced Bruton School for Girls. The U11s won 19.5-10.5 with some impressive hitting from Imogen Brumby and Megan Galpin whilst Grace Wilcox hit cleverly into space. Nandini Sharma must be mentioned for her excellent bowling. A fine start to the season.
The U10s also won their first match of the season 13-9. Lottie Craven-Smith bowled extremely well at the Bruton girls, and then, when batting, was able to make some big hits. There was some excellent decision making from Arabella Steptoe, Saskia Edwards and Eliana Moore. Player of the match was Evie Kennett who scored a number of full rounders and captained the team in an encouraging manner.
An excellent start to the summer season.
Christopher Knight
Director of Sport