U13 Boys Cricket Team are County Champions

Our U13 Boys Cricket Team are County Champions after a nail-biting last ball win at the Buckinghamshire Schools Indoor Cricket Championships held at the Stoke Mandeville Stadium.  The boys were undefeated in the group stage with wins against Aylesbury Grammar School, John Hampden Grammar and John Colet School.  They then took on Aylesbury Grammar in the Final where after batting first and setting a target of 75 runs, they bowled fantastically to win on the last ball of the game to become Bucks Schools County Champions.

The success did not stop there as our Under 15 Boys Team had also qualified for these County Championships and they also played fantastically to finish first in their group stage with three wins and one loss.  They also took on Aylesbury Grammar School in the Final, narrowly losing the match but becoming Bucks Schools County Runners Up.

We are so proud of both teams who became MK Champions to qualify for the County Championships and then performed superbly in the County Championships against strong opposition to be crowned Bucks County Champions and Bucks County Runners Up.   A member of each team also wrote a match report for us which you can read below.

Thank you to Mr Simm who coached the students.

U13 Team:

Kamil Ahmad, Ariz Arsalan, Dev Ilayaperumal, Dhyan Ilayaperumal, Vivaan Narvekar, Aneek Patel, Arjit Shukla, Avanesh Vimalanathan

U15 Team:

James Carron, Anunay Goel, Hitarth Kapadia, Brijesh Pawar, Jaimin Thakker, Kian Tigdoli, Alex Vout

Under 13s County Finals Tournament – Match Report by Arjit Shukla, Year 8

First game versus Aylesbury Grammar School

Our first game was against Aylesbury Grammar and it looked like a tough game ahead, we won the rock paper scissors and decided to bat first, to maximize our chance of going in the finals if it comes down to runs scored.  Arjit and Vivaan opened the batting being strategic and solid by picking the gaps and hitting the wall and running for three runs, and then targeting the oppositions weaker bowlers with more aggressive shots. When the innings was over Denbigh had scored around 70 runs, a grand total that could be worked with. When it came to bowl Denbigh were quick to take wickets and minimise runs with amazing bowling from Vivaan and Ariz, with Anik and Avinesh doing their part as well.  The fielding was good and both sides played great cricket to end the game with Denbigh winning with about 10 runs to spare.

Game 2 versus John Hampden Grammar

After a round of break, with us feeling self-assured and with morale high, for the game against John Hampden Grammar, we ended up batting first and Arjit and Vivaan opened again, sticking with our plan, the start was slower but soon with some momentum with a skilful set of consecutive boundaries by Vivaan in the second over and some decisive running from Arjit we recovered. After a great field from the opposition Vivaan was run out and Ariz stepped in, after a few balls Denbigh was back in in and after some much needed hitting by Arjit, Denbigh finished with a score around 60 runs, which was defendable.  In the second innings the game was in both sides favour with some good hitting and some spectacular wickets, while Denbigh was still struggling in the field a little bit. In the last few balls there was a clinch, 8 runs needed of 2 balls, the first was a spectacular six, Denbigh under pressure for the last ball when Vivaan bowled a beautiful slow ball into Arjit the keeper’s hand who sent it back down to the bowling end for a dismissal by Ariz, Denbigh wins.

Game 3 versus John Colet School

Going into this game Denbigh was confident in their abilities, and also decided to bat first again, against John Colet School. Arjit and Vivaan went first again, wanting to secure their final position. The game got off to a flying start but then Vivaan was unfortunately caught off the wall net near the end of the third over, and Avinesh was brought on. By this time Denbigh were on 60 runs already with both openers hitting consecutive boundaries. After some missed opportunities in the beginning of the fourth over, Arjit decided to pick up the slack and continue hitting and going on strike with Avinesh making great runs and the whole team supporting from the side. By the end of the innings, Denbigh had a monumental score of 101 runs with Arjit hitting the majority and Vivaan and Avinesh playing a key role as well.  In the bowling Denbigh got off to a flying start with the Year 7s really putting their all and some great deliveries by the opening bowlers. Some key moments were when Anik and Kameel manifested a really great run out and the amazing bowling of the Year 8s as always. By the end of the innings with some final wickets, Denbigh won with over 60 runs to spare.

The Final versus Aylesbury Grammar School

Team morale was as high as ever but the nerves were starting to creep in the team, we ended up batting first like before and the game started off splendidly, Vivaan and Arjit were rotating strike and hitting the weaker balls but something was different, the opposition were more switched on, more alert and out of nowhere Vivaan is caught out and Ariz first ball is bowled. Now we were under pressure, the fielder being even more motivated and the bowling even more fierce.  Arjit continuing to keep calm and after a couple quieter balls with only a few boundaries Arjit tried rotating strike for the over change with Anik and in an unexpected change of events, got run out with a whole over to go of their best bowler. In the end, with Avinesh and Kameel doing everything they could, Denbigh finished with 75 runs to their name.  The bowling was accurate as always, Vivaan bowling consistently and Ariz cutting in nicely, the game was level. The opposition stared to pick things up and after a few dropped catches and some stellar shots, Denbigh seemed under pressure. The batter tried going for a big shot and stepped out of his crease, Arjit stumped him with immense speed and he was out, maybe Denbigh had a chance after all? The momentum dropped and after some spectacular bowling and fielding effort by the whole team, the last over commenced, 15 runs needed to win off 5 balls. Now the whole hall was filled with tension and after the first ball was a 3-run gap shot, Vivaan came and bowled an amazing wide Yorker, going straight into Arjit’s hands for another stumping! 12 needed of 3 balls. The next ball was a flat four into the ground, even more pressure building, the second last ball was a strongly hit shot towards the back left and both batters ran, Arjit sprinting after the ball, collecting it and seeing a confusion in the running, he sends it over to the bowling end and in a close run out with the batter just metres away of the crease Ariz runs him out and wicket taken! The last ball of the innings commences, and Vivaan cleverly bowls a slower ball that gets hit straight into the fielders hand and stopped from the boundary wall, Denbigh wins the final and are Bucks County Winners!

Denbigh Under 15 Indoor Cricket Team at Bucks Championships – ‘How it played out’ by Hitarth Kapadia from Year 9

Today seven students from Year 9 & 10 went to Stoke Mandeville Stadium to play in the County Finals for the Under 15 Bucks Indoor Cricket Tournament.  Our first match was against John Hampden Grammar School in which we unfortunately lost by a tight margin, but Denbigh put up a good fight.  Next, we had a game against Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School, in which we batted first, and our team put up a good score. Subsequently, our bowlers did a good job, and we got them all out for a low score and we won the match.

The next game was against Aylesbury Grammar School in which we had a bit of struggle at first, but we bowled to them extremely tightly and ultimately won against them by a big margin.

Our final league game was against Lord Grey School who we beat by a comfortable margin and then we also won our final league game.

In the Final we were up against Aylesbury Grammar School who won the toss and asked us to bat first. We posted a less than par score. Our bowlers bowled beautifully and tried to defend the low score; however, Aylesbury Grammar batters held their nerve, and the match came down to the wire. In the end we lost by a tight margin but put up a good match.

At the end we came runners up, but we learnt a lot after this tournament and are proud of our performance in all aspects of the game.