Cricket Tour Report 2006 Grenada & St. Lucia
Spirits were high as the touring party pulled up to Gatwick airport at 7.30 in the morning in a flurry of red currant polo shirts. The team boarded the plane promptly and the routine airport procedures ran smoothly under the watchful eye of the squad’s maternal figure Mr. Walker. Four BA films later, including chick flick ‘She’s the Man’ quoted by Charlie Matthews as ‘the best film ever,’ we arrived at airport to the delight of a petrified Guy Heskins who didn’t seem to realise planes flew in the air.
Grenada proved to be the more successful of the two islands in terms of cricket but as Dan Moore will testify had its positives as well. After a short sharp practice session in some questionable nets we returned to the hotel for an early night in preparation for the following day’s cricket. We started the tour well with a convincing 10 wicket win over St. George’s Under 17’s. Mike Lawrence’s unbeaten 64 and Adam Higginson’s 4-23 were the two highlights of the game. The win was made all the sweeter when the opposition captain, draped in recently donated Colfe’s colours was sent back to the pavilion cheaply. On Friday we went for a tour of the island and visited some of the attractions had to offer. This tour opened up everyone’s eyes to the fascinating world of nutmeg production as well as offering an opportunity to view the surrounding wildlife (from the bus). Swimming in a natural waterfall and visiting the local chocolate factory finished off a successful day of sightseeing. As it was Chris Thompson’s 18th birthday it was only right to organise a party for that evening which was thoroughly enjoyed by parents, teachers and pupils alike. After the postponement of Saturday’s game, due to a sudden down pour the day before, the majority of the teamed lazed by the pool and booked in some serious tanning time. The evening was spent at a local restaurant by the name of ‘Bananas’, however, don’t let the name fool you as neither bananas nor any other food for that matter was available to eat. On Sunday we played the delayed game from the day before against St. Andrew’s Under 19’s.
Eltham batted first and reached a disappointing total of 57 all out. St. Andrews reached this total with 7 wickets to spare. Charlie Robson stood out with his bowling figures of 2 for 14 while Guy Heskins led in terms of runs with an impressive 23. Monday was another match day. Despite fatigue and a few injuries the team strivedon in heroic fashion to achieve the second win of the tour. Eltham batted second and managed to surpass St. George’s Combined Schools total of 89 all out with one wicket to spare. Special mention must go to Murtaza Abbas’ 4 for 16 and Tom Lott’s inspirational 10 (the performance of the tour some might say).
Tuesday was a day of travelling as we ventured onto our second island, St Lucia, hungry for wickets, runs and a tan. Our first game on the island was probably against our strongest opponents of the campaign - Castries Comprehensive. We managed to reach a score of 117 all out, thanks to Charlie Matthews 34 runs off 28 balls. Unfortunately Castries were able to better this total with 4 wickets and 20 overs to spare. Richard Pearse (3 for 36) was the pick of the bowlers. Our second match in proved to be equally hard. The Choiseul Under 19’s reached an accomplished 179 all out while Eltham could only put 133 runs on the board. Toby Watkins top scored with 27 with Sam Forte a close second, out for 22. In between matches the team enjoyed a day of golf (buggies included) and a relaxing boat trip of the island, the two daytime highlights of the tour. Our final game was held at the National St. Lucian Stadium, Beausejour. Our opposition was a touring team from – The Unity Lovers. Unfortunately, they were not able to give us the sort of game the surroundings deserved. Put into bat by Robert Kennedy they stumbled to 59 all out. A pumped up Adam Higginson (Man of the Match and Player of the Tour) bowled ferociously despite several stitches in his foot to take 4 wickets for 3 runs. Eltham passed this total with 9 wickets to spare. Rob Kennedy led from the front with 21 not out. Played six, won three - victorious against Grenada and Barbados. Not a bad record against West Indian opposition.
Results from St Lucia and Caribbean Cricket Tour 2006
St George's U17's Versus Eltham College 14th July 2006
St George's 96 All Out Eltham College 97 for 1 Eltham College win by 9 wickets
Higginson 4 for 23 Lawrence 64 Not Out
St Andrew's Versus Eltham College 16th July 2006
St Andrew's 61 for 3 Eltham College 57 All Out St Andrew's win by 7 wickets
Robson 2 for 14 Heskins 23
St George's Combined Schools Versus Eltham College 18th July 2006
St George's 89 All out Eltham College 90 for 9 Eltham College win by 1 wicket
Abbas 4 for 16 (Quoting Mr Walker "A Thriller!")
Castries Comprehensive Versus Eltham College 25th July 2006
Castries 119 for 6 Eltham College 117 All Out Castries win by 4 wickets
Matthews 34 Pearse 3 for 36
Choiseul Under 19's Versus Eltham College 26th July 2006
Choiseul 179 All Out Eltham College 133 All Out Choiseul win by 46 runs
Watkins 27 Forte 22