Last season’s U14A cricket team emerged as County Cup winners in the English Schools Cricket Association competition in the final against Campian School on Thursday 6 September.
The final had originally been postponed from the end of June, and during the replay, it was affected by rain, which determined that the match be shortened to 25 overs. The Oundle side dominated the final, scoring an impressive 229 for 2 in 25 overs.
Alex Dyer (F), with 57 runs and Will Park (L), with 62 runs, batted very sensibly in putting on an opening stand of 136 for the first wicket. Will de Capell Brooke (G) finished the Oundle innings in style with a sweetly struck six into Milton Road, and a total of 58 runs, not out.
Campion School were 10 for 1 off 3 overs when rain forced the match to be abandoned, and they gracefully conceded.
At secondary school level the first competition on offer for boys cricket is the ESCA U14 competition. In Northamptonshire this takes the form of a knockout tournament from which a winner is established to go on and represent the county in national rounds the following year as U15s.
As U14s during the last season, Oundle progressed through the earlier rounds of the ESCA competition, comfortably beating Prince William School in the first round, fighting back from a perilous position to edge past Bishop’s Stopford in a very closely contested quarter final, and beating Moulton in the Semi Final.
Oundle will now progress to the ESCA U15 National knockout competition in June 2019.
