Rain Couldn’t Stop Play: A Busy Week on the Cricket Field

Despite some challenging weather and interruptions from the rain, it has been a busy and successful week of cricket for our pupils in Years 3–6. The children demonstrated great enthusiasm, resilience and teamwork throughout their fixtures, making the most of every opportunity to play. It was wonderful to see so many pupils representing the school with pride, developing their skills and showing excellent sportsmanship. Well done to all the players who took part. Below are this week’s match reports.

Tuesday 2nd June 

U9/8 Cricket v Winterfold 

The weather was far from kind on Tuesday afternoon, with a heavy downpour arriving just before the start of our match against Winterfold. The rain made conditions extremely challenging, with the wet surface causing the ball to skid through and making timing the ball particularly difficult for the batters. 

KSA won the toss and batted first. Despite the tricky conditions, there were some positive contributions with the bat. Charlie led the way with an excellent six and a four, while Hugo also found the boundary with a well-struck six. However, it was not our day with the bat overall, and we finished our innings on 229. 

Knowing we needed a strong performance in the field, the team responded brilliantly with the ball. Our bowlers worked hard to keep us in the game throughout the innings. Theo, Hugo and Gabe each claimed a wicket, helping to restrict the Winterfold batting line-up and ensuring the contest remained competitive. 

While the result was a disappointing one to take, particularly after such a positive term, there were still plenty of encouraging signs from the afternoon. The team continued to show excellent effort, attitude and teamwork in difficult circumstances, and they should be proud of the progress they have made throughout the season. 

U9/8 Cricket v Winterfold

Despite Tuesday’s stop‑start conditions with rain showers, the team managed to complete the required overs in an enjoyable match. Batting first, the team made a strong start, with Fin striking several confident boundaries. Mikael and Molly built on this momentum with steady contributions, before Nell and Alice finished the innings well to set a competitive total. In the field, all bowlers performed strongly, with Ivan standing out for his excellent line and length, helping to restrict the opposition’s scoring. It was a fun afternoon of cricket, with the team edging onto the right side of the result.  

U9/8 Cricket v Winterfold

On Tuesday afternoon, the Year 3 and 4 children walked down to the playing fields at Slingpool Walk to take on Winterfold School in a Pairs Cricket fixture. Despite a couple of heavy rain showers threatening to disrupt proceedings, the teams took shelter before making the most of a break in the weather to enjoy a friendly game of Pairs cricket before the rain returned. 

Representing St. Alban’s in this team were Leen, Maren, Milan, Edward, Olivia and Rosa. Captain Milan lost the toss and Winterfold elected to bat first. 

Leen and Rosa opened the bowling, restricting Winterfold to just 16 runs from their two overs. Maren and Olivia followed with another good spell, conceding only 7 runs. Olivia also demonstrated good wicketkeeping skills, reacting quickly to field the ball and run out one of the Winterfold batters. Milan and Edward bowled the final two overs, limiting the opposition to 19 runs, leaving Winterfold on 42 runs for the loss of one wicket at the end of their innings. 

With the bowling pattern following the batting pattern, St. Alban’s began their reply with Leen and Rosa, who scored 9 runs from their two overs despite losing a wicket. Maren and Olivia matched that total with another 9 runs from their partnership, before Milan and Edward added 8 runs from the final two overs. 

The innings closed with St. Alban’s on 25 runs for the loss of one wicket, giving Winterfold a 17-run victory. In Pairs Cricket, batting teams receive two runs for every wide or no-ball bowled, while losing five runs for each wicket lost. As a result, the match was largely decided by the number of extras conceded, highlighting the importance of accurate bowling. 

This will remain a key focus in Games lessons as the team prepares for its remaining fixtures this half term. Well done to Leen, Maren, Milan, Edward, Olivia and Rosa, who all gained valuable experience and continued to develop their understanding of the game throughout the afternoon. 

Wednesday 3rd June 

U11/10 Cricket v Winterfold 

The U11/10 team enjoyed an excellent afternoon of cricket against Winterfold on Wednesday in what proved to be a highly competitive and entertaining fixture. 

Joshua captained the side and, as always, led the team with great enthusiasm and positivity throughout the match. Having won the toss, he elected to bowl first, and KSA made an excellent start with the ball. 

Romi and Haadi opened the bowling impressively, immediately putting pressure on the Winterfold batters. Romi claimed one wicket, while Haadi picked up two wickets, with both bowlers maintaining outstanding economy rates of under five runs per over. Their disciplined bowling restricted the opposition well and set the tone for the innings. 

Ben then produced one of the bowling performances of the season. Bowling two overs, he delivered a maiden over before conceding just two runs in his second over, while also taking a wicket. It was a fantastic spell of accurate and controlled bowling. Thea also contributed with a well-deserved wicket, while one of the standout moments of the season came from Monty. After bowling an excellent delivery, the batter struck the ball firmly straight back towards him, but with superb reactions and safe hands, Monty completed a brilliant caught-and-bowled dismissal. Thanks to a strong all-round bowling and fielding display, Winterfold finished on 132/7. 

In reply, Nell and Max opened the batting positively and built the innings well, giving KSA a strong platform. Nell was the standout performer with the bat, scoring a quick-fire 30 before retiring. She shared an excellent partnership with Romi, who ran brilliantly between the wickets and helped keep the scoreboard moving. Unfortunately, Romi’s innings came to an end when she was given out LBW for a well-made 9. 

As KSA continued to chase down the target, the weather once again had other ideas. With the rain beginning to fall heavily, play was brought to an end. At that stage, KSA were eight runs ahead on the DLS calculation, meaning they were awarded the victory. 

It was a brilliant game of cricket, played in excellent spirit by both teams. The KSA players should be proud of their performance, with strong contributions across batting, bowling and fielding combining to produce a deserved result. 

U11/10 Cricket v Winterfold

The U11 Girls put in a fantastic team performance against Winterfold, showing great determination and energy throughout the match. 

In the field, the girls were excellent, stopping everything that came their way and working hard to keep the pressure on the opposition. Although we only managed to take one wicket, it came courtesy of some accurate and disciplined bowling from Millie W, who consistently challenged the batters. 

With the bat, Martha N and Kasvika B impressed with some excellent running between the wickets, showing good awareness and communication to keep the scoreboard moving. However, credit must go to Winterfold, whose bowlers were very accurate and bowled well to restrict our scoring opportunities. 

Despite the result, there were plenty of positives to take away, with great effort, teamwork, and enthusiasm shown by all the girls involved. Well done to everyone who represented the team.