School_Matters_Issue_35

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U12 SURREY STARBURST CRICKET COMPETITION Finally, U12 girls had the opportunity to take part in their first fixture since joining IPS.

It was an exciting prospect as they joined 18 other schools in the Surrey Starburst Tournament held at Ewell Cricket Club. They won their first match against Woldingham and their excitement grew following a further victory against Farnham Heath School. This gave them qualification into the ‘Gold’ section of the competition. Here they faced Surbiton and Putney High, demanding a higher intensity in the game. More wickets, more catches, more 6s as the girls grew in confidence to “see ball and hit ball”. Although losses to both sides knocked them out of the final, it still left them in an impressive joint 5th overall and

provided a great start to the cricket season. Mr Jacques van Vuuren, Director of Sport

U13A boys recorded a 30-run win against Box Hill with Archie Tosswill hitting 34 and Zach Pestrak and George Ng’s tidy bowling helping to clinch victory. A similarly superb fielding performance saw the U12A side win their fixture by 68 runs with Daniel Del Castillo and Freddie Wilson picking up a brace of wickets each.

IPS CRICKET ACADEMY: SAJID MAHMOOD MASTERCLASS Pupils from the IPS Cricket Academy were lucky to experience coaching from former professional cricketer Sajid Mahmood. Sajid played for Lancashire, Essex and England where he represented his country on no less than 34 occasions across Test and One- Day International Cricket. He was part of the infamous tour ‘Down Under’ in 2006/07 and was selected as part of the Duncan Fletcher dynasty, where bowling fast was a pre-requisite for team selection. He led sessions across a range of cricketing topics focusing on the technical, tactical and mental sides of the game. Our young cricketers were able to take away specific goals to take into their early season fixtures and training plans to improve their skills. The Cooper’s Campus pitch looked resplendent throughout the week as the bowlers targeted bowling more consistently whilst the batsmen were keen to flourish and discover their inner attacking selves. We thank Saj for his work during the week and heed his advice to “ask more questions” because learning does not take place without discourse between learners and their coach or teacher. Following his appointment as Director of Cricket at Roehampton CC, Putney Heath, our pupils can look forward to continuing to benefit from Sajid Mahmood’s expertise. While IPS pupils are already fortunate to have the opportunity to use the club’s facilities, we encourage them to become further accustomed with the club by joining its Juniors section and participate in an

U15 girls beat Croydon High School to progress to the third round of the Surrey Schools’ Cricket Association Cup. Darcy Rogers was the player of the match, taking three wickets. In the St George’s Weybridge 6-aside tournament, the team beat Hurst School convincingly. Pashmina Lamplough captained a U13 side which secured a huge 88 run victory over Ewell Castle. Bowler Charlotte Braithwaite won the prize for Best Line and Length.

extensive programme of fixtures. Mr Richard Brown, Head of Cricket