Aysgarth School

Aysgarth 1^st XI vs Terrington Hall 1^st XI

Aysgarth travelled to Terrington Hall School with a somewhat depleted team, with three key players away on a trip to the delightful and very expensive capital city of France. This, however, was no excuse for what followed. Aysgarth managed to score a mile-under-par 179 on the smallest pitch in the known universe, the only bright spots being Archie Erskine with a powerful  55 and Bevan Fawcett with a patient and well-crafted 66. Unfortunately, the next top score was 12 and these were the only scores above 10 in the entire innings. Needless to say, after a winter in which many positives emerged, this was a less than perfect start. Aysgarth had a possible 38 overs at their disposal but only managed to use 30 of them, very kindly handing Terrington 40 overs in which to reach our total. The defence started reasonably well, with Archie Erskine removing some stumps and Tom Fenwick bowling accurately and giving nothing away, the fielding was acceptable without being electric – but things were about to descend swiftly downhill. Two boys from Terrington seized the initiative by dispatching the bowling around the miniscule park, racking up half-centuries in no time at all, at which point Aysgarth gave a spectacular display of mental disintegration in the field, dropping catches and panicking hysterically. Terrington reached our target with a six from the fourth ball of the last over, further proof that batting the overs gives a much greater chance of winning games. We must improve in all areas – mentally, the ability to stay at the crease and perform a supporting role is a tough task, but I was surprised to find no boys but the afore-mentioned two strong enough to do it. The ability to cope with pressure was woefully absent in this fixture, and a hint of complacency tainted the air as Aysgarth took the field. Technically, cliché of all clichés, catches win matches, and desire to win games and play for your teammates, whether at International level or prep-school level, should not have to be a skill to acquire. Erskine, again, was the pick of the bowlers with 4-19 ably supported by Tom Fenwick who picked up 3-31, but there is much work to be done in preparation for the Jet Cup fixture at Malsis on Wednesday.

Man of the Match: Archie Erskine 

Aysgarth vs Malsis

Nerves were tingling and expectations heavy after the unexpected and unwelcome start to the season, as the Aysgarth 1^st XI made their way to Malsis for the first round of the Jet Cup. Welcomes were extremely warm for our returning globetrotters, Archie Stroyan, Sam Hoddinott and Alex Legard, who strengthened the team considerably and boosted hopes of a first round victory. Aysgarth seemed committed to this game in a way which encouraged those watching their warm up and pre-match preparation, and by the time we took the field motivation was high. However, despite a tidier performance in the field, things were far from rosy in the garden. Bowling was a little ill-disciplined and we gave the Malsis batsmen far too many free runs, bumping their score up to a wholly gettable 138 from their 25 overs. The disappointing part of their score was the fact that they only lost 3 wickets, a figure which would have been far higher had the bowling been a tad more disciplined. Fed and watered, the Aysgarth openers took the field and began positively, with the swashbuckling Stroyan a perfect partner for the rock-solid Bevan Fawcett. Things took a slight turn for the worse when Stroyan smashed a sweet back foot drive to the man at short cover, who held on to a sharp catch and sent our vice-captain for the day back to the shed. Fawcett continued on his way, picking up boundaries along with sharp singles to support the flurry of good-looking strokes from Sam Hoddinott, who played beautifully for his 35 but eventually went across the line to a straight ball and paid for it with his wicket. Here began the domino impression. Oliver Rudd came and went with a leading edge, the skipper ran himself out, Will Westgarth fell second ball and Tom Fenwick swiftly followed – all this from 117-3 and relative security. Thank the Lord for Harry West, who entered the fray with the correct attitude, and dispatched 2 boundaries to drag us, kicking and screaming, across the line. Alex Legard occupied the other crease, and also guided Aysgarth to a win despite our best efforts to lose.  Bevan Fawcett must be commended for his spirit and determination, refusing to give his wicket away and displaying the kind of desire the team could all learn from – his 55 was cruelly ended with a run out, but without it we would undoubtedly be out of the Jet Cup. Much work to do, but a win is a win, or so I’ve heard.

Man of the Match – Bevan Fawcett

Aysgarth 1^st XI vs St Mary’s Hall 1^st XI

Aysgarth entered this game off the back of a close encounter at Malsis, and spirits had risen within the team after a reasonably good training session on Friday. It was a strange day in terms of the weather, with periods of brilliant sunshine interrupted by apocalyptic downpours – during one of which, we started the match. Aysgarth won the toss and elected to bat, a wise decision in the circumstances, as the torrential rain made gripping the sodden ball rather challenging to say the least. A strong start by Bevan Fawcett and Archie Stroyan saw Aysgarth 60-0 from 12, a solid platform on which to build a big score – or so one thought – but again the middle overs thwarted our attempts to post an unattainable total. Average running between the wickets and a less than satisfactory willingness to “fight” saw us slump to 120-6 from 25, only 5 overs left and an acceleration notable by its absence. Respectability, if not awestruck admiration, was restored in the team by Will Westgarth and Tom Fenwick, who seized the initiative and struck 33 runs from the last 5 overs, to help Aysgarth reach 153-6 from 30 overs. St Mary’s Hall started brightly thanks to an unforgivable amount of extras in the first 3 overs, but Aysgarth clawed it back with two quick wickets to bring the score to 20-2. Harry Adair and Archie Stroyan kept it tight for the next 8 overs, before Bevan Fawcett’s four miserly overs for just 7 runs, including two wickets – but then the pressure arrived and Aysgarth struggled to maintain their early momentum. Runs started flowing from two SMH batsmen – Square leg and mid-wicket received an almighty peppering and catches started going down – fielders struggled, and all of a sudden, the jaws of victory had opened up and invited Aysgarth to snatch a defeat. Thankfully, Erskine and Fawcett managed to hold firm at the end and deny SMH a famous victory, but our matches insist on throwing up plenty of things to work on – fielding, catching, coping with pressure, field placings, attitude – all of these things must improve if we are to achieve the undoubted potential within this Aysgarth 1^st XI. Result – a winning draw, with positives and negatives to take away.

Man of the Match – Will Westgarth for his innings-salvaging 28 not out.

Aysgarth 1^st XI v Sedbergh JS 1^st XI

The second round of the Jet Cup arrived amid the whirl of helicopter blades and heavy showers, and upon their arrival (by minibus) we immediately recognised that Sedbergh looked a reasonably strong outfit. This did not drain the team of confidence, but inspired them to work hard and put the opposition under pressure from the start – toss won, field taken. Aysgarth started strongly and took two quick wickets thanks to Archie Erskine who bowled with hostility, but the game soon turned with the Sedbergh opener settling in and striking the ball strongly. This chap rode his considerable luck to reach 70 whilst surviving a very close stumping shout and being thoughtfully dropped at least 3 times in the outfield, eventually falling to a spectacular tumbling catch at square leg from Archie Stroyan. The damage was done, Sedbergh reaching 148 from their 25 allocated overs and Aysgarth under no illusions as to the consistently below-par fielding displays, the dragging of heels in the outfield, and the terrifyingly high amount of extras gift-wrapped and handed to the opposition. Nevertheless, Aysgarth knew what had to be done. Stroyan and Fawcett suffered unusually low scores, but both can claim that they received good deliveries from the Sedbergh opening bowler, who charged in with purpose and bowled tight, disciplined lines. Hoddinott came and went, and he too received a belter of a delivery – the bowlers are allowed to bowl them, and the Aysgarth batsmen showed maturity in accepting that they had been outdone on this occasion. The run rate crept and skulked upwards, and by the time it reached 28 from the last over, to adapt the words of a very well known Lancastrian cricket commentator, it was time to start the helicopter. Aysgarth finished 20 runs short, rueing their shelled catches and conceded extras. There were many, many bright spots and positives to take from this game – Harry Adair batted how we all know he can, and finished with over 60 not out, giving his team a great chance at an unlikely win. George West bowled with maturity, never letting his head go down and being nippy in the field, and Lysander Adair looked every inch the first eleven cricketer, shaping up beautifully and turning the strike over like a true top-order batsman. I have mentioned some names here, but it must be said that despite our shortcomings in the field, every boy has shown the desire and the motivation that I expect, and attitudes, approaches, reflections, praise, criticism, understanding and execution has improved a great deal since the start of our campaign. A loss certainly, but no heads should hang.

Man of the Match – Harry Adair for his great effort with the bat.  

Aysgarth 1^st XI v Mowden Hall 1^st XI

The thirsty cricket pitch had gratefully received another hearty drink during the day of the match, heavy showers abound but not many helicopters. This didn’t affect the pitch too much – a credit to Mr Thompson and the amazing amount of effort he gives – and Aysgarth had first use, taking the field looking like they meant business. The big opening bowler charged in and terrorised the Mowden batsmen, picking up a wicket with the last ball of his first over. Archie bowled his three overs without conceding an extra, and this is a very pleasing improvement indeed, so well done to you Archie Erskine. Mowden built a partnership, with two boys taking them to 70-2 and then 82-3. In the blink of an eye however, things did an about turn and didn’t bother to salute. Adair and Stroyan ripped through the Mowden line up, reducing them to 83-7 and then 92 all out. A very clinical performance and a lesson in how to press an advantage when you are lucky enough to come across one. This is where I mention the exploits of one Harry West. Harry had done something that 99% of all wicket-keepers do when they make a mistake, and let his head drop almost to the ground with disappointment. Having caught and dropped the odd ball myself, I know that these downers are common and understandable but entirely unnecessary, because if you have talent you will have many more good games than bad. I was proved correct (not for the first time, I might add) when Harry contributed 4 sharp stumpings, two off medium-pace bowling, and a catch to the wickets column – a superb performance with the gloves and a testament to the hard work done over the pre-season period. Aysgarth had a very clear idea of what had to be done here, and we set out to knock the runs off with aplomb, and to avoid the indiscretion of limping over the line. Fawcett and Adair duly delivered the goods, Bevan finishing with over 30 not out and Adair over 40 not out. Stroyan was unfortunate to receive another beauty from the opening bowler, and should not feel at all aggrieved to have a low score next to his name – his contribution was magnificent with the ball. Aysgarth knocked off the runs with plenty of time to spare, and our most complete performance of the season drew to a close. Well done to all and sundry.

Man of the Match – Harry West. 

Aysgarth 1^st XI v Cundall Manor 1^st XI

I thought Aysgarth were primed, ready and motivated for the clash with our local rivals Cundall, with practice and preparation going increasingly well and attitudes gradually moving in the right direction. However. There is always a however. It was the thorns in our side that proved the undoing of Aysgarth, the old adversaries that we have tried so hard to eradicate and quite literally suffered blood, sweat and tears in the effort. Only one of those three was going to make an appearance after this game, and it doesn’t begin with a B or an S.

As with most of our games this year, the middle overs were appallingly complacent, slow and non-gritty affairs with individuals regarding their job done, but I can vouch for the fact that 30’s and 40’s among top order batsmen don’t pay the bills. Archie Erskine and Harry Adair stuck around for their 37’s each, but both departed in a manner which could have been avoided – the only player who was willing to fight to stay at the crease proved to be the under 11, the inexperienced yet steadfast Lysander Adair. Aysgarth reached 143 from 30 overs, a score I felt was 20 or 30 light of where it needed to be. Cundall started in a very solid and professional way, the openers sharing a partnership of 90 plus, running between the wickets superbly and demonstrating excellent understanding of what needed to be done. The Aysgarth bowlers toiled away admirably, Archie Stroyan the pick with 2 wickets to instil hope towards the end – but, same old story, dropped catches and fragile-under-pressure attitudes in the field proved to cost dearly. Cundall reached their target with an over to spare, completing a crushing 8-wicket win, and much praise must go to the opening batsman Bentley who performed superbly to carry his bat for 75.

Aysgarth are not short of talent, drive, opportunity, or strength. Aysgarth are short of the undervalued, much-hyped, holy grail of the professional game – the ability to score “ugly runs” or take “ugly wickets”, to fight, to scrap, to battle. 30 is not enough for a top order player, is not the job done, and will not win games. Jogging in the field, blaming a teammate, kicking the ground will not win games. A great man once said “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act but a habit.” This also applies to mistakes, so I want to see Aysgarth fulfilling their potential by repeatedly fighting and scrapping, when the situation calls for it, to stay at the crease and score runs, forcing the opposition to do something different. This desire to get the runs on the board, the battle of the middle overs, to go without a boundary for 100 balls but still score runs, to bowl dot ball after dot ball, to throw oneself at a catch in the field – this is what will inspire improvement in a cricketer, and will deliver the satisfaction of having earned your stripes. I am confident that this will appear in the Aysgarth team.

Aysgarth 1^st XI v Old Aysgarthians T20

Aysgarth welcomed back some old faces on the afternoon of Saturday the 4^th of June, faces which showed that last year’s 1^st XI may well have been a decent outfit. The carnival atmosphere was present, but dampened slightly by rather bracing breeze and curtain of cloud which had typically appeared the day after what seemed like the hottest day of the century. Anyway, onwards and upwards.

The OA’s were to bat first, and “here come the girls” greeted the arrival of Freddie Adair and Max Darbishire, a formidable pair based on last year’s statistics. Mr Barlow was in terrific form as the Disc Jockey extraordinaire, and was kept busy by the boundary-hitting machine that is Freddie Adair. He was generously put down on a couple of occasions, but this is to take nothing away from his powerful 74, including four sixes – one of which may still be orbiting the sun. Perhaps a thought of “if only just one year younger” popped into the head of at least one of the umpires.

Troy Lockyear was the unluckiest man of the day, run out backing up – a horrendous way to depart the crease – and it was a credit to him that he took it in good spirits. Tom Fenwick achieved this breakthrough and another more genuine one, in the form of Darbishire – caught and bowled. Orlando Hill struck a few lusty blows and Humphrey Codrington found the boundary on two occasions, bumping the OA’s up to 141-7 from their 20 overs. Well bowled to Tom Fenwick, who was economical and started extremely well, and Archie Erskine who bowled with hostility and intent. The boys fielded nicely and showed some excellent spirit, and if the cricketing gods had told me in advance that we would be chasing 141, I’d have been delighted.

Aysgarth, in reply, lost Harry Adair early to give Archie Erskine the opportunity to stroll in. Stroll in he did, and then proceeded to smite the quickest 19 I have seen in a good while – two sixes and a four, before playing one shot too many and falling to Orlando Hill. Sam Hoddinott entered the fray, and looked superb with Archie Stroyan – one of the umpires could hardly contain his excitement in anticipation of the team next year – and dare I say it, we looked on course to pull off an unlikely win. If’s and but’s always frustrate me, but IF Archie and Sam could have stayed together the result may have been different – as it happened, Sam fell to a catch on the boundary and Archie went soon after to a very good catch at short mid-wicket – a real shame from the result point of view, but so many positives to take. Aysgarth finished 12 runs short, and I think they may have surprised a few people along the way, as this was a narrow margin of victory for the OA’s who probably felt a rather large amount of relief post-match.

Thankyou to Kate Fenwick, Gordon Maclelland and Paul Barlow in particular for the organisation and execution of a very enjoyable day for all, and thankyou to the people who make each and every match day run smoothly – matrons, ground staff, and catering amongst others. The wrong result – but more evidence that Aysgarth are coming together as a team, giving this year’s leavers some weaponry to take to their next schools, and allowing the younger boys the opportunity to develop in the most positive way for next year.

Man of the Match – OA’s – Freddie Adair for his power hitting and sound technique.

                                     – Aysgarth – Archie Stroyan for a well-paced and intelligent 47.   

Cricket Tour 2011

The Aysgarth School cricket tour for 2011 is the pinnacle of the season for the 1^st XI and is awaited with anticipation, expectation and excitement for most of the year, with many boys considering this to be their last hurrah and final bow to the trademark blue and black blazer. It didn’t disappoint. Much to the delight of the Director of Sport and the driver, a marginally late arrival and the absence of a scorebook were the two initial spanners in the works, providing a source of much amusement and ammunition for the remainder of the week – but despite this, the Aysgarth minibus rolled out of the gates and began the long journey to Abberley Hall Preparatory School, where the first fixture awaited.

A welcoming school, Abberley Hall has a beautiful cricket pitch flanked by a state of the art Astroturf facility and overlooked by the main school, and one that looked immediately like a batting track. After the long journey with many minor events, and some very nearly major events (saved by a service station pit stop) the boys were in need of a quick run around – and it was this energetic warm up which set the tone for the day, the positive body language and the awareness with which Aysgarth approached the match. After winning the toss, Archie elected to bat first and Messrs Stroyan and Fawcett strode to the crease with purpose. The start was slightly slow, as the pitch was a little slow and low and was not easy to score on. After Bevan departed in an attempt to move the score along, Harry Adair entered the fray and the run rate surged – the technically accomplished Adair sweetly striking the ball and showing good understanding of what had to be done. Aysgarth’s innings yielded 124 runs, Harry Adair the mainstay, for the loss of 5 wickets – which in the circumstances was a reasonable total.

Abberley’s chase started with an audible crash, the sound of stumps being removed and two batsmen trudging back to the shed in the first over – victims of a supercharged Archie Erskine, who was in no mood to stop there. He terrorised the batsmen, in scenes reminiscent of a young Brett Lee frightening the life out of the England batsmen in 2003, bowling with pace, aggression and accuracy to finish with extraordinary figures – 7-14 in 5 overs. Similar to Steve Harmison in the West Indies, who collected 7-12, but I’m afraid that Steve will have to take a seat and tip his hat to Erskine, because Archie managed to hit the stumps on all 7 occasions – a feat that escaped Harmy. A super performance and one worthy of a much-improved Aysgarth team. The only low points were minor, with the exception of Tom Fenwick who steadied himself under a skyer, only to fall victim to the cork and leather fist which struck him squarely in the eye, leaving us with two players owning spectacular shiners. At least we look intimidating. A win to start with, and it was with pride that we returned to our 5 star accommodation in the sports hall, to drink a glass of the Headmaster’s own wine (staff not boys) and look forward to our hard day at the office at New Road, where Worcestershire entertained Sri Lanka in a 50 over clash on the Wednesday.

New Road is a small, intimate cricketing venue and one which would look quite at home on the front of a picture postcard, and despite the odd shower we managed to have a super day out. The boys wandered around the ground, chatting to players and asking for autographs, Bevan Fawcett and Tom Fenwick being the stand-out autograph and photograph hunters who now seem to be on best terms with Tillekeratne Dilshan. Bevan didn’t have so much success with Lasith Malinga, who failed to sign an autograph, prompting Bev to use the immortal line “he’s a sour old fruit isn’t he”. This gained many chuckles. The Director of Sport decided the time was right for lunch, at which time we were directed by a very friendly Maitre D’ (or even Maitre Duh, as Brian likes to call them) to a very pleasant table in the members pavilion. Member’s pavilions have not been my favourite places over the years, as the game seems to be exquisitely easy when you are sat in one – but on this day, we were happy chaps.

Thursday saw us take on the might of the Oratory Prep School, who had strength in numbers and a very, very nice cricket pitch for us to play on. We were restricted by the weather, having to adjust our plans for a time-based game to a 25 overs a side encounter, thanks to an apocalyptic downpour. The downpour did not dampen Harry Adair’s form, who struck a majestic 78 including three sixes in an over, to help Aysgarth post the intimidating total of 159. Harry was helped along the way by a resurgent Sam Hoddinott, who made 38 and looked the part, not to mention a few blows from Archie Erskine towards the end of the innings. Fed and watered, Aysgarth returned to the pavilion for a team meeting during which all agreed it would be a shame to drop our lofty standards in the field and allow the Oratory to be in the game – the boys desired a big win against a big school, and lo and behold, this is what was delivered. Archie again bowled with hostility, backed up by a firing-on-all-cylinders Alex Legard, who removed a dangerous looking player and continued on to remove two more. Fielding was again the key, with few runs being given away and the energy and commitment excellent. A second win, 100% tour record maintained, and it was a very happy contingent of staff and parents who made their way to Oxford that evening for a lovely meal and several refreshing glasses of juice.

It is now that the night must be described, but not in any great detail. The Director of Sport and the driver (whose record was impeccable but had been blighted slightly by a series of encounters with the same supermarket on the way to Oxford) got us parked up at least 4 miles from where the restaurant was, and this rendered us lost. At least we saw some sights along the way, but it was considerably late that we finally trooped into the restaurant to meet our loyal and generous supporters, made up of parents and a grandparent. The food was excellent, backed up by some amusing questions from the boys, including “is that lemonade?” and “can we have a pint of Strongbow?”, and it was at this point that most of the staff and all the boys returned to the hotel. The conversation and the company was excellent, and it must be said that in the hour (or so) after the meal, the company and the conversation got considerably better. I would urge any aspiring photographers to take no inspiration at all by any that were taken on this night, however much at least one member of staff enjoyed it. A huge thank you to Mark Stroyan for his kindness, and an equally huge thank you to Tim Rudd (although not for his photography skills).

Bright eyed and bushy tailed, our touring party assembled in the breakfast hall at 7am on Friday morning, ready and primed for the final clash. The bags were loaded, rooms checked, and all attention turned to the forthcoming encounter with Woodcote House. The reliance of our driver on paper-based directions was astonishing, and one felt that maybe he’d be better driving a horse and cart. Perhaps here lies the reason for his wonderful descriptions of various other road users, brought about by the frustration of repeatedly incorrect directions. Again, we found ourselves lost, but the situation was quickly rectified by a swift phonecall and all was well. Upon winning the toss, we decided to bowl, a decision overturned immediately due to the supposed need to have a “full game”, rather unprecedented but nonetheless, we batted first instead. A cynic could draw his own conclusions to this change, based on how the pitch played and the difficulty our batsmen had in getting the ball away, but there were sparks – Archie Stroyan got things going, and Harry Adair again contributed very well with a hard fought knock of 36. Ollie Rudd satisfied the need for busy running and urgency at the end of the innings, along with cameos from Harry Holt and Lysander Adair, helping us along to a reasonable 119 from our 25.

And so the carnage began. Erskine charged in with venom, causing the batsmen to visibly tremble and begin to regret some earlier chatter, which was a delight to see and gave me some more evidence (as if I needed it) that this team has come a long way – they have listened intently, and transformed themselves from jolly prep-school cricketers to real, fighting, ruthless sportsmen. I could see the burning desire to win this game within the whole team, and this made me extremely happy (I also harboured a burning desire to not just win, but win convincingly).  Unfortunately for Archie, he struggled slightly with a sore ankle and had to come off after one over, but not before removing two Woodcote batsmen. Enter Lysander Adair, who has been superb for the 1^st XI this season in all departments – his bowling has been a revelation, and continued to be so in this game. After his five overs, he had a return of 3-21 – a reward for his accuracy, excellent pace and flight and perseverance, backed up by some good fielding and support from his older teammates. It is not often in this game that the ball cannons into off-stump, only for somebody stood several miles away with what must be superman-esque vision to claim it to be “not out”, but this rather cheerful situation did arise here – all part and parcel of an ongoing cricketing education which will not end any time soon.    

The target was eventually reached with Alex Legard claiming two wickets, Archie Stroyan and Harry Adair claiming the remaining two between them, rounding off a very satisfying victory for Aysgarth and allowing us to anticipate a happy journey home. It is at this point that I must pay tribute to Bevan Fawcett, who was seated directly behind the staff in the minibus due to his rather dubious travel sickness condition, and provided splendid entertainment for a large chunk of each journey. It brought a whole new meaning to the phrase “the gloves are off”, which Bevan carefully explained relates not to the assumed fight between himself and his brother, but to his habit of removing his batting gloves during a back garden “test match”, and scoring – in a proper scorebook – with different coloured pens. This, quite understandably, infuriates Mungo and often ends in tears – after this story, three members of staff were also in tears, but for a quite different reason. I am not going to go near the “golf ball story” but I will just remind Bevan that his subsequent branding as a “berk” may well be accurately attributed to his golf swing, which he assures me is similar to that of Rory McIlroy, but I have my doubts.

A cricket tour, or indeed any sporting tour, is not plain sailing for everybody and requires a great deal of compromise, not only when we are all together off the pitch but also on the pitch. We have several highly loyal players who didn’t get the bowling and batting chances they deserve, and I fully understand the frustrations of this – however hard it is, unfortunately this will always happen in sport and it gives nobody any pleasure to see a boy field all week without getting a bat. I must say, that the individuals who carried this can took it with dignity, loyalty and without once letting their disappointment affect their commitment to the cause. A great tribute to the types of character that those boys possess, and a greatly impressive reaction to disappointment which will be extremely valuable in the future – such players are essential to the success of any team, and we have been lucky to have such selfless people in the Aysgarth 1^st XI.

Cricket Tour 2011

The Aysgarth School cricket tour for 2011 is the pinnacle of the season for the 1^st XI and is awaited with anticipation, expectation and excitement for most of the year, with many boys considering this to be their last hurrah and final bow to the trademark blue and black blazer. It didn’t disappoint. Much to the delight of the Director of Sport and the driver, a marginally late arrival and the absence of a scorebook were the two initial spanners in the works, providing a source of much amusement and ammunition for the remainder of the week – but despite this, the Aysgarth minibus rolled out of the gates and began the long journey to Abberley Hall Preparatory School, where the first fixture awaited.

A welcoming school, Abberley Hall has a beautiful cricket pitch flanked by a state of the art Astroturf facility and overlooked by the main school, and one that looked immediately like a batting track. After the long journey with many minor events, and some very nearly major events (saved by a service station pit stop) the boys were in need of a quick run around – and it was this energetic warm up which set the tone for the day, the positive body language and the awareness with which Aysgarth approached the match. After winning the toss, Archie elected to bat first and Messrs Stroyan and Fawcett strode to the crease with purpose. The start was slightly slow, as the pitch was a little slow and low and was not easy to score on. After Bevan departed in an attempt to move the score along, Harry Adair entered the fray and the run rate surged – the technically accomplished Adair sweetly striking the ball and showing good understanding of what had to be done. Aysgarth’s innings yielded 124 runs, Harry Adair the mainstay, for the loss of 5 wickets – which in the circumstances was a reasonable total.

Abberley’s chase started with an audible crash, the sound of stumps being removed and two batsmen trudging back to the shed in the first over – victims of a supercharged Archie Erskine, who was in no mood to stop there. He terrorised the batsmen, in scenes reminiscent of a young Brett Lee frightening the life out of the England batsmen in 2003, bowling with pace, aggression and accuracy to finish with extraordinary figures – 7-14 in 5 overs. Similar to Steve Harmison in the West Indies, who collected 7-12, but I’m afraid that Steve will have to take a seat and tip his hat to Erskine, because Archie managed to hit the stumps on all 7 occasions – a feat that escaped Harmy. A super performance and one worthy of a much-improved Aysgarth team. The only low points were minor, with the exception of Tom Fenwick who steadied himself under a skyer, only to fall victim to the cork and leather fist which struck him squarely in the eye, leaving us with two players owning spectacular shiners. At least we look intimidating. A win to start with, and it was with pride that we returned to our 5 star accommodation in the sports hall, to drink a glass of the Headmaster’s own wine (staff not boys) and look forward to our hard day at the office at New Road, where Worcestershire entertained Sri Lanka in a 50 over clash on the Wednesday.

New Road is a small, intimate cricketing venue and one which would look quite at home on the front of a picture postcard, and despite the odd shower we managed to have a super day out. The boys wandered around the ground, chatting to players and asking for autographs, Bevan Fawcett and Tom Fenwick being the stand-out autograph and photograph hunters who now seem to be on best terms with Tillekeratne Dilshan. Bevan didn’t have so much success with Lasith Malinga, who failed to sign an autograph, prompting Bev to use the immortal line “he’s a sour old fruit isn’t he”. This gained many chuckles. The Director of Sport decided the time was right for lunch, at which time we were directed by a very friendly Maitre D’ (or even Maitre Duh, as Brian likes to call them) to a very pleasant table in the members pavilion. Member’s pavilions have not been my favourite places over the years, as the game seems to be exquisitely easy when you are sat in one – but on this day, we were happy chaps.

Thursday saw us take on the might of the Oratory Prep School, who had strength in numbers and a very, very nice cricket pitch for us to play on. We were restricted by the weather, having to adjust our plans for a time-based game to a 25 overs a side encounter, thanks to an apocalyptic downpour. The downpour did not dampen Harry Adair’s form, who struck a majestic 78 including three sixes in an over, to help Aysgarth post the intimidating total of 159. Harry was helped along the way by a resurgent Sam Hoddinott, who made 38 and looked the part, not to mention a few blows from Archie Erskine towards the end of the innings. Fed and watered, Aysgarth returned to the pavilion for a team meeting during which all agreed it would be a shame to drop our lofty standards in the field and allow the Oratory to be in the game – the boys desired a big win against a big school, and lo and behold, this is what was delivered. Archie again bowled with hostility, backed up by a firing-on-all-cylinders Alex Legard, who removed a dangerous looking player and continued on to remove two more. Fielding was again the key, with few runs being given away and the energy and commitment excellent. A second win, 100% tour record maintained, and it was a very happy contingent of staff and parents who made their way to Oxford that evening for a lovely meal and several refreshing glasses of juice.

It is now that the night must be described, but not in any great detail. The Director of Sport and the driver (whose record was impeccable but had been blighted slightly by a series of encounters with the same supermarket on the way to Oxford) got us parked up at least 4 miles from where the restaurant was, and this rendered us lost. At least we saw some sights along the way, but it was considerably late that we finally trooped into the restaurant to meet our loyal and generous supporters, made up of parents and a grandparent. The food was excellent, backed up by some amusing questions from the boys, including “is that lemonade?” and “can we have a pint of Strongbow?”, and it was at this point that most of the staff and all the boys returned to the hotel. The conversation and the company was excellent, and it must be said that in the hour (or so) after the meal, the company and the conversation got considerably better. I would urge any aspiring photographers to take no inspiration at all by any that were taken on this night, however much at least one member of staff enjoyed it. A huge thank you to Mark Stroyan for his kindness, and an equally huge thank you to Tim Rudd (although not for his photography skills).

Bright eyed and bushy tailed, our touring party assembled in the breakfast hall at 7am on Friday morning, ready and primed for the final clash. The bags were loaded, rooms checked, and all attention turned to the forthcoming encounter with Woodcote House. The reliance of our driver on paper-based directions was astonishing, and one felt that maybe he’d be better driving a horse and cart. Perhaps here lies the reason for his wonderful descriptions of various other road users, brought about by the frustration of repeatedly incorrect directions. Again, we found ourselves lost, but the situation was quickly rectified by a swift phonecall and all was well. Upon winning the toss, we decided to bowl, a decision overturned immediately due to the supposed need to have a “full game”, rather unprecedented but nonetheless, we batted first instead. A cynic could draw his own conclusions to this change, based on how the pitch played and the difficulty our batsmen had in getting the ball away, but there were sparks – Archie Stroyan got things going, and Harry Adair again contributed very well with a hard fought knock of 36. Ollie Rudd satisfied the need for busy running and urgency at the end of the innings, along with cameos from Harry Holt and Lysander Adair, helping us along to a reasonable 119 from our 25.

And so the carnage began. Erskine charged in with venom, causing the batsmen to visibly tremble and begin to regret some earlier chatter, which was a delight to see and gave me some more evidence (as if I needed it) that this team has come a long way – they have listened intently, and transformed themselves from jolly prep-school cricketers to real, fighting, ruthless sportsmen. I could see the burning desire to win this game within the whole team, and this made me extremely happy (I also harboured a burning desire to not just win, but win convincingly).  Unfortunately for Archie, he struggled slightly with a sore ankle and had to come off after one over, but not before removing two Woodcote batsmen. Enter Lysander Adair, who has been superb for the 1^st XI this season in all departments – his bowling has been a revelation, and continued to be so in this game. After his five overs, he had a return of 3-21 – a reward for his accuracy, excellent pace and flight and perseverance, backed up by some good fielding and support from his older teammates. It is not often in this game that the ball cannons into off-stump, only for somebody stood several miles away with what must be superman-esque vision to claim it to be “not out”, but this rather cheerful situation did arise here – all part and parcel of an ongoing cricketing education which will not end any time soon.    

The target was eventually reached with Alex Legard claiming two wickets, Archie Stroyan and Harry Adair claiming the remaining two between them, rounding off a very satisfying victory for Aysgarth and allowing us to anticipate a happy journey home. It is at this point that I must pay tribute to Bevan Fawcett, who was seated directly behind the staff in the minibus due to his rather dubious travel sickness condition, and provided splendid entertainment for a large chunk of each journey. It brought a whole new meaning to the phrase “the gloves are off”, which Bevan carefully explained relates not to the assumed fight between himself and his brother, but to his habit of removing his batting gloves during a back garden “test match”, and scoring – in a proper scorebook – with different coloured pens. This, quite understandably, infuriates Mungo and often ends in tears – after this story, three members of staff were also in tears, but for a quite different reason. I am not going to go near the “golf ball story” but I will just remind Bevan that his subsequent branding as a “berk” may well be accurately attributed to his golf swing, which he assures me is similar to that of Rory McIlroy, but I have my doubts.

A cricket tour, or indeed any sporting tour, is not plain sailing for everybody and requires a great deal of compromise, not only when we are all together off the pitch but also on the pitch. We have several highly loyal players who didn’t get the bowling and batting chances they deserve, and I fully understand the frustrations of this – however hard it is, unfortunately this will always happen in sport and it gives nobody any pleasure to see a boy field all week without getting a bat. I must say, that the individuals who carried this can took it with dignity, loyalty and without once letting their disappointment affect their commitment to the cause. A great tribute to the types of character that those boys possess, and a greatly impressive reaction to disappointment which will be extremely valuable in the future – such players are essential to the success of any team, and we have been lucky to have such selfless people in the Aysgarth 1^st XI.

Every single member of the squad is entitled to feel extremely proud of the season they have had, and this unbeaten tour was a fantastic way to round off a season which has yielded great progress. The fielding and running between the wickets were two strong focuses of all our training in pre-season and during the season, and I am confident to say that this has improved out of sight – the tour showed this and I will boldly say that it is these two things that have won us games. However, the understanding of various situations and an improved ability to react under pressure has also won us games, and it is this holistic improvement that the leavers can take to their next schools with confidence. Coaches are impressed not only by technique, but by the way in which a player conducts himself, bounces back from disappointment, reacts under pressure, and understands the game. A particularly good comment from a particularly good captain sums this up: “cricket is not unlike a strong relationship. It matters how good you look, but it isn’t going to last if this is your only quality. You must act like a gentleman but also be prepared to fight for the desired result. You must react to a difficult situation with sympathy, empathy and a positive attitude. Above all, you must have a deep understanding and deep affection for the game, and then your relationship will last.” Wise words indeed.

My thanks to all parents, whose support has not wavered throughout the season. Gordon Maclelland and Brian Ellis were excellent company and provided me with several rounds of ammunition which may well last for quite a while. And most importantly, thanks to the boys, the people who deserve all the praise for their hard work, putting up with my fielding sessions and listening to my annoying voice throughout a long season, not to mention winning three from three on our cricket tour. Good luck to all leavers, and to all remaining boys – get ready for next season.    

Cricket Tour 2011

The Aysgarth School cricket tour for 2011 is the pinnacle of the season for the 1^st XI and is awaited with anticipation, expectation and excitement for most of the year, with many boys considering this to be their last hurrah and final bow to the trademark blue and black blazer. It didn’t disappoint. Much to the delight of the Director of Sport and the driver, a marginally late arrival and the absence of a scorebook were the two initial spanners in the works, providing a source of much amusement and ammunition for the remainder of the week – but despite this, the Aysgarth minibus rolled out of the gates and began the long journey to Abberley Hall Preparatory School, where the first fixture awaited.

A welcoming school, Abberley Hall has a beautiful cricket pitch flanked by a state of the art Astroturf facility and overlooked by the main school, and one that looked immediately like a batting track. After the long journey with many minor events, and some very nearly major events (saved by a service station pit stop) the boys were in need of a quick run around – and it was this energetic warm up which set the tone for the day, the positive body language and the awareness with which Aysgarth approached the match. After winning the toss, Archie elected to bat first and Messrs Stroyan and Fawcett strode to the crease with purpose. The start was slightly slow, as the pitch was a little slow and low and was not easy to score on. After Bevan departed in an attempt to move the score along, Harry Adair entered the fray and the run rate surged – the technically accomplished Adair sweetly striking the ball and showing good understanding of what had to be done. Aysgarth’s innings yielded 124 runs, Harry Adair the mainstay, for the loss of 5 wickets – which in the circumstances was a reasonable total.

Abberley’s chase started with an audible crash, the sound of stumps being removed and two batsmen trudging back to the shed in the first over – victims of a supercharged Archie Erskine, who was in no mood to stop there. He terrorised the batsmen, in scenes reminiscent of a young Brett Lee frightening the life out of the England batsmen in 2003, bowling with pace, aggression and accuracy to finish with extraordinary figures – 7-14 in 5 overs. Similar to Steve Harmison in the West Indies, who collected 7-12, but I’m afraid that Steve will have to take a seat and tip his hat to Erskine, because Archie managed to hit the stumps on all 7 occasions – a feat that escaped Harmy. A super performance and one worthy of a much-improved Aysgarth team. The only low points were minor, with the exception of Tom Fenwick who steadied himself under a skyer, only to fall victim to the cork and leather fist which struck him squarely in the eye, leaving us with two players owning spectacular shiners. At least we look intimidating. A win to start with, and it was with pride that we returned to our 5 star accommodation in the sports hall, to drink a glass of the Headmaster’s own wine (staff not boys) and look forward to our hard day at the office at New Road, where Worcestershire entertained Sri Lanka in a 50 over clash on the Wednesday.

New Road is a small, intimate cricketing venue and one which would look quite at home on the front of a picture postcard, and despite the odd shower we managed to have a super day out. The boys wandered around the ground, chatting to players and asking for autographs, Bevan Fawcett and Tom Fenwick being the stand-out autograph and photograph hunters who now seem to be on best terms with Tillekeratne Dilshan. Bevan didn’t have so much success with Lasith Malinga, who failed to sign an autograph, prompting Bev to use the immortal line “he’s a sour old fruit isn’t he”. This gained many chuckles. The Director of Sport decided the time was right for lunch, at which time we were directed by a very friendly Maitre D’ (or even Maitre Duh, as Brian likes to call them) to a very pleasant table in the members pavilion. Member’s pavilions have not been my favourite places over the years, as the game seems to be exquisitely easy when you are sat in one – but on this day, we were happy chaps.

Thursday saw us take on the might of the Oratory Prep School, who had strength in numbers and a very, very nice cricket pitch for us to play on. We were restricted by the weather, having to adjust our plans for a time-based game to a 25 overs a side encounter, thanks to an apocalyptic downpour. The downpour did not dampen Harry Adair’s form, who struck a majestic 78 including three sixes in an over, to help Aysgarth post the intimidating total of 159. Harry was helped along the way by a resurgent Sam Hoddinott, who made 38 and looked the part, not to mention a few blows from Archie Erskine towards the end of the innings. Fed and watered, Aysgarth returned to the pavilion for a team meeting during which all agreed it would be a shame to drop our lofty standards in the field and allow the Oratory to be in the game – the boys desired a big win against a big school, and lo and behold, this is what was delivered. Archie again bowled with hostility, backed up by a firing-on-all-cylinders Alex Legard, who removed a dangerous looking player and continued on to remove two more. Fielding was again the key, with few runs being given away and the energy and commitment excellent. A second win, 100% tour record maintained, and it was a very happy contingent of staff and parents who made their way to Oxford that evening for a lovely meal and several refreshing glasses of juice.

It is now that the night must be described, but not in any great detail. The Director of Sport and the driver (whose record was impeccable but had been blighted slightly by a series of encounters with the same supermarket on the way to Oxford) got us parked up at least 4 miles from where the restaurant was, and this rendered us lost. At least we saw some sights along the way, but it was considerably late that we finally trooped into the restaurant to meet our loyal and generous supporters, made up of parents and a grandparent. The food was excellent, backed up by some amusing questions from the boys, including “is that lemonade?” and “can we have a pint of Strongbow?”, and it was at this point that most of the staff and all the boys returned to the hotel. The conversation and the company was excellent, and it must be said that in the hour (or so) after the meal, the company and the conversation got considerably better. I would urge any aspiring photographers to take no inspiration at all by any that were taken on this night, however much at least one member of staff enjoyed it. A huge thank you to Mark Stroyan for his kindness, and an equally huge thank you to Tim Rudd (although not for his photography skills).

Bright eyed and bushy tailed, our touring party assembled in the breakfast hall at 7am on Friday morning, ready and primed for the final clash. The bags were loaded, rooms checked, and all attention turned to the forthcoming encounter with Woodcote House. The reliance of our driver on paper-based directions was astonishing, and one felt that maybe he’d be better driving a horse and cart. Perhaps here lies the reason for his wonderful descriptions of various other road users, brought about by the frustration of repeatedly incorrect directions. Again, we found ourselves lost, but the situation was quickly rectified by a swift phonecall and all was well. Upon winning the toss, we decided to bowl, a decision overturned immediately due to the supposed need to have a “full game”, rather unprecedented but nonetheless, we batted first instead. A cynic could draw his own conclusions to this change, based on how the pitch played and the difficulty our batsmen had in getting the ball away, but there were sparks – Archie Stroyan got things going, and Harry Adair again contributed very well with a hard fought knock of 36. Ollie Rudd satisfied the need for busy running and urgency at the end of the innings, along with cameos from Harry Holt and Lysander Adair, helping us along to a reasonable 119 from our 25.

And so the carnage began. Erskine charged in with venom, causing the batsmen to visibly tremble and begin to regret some earlier chatter, which was a delight to see and gave me some more evidence (as if I needed it) that this team has come a long way – they have listened intently, and transformed themselves from jolly prep-school cricketers to real, fighting, ruthless sportsmen. I could see the burning desire to win this game within the whole team, and this made me extremely happy (I also harboured a burning desire to not just win, but win convincingly).  Unfortunately for Archie, he struggled slightly with a sore ankle and had to come off after one over, but not before removing two Woodcote batsmen. Enter Lysander Adair, who has been superb for the 1^st XI this season in all departments – his bowling has been a revelation, and continued to be so in this game. After his five overs, he had a return of 3-21 – a reward for his accuracy, excellent pace and flight and perseverance, backed up by some good fielding and support from his older teammates. It is not often in this game that the ball cannons into off-stump, only for somebody stood several miles away with what must be superman-esque vision to claim it to be “not out”, but this rather cheerful situation did arise here – all part and parcel of an ongoing cricketing education which will not end any time soon.    

The target was eventually reached with Alex Legard claiming two wickets, Archie Stroyan and Harry Adair claiming the remaining two between them, rounding off a very satisfying victory for Aysgarth and allowing us to anticipate a happy journey home. It is at this point that I must pay tribute to Bevan Fawcett, who was seated directly behind the staff in the minibus due to his rather dubious travel sickness condition, and provided splendid entertainment for a large chunk of each journey. It brought a whole new meaning to the phrase “the gloves are off”, which Bevan carefully explained relates not to the assumed fight between himself and his brother, but to his habit of removing his batting gloves during a back garden “test match”, and scoring – in a proper scorebook – with different coloured pens. This, quite understandably, infuriates Mungo and often ends in tears – after this story, three members of staff were also in tears, but for a quite different reason. I am not going to go near the “golf ball story” but I will just remind Bevan that his subsequent branding as a “berk” may well be accurately attributed to his golf swing, which he assures me is similar to that of Rory McIlroy, but I have my doubts.

A cricket tour, or indeed any sporting tour, is not plain sailing for everybody and requires a great deal of compromise, not only when we are all together off the pitch but also on the pitch. We have several highly loyal players who didn’t get the bowling and batting chances they deserve, and I fully understand the frustrations of this – however hard it is, unfortunately this will always happen in sport and it gives nobody any pleasure to see a boy field all week without getting a bat. I must say, that the individuals who carried this can took it with dignity, loyalty and without once letting their disappointment affect their commitment to the cause. A great tribute to the types of character that those boys possess, and a greatly impressive reaction to disappointment which will be extremely valuable in the future – such players are essential to the success of any team, and we have been lucky to have such selfless people in the Aysgarth 1^st XI.

Aysgarth 1^st XI v Ampleforth St Martins 1^st XI

After the week Aysgarth 1^st XI had whilst on tour, it is safe to say that morale was sky high in the coach travelling to Gilling Castle, and I thought it necessary to remind the boys of the week’s achievements prior to the delivery of first ball. The echo of my words in their ears, the chaps took the field full of confidence and determined to make it a run of four victories. Aysgarth started brightly in the field, buzzing around busily and creating a purposeful atmosphere – Archie Erskine led the men very well – and this soon led to the breakthrough coming from the impressive Lysander Adair, drawing the shot from the batsman which ended up nestled in the safe hands of our very own Michael McIntyre, Bevan Fawcett. Wickets tumbled after this initial breakthrough, with Adair claiming another two victims and his elder brother claiming one for himself. The shining star, however, was the whippy Alex Legard, who ripped through the Ampleforth defences mercilessly, leaving a trail of destruction and picking up an astonishing six wickets for just five runs in the process. Just reward for Alex after all his hard work on his bowling action during the season. Ampleforth dismissed for the relatively small total of 53, which one could not be blamed for assuming we would reach with consummate ease.

For this fixture, I thought it necessary to accommodate those boys who didn’t get much of a chance whilst on tour, meaning that the batting order was vastly different to normal. Will Westgarth started brightly and played some attractive looking strokes – he was rather unfortunate, however, to smack a full toss straight to the man on the boundary, who held an unlikely catch and sent poor Will back to the pavilion for 8. Harry West came in and looked sprightly for his quick six runs, but found himself trooping back to the shed after demolishing his own stumps with a fierce pull shot – reminds me of myself – always finding a way to get out, even when feeling pretty comfortable. Fenwick and Holt came and went, and when Sam Hoddinott went back to a ball which was full and straight, he was trapped in front of all three stumps and in being so, forced the umpire to raise a reluctant finger. All of a sudden, Aysgarth had suffered the “domino effect” and ended up 40-7. It was with relief that I saw Harry Adair and Archie Stroyan, at an unfamiliarly low altitude in the order, stride to the crease to finish the job. A good performance, but it could have been a lot better – however, I am in no mood to complain at the moment.

Man of the Match – Alex Legard for his scintillating six-for.

Aysgarth 1^st XI v Durham School U13s

Four wins from four games, and Aysgarth flying high in performance quality and spirits. This was to be a huge test for us, as Durham is a big school and take immense pride in the quality of their cricket. The final game for the 5^th Form boys began by losing the toss and being inserted, on the warmest day in the history of the known world (may not be correct) to face the Durham quicks and attempt to post a total. Archie Stroyan and Harry Adair began well, taking busy singles and putting the bad ball away, before the unfortunate Adair nicked one behind to bring the skipper to the crease. Erskine was the perfect complement to Stroyan, proceeding to smack a quick-fire 34 including a towering six over wide mid-on, whilst Stroyan carried on merrily picking up the singles and holding the innings together like a tube of No More Nails. Lysander Adair then entered and proved his worth to the side by whacking a swift 18 not out, elevating the total to 143 from our 25.

The Durham reply started worryingly well, with both batsmen looking accomplished and not very uncomfortable at all – the score soon reached 25-0 and pulses were raised. This is where the reliable Lysander Adair entered the attack, and his nagging accuracy soon tempted the batsman to play a reckless shot and wind up trudging off the pitch, having been bowled by a sharply turning delivery. This was followed up by the red-hot Legard, who joined the attack and promptly picked up 2 wickets to turn the game on its head. A period of uncertainty followed, and this gave a chance to Tom Fenwick – it was with great control that he stemmed the flow of runs and picked up 3 wickets along the way, again turning the game and putting us in pole position. When the required runs hit 28 from 12 balls, the pressure turned up a little more as the first two balls disappeared over the rope for 4 – it is in this situation that Aysgarth crumbled earlier in the season – but no such crumble now. A quick single to Sam Hoddinott proved to be an error, as he picked the ball up, spun on one foot, unleashed a bullet throw and removed a stump at the bowlers end – followed immediately by an Andrew Flintoff Ashes special – Arms aloft and to the side, head tilted back, in performing attention-grabbing theatrics to which one is entitled to after such a superb piece of fielding. The innings was ended in fitting style, with Alex Legard taking the last wicket to spark our celebrations.

A great end to a very good season, one which the boys have learned a great deal from and will take on to their next schools – or indeed, apply next year when in the Aysgarth 1^st XI once more. Well done to all – pride should most certainly be felt, and your hard work should not stop here.

Man of the Match – Lysander Adair for his all-round display.   

 Aysgarth 2^nd XI vs Terrington 2^nd XI

Date: 30/04/11

Venue: Home

Result:  Aysgarth win by 82 runs

The first game of the season for the 2^nd XI welcomed the visit of Terrington on a glorious and breezy Saturday afternoon. With the firsts playing away, the seconds had the privilege of being promoted onto the hallowed turf of main field and with their ‘start of season whites’ gleaming, keenly anticipated the clash. The toss was won by Terrington who decided to put Aysgarth into bat and the season kicked off with the openers Covell and Villiers-Smith taking to the field desperate for a strong start.

The early exchanges saw some thunderous hitting from Covell who quickly attempted to assert his dominance over the bowling attack scoring a rapid 18 before being clean bowled by an accurate Yorker. The scoring rate was healthy but unfortunately the wickets kept on tumbling as Aysgarth were unable to build on a few fine starts. The middle order were desperately needed to consolidate the innings and with the introduction of Francis, Shepherd and Dingwall the scoring rate slowed but crucially the fall of wickets also slowed. Before long the innings had come to a close and Aysgarth had scored a respectable 136 all out on a large pitch where scoring was proving difficult. Covell top scored with his 18 and was only outdone by that handy batsman Mr. Extras who contributed considerably to our cause.

With an average target to defend Aysgarth knew that their bowling needed to be tight and disciplined. The initial stages proved a little worrying as, despite terrific fielding, Terrington routinely found the boundary and kept pace with the required run rate.  After a few overs though, consistent bowling led to wickets being taken and with the dangerous top three gone the run rate slowled considerably. As the overs ticked away it soon became clear that the total was in no danger and with each wicket falling backed up by quality work in the field the end was soon in sight. The final wicket saw Mawson take a fine catch off Corner’s bowling and Aysgarth claimed the victory.

For my first game in charge I was particularly impressed by the positive attitude of all the boys especially in the field where they consistently congratulated and encouraged each other. My man of the match goes the the captain Covell with a fantastic all round effort with bal and ball and for organised the troops superbly in the field.

 Aysgarth 2^nd XI vs Sedbergh JS 2^nd XI

Date: 04/05/11

Venue: Away

Result:  Aysgarth win by 62 runs

Amidst the majestic peaks of the Howgills on another lovely sunny afternoon the seconds recorded their second straight victory in a row with a solid victory over Sedbergh Junior School.

After losing the toss and being put into bat it was important that openers Covell and Villiers-Smith settled some early nerves and make a solid contribution at the top of the order. Unfortunately despite a fine start scoring quickly, both Villiers-Smith and Covell found themselves back in the hutch without making great scores. Things got from bad to worse for Aysgarth from here as our middle order perished to a good spell of bowling from Sedbergh and with the score at only 46 for 7 we needed somebody to step up and offer some resistance. The saviour of the innings came in the unlikely partnership of Holder and Corner who put on some crucial runs to push the score up to 103 all out with Holder top scoring on 25 in difficult circumstances.

Aysgarth knew that in order to stand any chance to win they would require an excellent bowling and fielding display fortunately, that is exactly what happened with our opening bowlers Covell and Wallace-Woodruffe maintaining superb line and length that had Sedbergh Junior School under all sorts of pressure. The pressure was maintained in the field and by the end of the seventh over Aysgarth had knocked over five wickets and conceding only 11 runs. The scent of victory was in the air and although Sedbergh managed something of a fight back through their tail they could only manage 41 and fall some way short. The wickets were shared around the team with Covell picking up 2 for only 4 runs and Lawson Tancred getting 3 for 7.

The strength of the bowling display saved the seconds today but we know that for success in future games our batting must do better and the aim for the next game is to bat out the overs. The man of the match award goes to George Holder for a truly gutsy innings at a time when we needed it most.

Aysgarth 2^nd XI vs St Mary’s Hall 2^nd XI

Date: 07/05/11

Venue: Home

Result:  Aysgarth win by 69 runs

A totally different scene from the stunning blue skies at Sedbergh greeted us on Saturday afternoon as rain laden clouds enveloped West Lodge and threatened to wash out the fixture. With the opposition having traversed the mighty Pennines and travelled for two and a half hours, we all decided the match must go ahead and having won the toss our captain Wallace-Woodroffe decided it would be a good idea to bat.

The initial overs were played in increasingly heavy rainfall and with a very wet outfield, runs proved hard to come by and although Rudd and Wallace-Woodroffe batted well the score creeped along before Wallace-Woodruffe fell with the score advanced to 35-1. Despite pessimism from the now thoroughly soaked umpire the Director of Sport’s prediction that the rain would pass proved wise and under brightening skies the run rate also increased. Indeed, in the final five overs Aysgarth really stepped on the gas as Francis (24 n.o.) and James (50 n.o.) put on 40 runs without loss. Special congratulations should go to James who hit his maiden 50 off the second to last ball of the innings with Aysgarth posting a decent total of 136-3.

We knew though that with the outfield drying yet the wicket still very slow, we needed a very disciplined bowling and fielding effort and with the first over going for 9 some of us feared the worst. Fortunately however a moment of brilliance from Rudd in the next over set the tone as he took a steepling catch whilst in the middle of a dive at fine leg. With renewed vigour the wickets started to tumble and the run rate really dried up. Indeed with wickets being spread throughout the entire team it became clear that St Mary’s Hall would never make the total. They batted resolutely though as Aysgarth reduced them to 67-9 at stumps leaving Aysgarth to enjoy a solid victory. 

After being bowled out in the previous two innings it was fantastic to see Aysgarth only lose three wickets today and we must try to repeat that batting performance on Wednesday. The man of the match has to go to Arthur James for a stunning 50 with the bat which set up the victory superbly.

 Aysgarth 2^nd XI vs Moorlands 1st XI

Date: 12/05/11

Venue: Home

Result:  Aysgarth win by 111 runs

West Lodge was again the venue for today’s match against Moorlands 1^st XI though under sunnier skies than the deluge in which we were forced to play in on Saturday. A slight change to the teamsheet saw George Holder come in to replace Harry Lowther, who damaged a finger during training on Monday. 

With Aysgarth yet again winning the toss, Wallace-Woodroffe chose to get our openers padded up and make use of the short boundaries and quick outfield to post a decent target. Indeed, initially the scoring rate flew along as the Moorlands bowlers struggled to get acclimatised to the wicket and Francis and Rudd found boundaries all over the park scoring 50 in the first 5 overs. As the wickets tumbled however, the scoring rate slowed and despite some fine cameos from players in the top 6 only Shepherd really built a strong innings as he followed James’ lead from Saturday and also scored 50 not out. Eventually though, after the allotted 20 overs Aysgarth posted a commanding 136 – 5.

With a healthy total to protect, Aysgarth knew that yet again they would have to bowl full and straight to get the best out of the West Lodge wicket which was again playing very slow. The first over set the exact tempo that was required with a very well controlled over from Wallace-Woodroffe who found the perfect line and length with led to the first wicket clean bolwed. This was followed up expertly by James in the second over whose pace and accuracy also produced a clean bowled wicket. With two wickets down Aysgarth could smell blood again and by the 13^th over had bowled out Moorlands for 25 with Corner getting the final wicket and another victory. A particular mention should go to Rudd who bowled superbly returning with figures of 2 overs, 3 wickets for 0 runs.

Although this turned out to be something of a one sided affair, yet again Aysgarth produced a very disciplined and strong performance and I hope this will be the trend for the entire season. My man of the match goes to George Shepherd for a wonderful 50 which set the tone for the batting display.

 Aysgarth 2^nd XI vs Cundall Manor 2^nd XI

Date: 18/05/11

Venue: Away

Result:  Aysgarth win by 10 wickets

With confidence on a high after a string of victories, Aysgarth travelled to Cundall Manor keen to put one over our fiercest rivals. The scene was set for a clash of epic proportions as we were promoted to the main pitch in lieu of the firsts playing at Aysgarth. With captain Covell returning to the fold after a brief sojourn with the firsts it was not long off the bus before the coin toss went in Cundall’s favour and Aysgarth were put into the field.

After playing most of our matches so far on the cosier West Lodge pitch, the bigger boundaries that faced us presented a fielding challenge that we were not yet accustomed to and we knew that hard work and sharpness would be key to keep the run rate down and the wicket taking high. This proved difficult however as early in the innings, Aysgarth were not able to capitalise on some fairly basic run out opportunities as Cundall made a steady if pedestrian start. The opening bowlers Covell and Wallace-Woodroffe bowled good lines in the difficult wind without a wicket until the fourth over when a lovely away swinging delivery from Wallace-Woodroffe was nicked behind into the grateful gloves of Francis. This initial breakthrough opened the floodgates and before long wickets were tumbling at regular intervals, eventually reducing Cundall to 53 all out. Yet again the wickets were spread around the team but the pick of the bowlers on this occasion were Rudd and Shepherd who both returned with figures of 2/2/6.

With tea put on hold, Covell and Rudd had little time to get padded up before heading back out to start the run chase. Although the total was small, Aysgarth knew that with such a large boundary and a strong wind, batting conditions would be difficult. The scene that followed however was a masterclass from our openers who put their opening bowlers to the sword with a fine display of measured batting. On one end, the ‘Gower-esque’ Rudd was happy to prod and push for singles while at the other end the somewhat more cavalier Covell bashed and battered every delivery which wasn’t a perfect line and length to all corners on the pitch. Tea was taken with the score at 34-0 and after a parched Mr. Tomlinson enjoyed a cup of tea and ham sandwich, Covell and Rudd returned to the field with only a few more runs to get. These were quickly found and after only 11 overs of the innings the runs were chased without losing a single wicket. Covell and Rudd were just short of their fifty partnership with the former scoring 29 and the latter scoring 17.

 Aysgarth 2^nd XI vs Red House 1^st XI

Date: 25/05/11

Venue: Home

Result:  Aysgarth lost by 2 wickets.

On a bright and blustery Wednesday afternoon, the Aysgarth supporters who made their way to Norton Cricket Club to watch the match against Red House 1^st team returned back along the A66 scratching their heads as to how defeat had been snatched from the jaws of victory. The same emotions were evident in the minibus as both coach and players were left to rue what might have been after a game that had shown cricket at its best: two evenly matched teams, wild swings in momentum, a pulsating finish and all played in a spirit that would have made W.G. Grace proud.

It had all started so well, Covell won the toss and elected to bat and along with Rudd had made a steady start which was bolstered by the introduction of James batting at three. The run rate was zipping along and a score of 130 plus looked to be on the cards at one stage as every bad ball was punished. Eventually though with the loss of wickets came the loss of momentum and Aysgarth after 25 overs had managed a competitive if slightly disappointing 110-9. Rudd starred with a well paced 26 alongside useful cameos from Francis, James and Villiers-Smith.

With a lowish total on a quick pitch, we knew that our bowling had to be full and accurate and our fielding had to be athletic. The opening bowlers of James and Wallace-Woodoffe did not disappoint as within four overs had removed the openers cheaply and left Red House reeling.  More solid bowling followed as Covell and Shepherd joined the party putting Red House into all sorts of problems. The real dangerman of the afternoon however proved to be Lawson-Tancred whose devilish leg spin had their batsmen in a tangle and after only three overs had picked up 4 wickets with Red House really staring down the barrel at 55-8. Unfortunately though at this point things started to unravel, with the victory looking secure the decision was made to spread the bowling around and the Red House batsmen used this opportunity to get their eye in. The next few overs were negotiated safely with quite a few runs scored and they sniffed a chance. Our front line bowlers were put back on but with some inconsistent length the wickets we needed just didn’t materialise and the total was coming within reach. In the final over the scores were tied and Red House needed just a single which they duly managed off the first ball leaving their team elated and Aysgarth kicking themselves.

 Aysgarth 2^nd XI vs Woodleigh Ist XI

Date: 22/06/11

Venue: Home

Result:  Match abandoned due to rain.

The bright skies and mild temperatures that greeted us at 2.00pm on Wednesday gave little indication of the biblical deluge that had descended on main field by 3.30pm, so play got underway just a little after the scheduled start time.  With some key players missing and against a strong 1^st XI we all knew that we would be in for a tough battle ahead and with losing the toss and being put into bat it was up to the new opening partnership of Wallace-Woodroffe and James to make a good start. This was achieved in blistering fashion as runs were plundered off any delivery not on the mark and within 5 overs the score has shot up to 30 without loss.  The Woodleigh bowlers played very well though and didn’t give anything away, bowling steadily at the stumps. Such accuracy was always going to bring results and before long the flow of wickets hindered the run rate. Before long the run rate had slowed right down and the last few wickets were within reach, our last man Lawson-Tancred falling in the 24^th over with the score on 92.

Clearly with such a modest total to defend, the bowling and fielding would have to be excellent and with the skies darkening and the ball getting greasier with the rainfall threatening this would not be an easy task. Indeed, in the first few overs despite some close chances, Woodleigh looked to be cruising and had put on 29 without loss and looked set to chase down the total with ease. In Covell’s fourth over though the breakthrough came with a straight delivery which rapped the batsman plumb on the pads for LBW. More joy followed in the same over as the new batsmen lost his bearings after surviving an appeal and forgot to make his ground. The eagle-eyed Francis jumped on the opportunity and whipped off the bails leaving the new batsman to make the solitary walk back into the hutch. At the start of the next over though the aforementioned deluge struck with vengeance as the heavens opened leaving both players and umpires scuttling to the shelter of the pavilion. It looked as if play was over for the day as the intensity of the shower created puddles on the outfield and duly the game was called off on a pitch inspection some time later.

This was not quite the end though as the rain abated briefly with the boys about to pack up so one more over was played. The state of the wicket though was such that the game was called off completely meaning that the spoils had to be shared in a match which was just starting to lead to an exciting climax.

 Aysgarth 2^nd XI vs St Martins Ampleforth 2^nd XI

Date: 25^th June 2011

Venue: Away

Result:  Aysgarth won by 47 runs.

The seconds travelled into the North York Moors on Saturday to play one of our close rivals St Martins Ampleforth in a game that was sure to be keenly contested. The match started inauspiciously for Aysgarth though as when put into bat Oliver Rudd dragged on first ball and left leaving the score at 0-1. However the situation soon changed as fine hitting from Covell (36), Francis (18) and Lawson-Tancred (20) raced Aysgarth to our highest ever total of 137-9 after our 25 overs.

In reply amazingly the first ball of Ampleforth’s innings also produced a wicket when their opener drove Wallace-Woodroffe (5-2) straight to Lowther to also leave them on 0-1. Unlike St Martins’ our attack as they often had this season pounced on this chance and blasted their way through Ampleforth’s top and middle order eventually getting them all out for 90. Madronal (11-2), Shepherd (4-1) and Corner (8-1) all bowled well and pegged Ampleforth back all afternoon.

With his highest score for Aysgarth of 36 Covell was named man of the match.  

Aysgarth 2^nd XI vs Durham 2^nd XI

Date: 27/06

Venue: Home

Result:  Aysgarth won by 11 runs

In the most closely contested game of the season so far the 2^nd X1 just prevailed against a strong  Durham side winning by only 11 runs. For Aysgarth, Covell batted beautifully to reach 34 before being run out and was aided by James who scored 23 before being stumped with Aysgarth finally managing to get to 114 after the allotted overs. In reply Durham could only manage 103 from their 25 overs though at one stage it looked as if they would reach the total with ease. The 6 wickets were shared around the team with Covell (15-2) and Wallace Woodroffe (16-2) being the pick of the bowlers.

Man of the match – Jerry Covell.

3^rd XI MATCH vs. SEDBERGH JUNIOR SCHOOL 3^rd  XI (HOME)

This was the 3^rd XI’s first outing and they performed very well.  Keen in the field, and bowling a steady line and length, the Sedbergh wickets fell regularly and they finished their 30 overs on 109 for 9 with Jake Warburton the pick of the bowlers, taking 5 wickets.

Aysgarth’s innings got off to a good start with Charlie Stephenson making 10 and Ewan Hamilton hanging on for several overs before succumbing.  Charlie Dingwall all but clinched the victory with a lusty 25.

Sedbergh 3^rd XI 109 for 9 in 30 overs, Aysgarth 110 for 4 in 20 overs.

CAAG

3^rd XI MATCH vs. ST. MARY’S HALL 3^RD  XI (HOME)

We batted first and, aided by an excellent 37 from Vincent, accumulated a sound total of 146 with the loss of only 5 wickets.  SMH got off the a reasonable start, but wickets fell regularly with several bowlers contributing and victory was secured when the final wicket fell for 117.

Aysgarth 146 for 5 in 25 overs, SMH 3^rd  XI  117 all out.  Aysgarth won by 29 runs.

CAAG

3^rd XI MATCH vs. MOWDEN HALL 2^ND  XI (HOME)

The 3^rd XI took to the field in good heart and having one the toss, captain Jake Carter elected to bat.  The innings got off to an excellent start with Warburton and Bichot striking the ball firmly all round the ground.  Warburton was caught for an impressive 32, but Bichot went on to make  an even more impressive 52 at which point he was obliged to retire.  The subsequent batsmen continued a high rate of scoring with Vincent contributing 33 not out in a final total of 202 in 25 overs with the loss of only 5 wickets.

This was a daunting total for the Mowden batsmen, but they batted stoutly scoring steadily assisted by Mr. Extras, and eventually accumulated 110 for the loss of 9 wickets.  Almost everyone bowled with Bichot proving the most effective.

A convincing victory for a good team performance.

Aysgarth 202 for 5 in 25 overs, Mowden 2^nd XI  110 for 9 in 25 overs.  Aysgarth won by 92 runs.

CAAG

 Aysgarth 3^rd  XI vs  Durham 3^rd  XI

Date: 27/6/11

Venue: Home

Result:  Aysgarth win by 6 runs

We anticipated that this would be our hardest match, and so it proved. They won the toss and put us into bat.  We got off to a brisk start, but wickets fell steadily as we chose to try and slot straight balls and were inevitably bowled.  Fortunately, they also bowled plenty of wides and this together with a captain's innings of 33 from Jake Carter took us to a total of 124 in our 25 overs.  Our bowling and fielding were tight, with Freddie Corner especially effective, and despite the stumps not being broken by a bowler, catches were caught and run out chances taken to ensure that they fell just short of our total.

What an excellent team performance this was, showing that discipline in the field, in batting and bowling can defeat a side with more talent.  Well done, boys on a great performance and an excellent season – 100% victories!

                              AYSGARTH 4^th XI vs  CUNDALL  MANOR   4th XI.        May 4^th 2011

Aysgarth won by nine wickets.

On a beautiful afternoon Aysgarth 4^th XI entertained a team from Cundall Manor School.  Cundall won the toss and elected to bat first. Good, accurate bowling and tight fielding put pressure on their batsmen. This created ideal conditions for wicket taking and this soon occurred.  Captain Jonathan Vincent struck first and finished with three wickets. This effort was then matched by David Austen and Stephane Cotty.  Cundall were all out for 44 runs.

 Jonathan Vincent and Harry Rooms opened the Aysgarth innings and batted with care and style. Harry fell to a good ball from the Cundall opening bowler and was replaced by Ethan Madronal. Jonathan and Ethan then proceeded to play some fine shots as they overhauled the Cundall Manor total. The game was played in a very good spirit and was a great way to start the season.  I was delighted with performances of all members of the team.

                        Ted Haslam.

4^th XI v Cundall Manor A.

This was an exciting match which went down to the final over. Aysgarth were put into bat and we were quickly in trouble on 2 for 1, as we had a run out and an easy catch lofted for Cundall to hold easily. Ben Sanders played sensibly and Maxime Thierry scored a lusty 52 not out before he was retired for others to have a bat. All other players at least faced some bowling and captain Tom Mawson managed the second highest score with a sound 16. 118 was our final total, all out. Cundall scored quickly from the start and were soon 21 for 1. We then slowed up their run rate with some accurate bowling from Joss Tricks, Stephane Cotty, and Tom Mawson whilst Luis Fernandez got three valuable wickets for 9 runs. Had we held all of the catches that were scooped our way we would have wrapped this game but this was not the case! Having said that, Tom Mawson held two superb catches which brought applause from both umpires! All players on our side had at least two overs each apart from Ethan Madronal who bowled the final over as he had been wicket keeper. Cundall needed 14 from the final over and it all went wrong for them as the boundary calls and excitement helped cause confusion, which presented us with an easy run out. Cundall got to within 8 of winning the match. A good game, played in excellent spirit with both sides really enjoying the occasion. Well played the 4ths.

4^th XI v Durham School

The multi-national 4^th XI enjoyed the last match of the season, an opportunity for the new comers to the game to be involved in a match situation. Many thanks to those who nobly stepped down to enable others to have a game. We batted first and managed a fine score of 148 in our twenty overs. Luis Fernandez, Harry Bolton, Stephane Cotty, Carlos Anton and Antonin Lucien all did well with the bat and Harry and Carlos retired to let others come in and face some of the bowling. All Aysgarth players had a bowl and the best of the bowlers were Joss Tricks who took 3 wickets for 2 runs in two overs, and Florian Schultze managed two wickets in his two overs. Tidy bowling from Hugh Ramsey and others kept the score down. Two run outs and some good catches helped us win this game comfortably with Durham scoring 92 all out. Well played one and all.

Aysgarth U11 XI 198-3 v 62 All Out Terrington Hall

In their first game of the season Aysgarth played very well with both the bat and ball.  Lysander Adair got off to a fantastic start scoring an unbeaten 100. This was supported by George Hill (22) and George West (35).

With the ball, Bertie Turner bowled very well taking 3 wickets and Tom Regis took 4 wickets at the end of the innings. 

Man of the Match: Adair.

Aysgarth School U11XI A 178-4 v 83 All out Sedbergh U11 XI.

In their second game of the season Aysgarth set another impressive total scoring 173-4 in 25 overs.  Lysander Adair scored 55 and George West scored a fantastic 74 runs of 64 balls.  Otto Stroyan looked good at 5 and scored an unbeaten 13.

With the ball Bertie Turner picked up another 4 wickets for 8runs off 4 overs.  Other wickets were taken by West, Theakston(excellent caught and bowled), Brooksbank, Guthe and Williams.

Man of the Match: West

Aysgarth School U11XI A  59-2 v 57 All Out Mowden Hall U11A XI.

In their 3^rd game of the season Aysgarth were too strong for Mowden and won convincingly.  Mowden won the toss and batted first.  Aysgarth bowled them out for 57some impressive bowling from West and Adair. 

Aysgarth mixed up the batting order and knocked up the runs for 2 wickets.  Otto Stroyan opened the batting and scored an unbeaten 23 runs of 26 balls

Man of the Match: Stroyan

Aysgarth School U11XI A 90-7 v 59 All out Cundall Manor U11 XI.

Aysgarth struggled a little with the bat against Cundall, only scoring 90 runs in their 25 overs.  Stroyan and Hill got off to a good start but Aysgarth lost 4 wickets for 2 runs in the 13 over.

Jack Theakston and Berite Turner calmed things down scoring 34 runs between them.  The tail end added the the total but Aysgarth would need to bowl well.

Aysgarth rose to the challenge by taking 7 wickets for 8 runs.  George West took 4 wickets supported by Turner and Chapman taking two wickets each.  Cundall did fight back but Aysgarth took the final wickets to win the game by 31 runs.

Man of the Match: Bertie Turner.

Aysgarth School U11XI A  154-4 v 74-9 Bow U11 XI.

Aysgarth played a timed format of the game against Bow and dominated from the start.  George Hill (63) and Otto Stroyan (34) batted patiently scoring 90 for the 1^st Wicket.  George West (30) knocked a very quick before Aysgarth lost a few silly wickets at the end trying to score a 6 of every ball!

Aysgarth bowled very well with West taking key wickets.  Turner took 4 wickets quickly supported by Theakston taking 2 wickets.   Aysgarth kept it very tight in the field but failed to get the 10 wickets they needed falling 1 short.

Man of the Match: Hill

Aysgarth School U11XI A  78-1 v 77-8 Bronte House U11 XI.

Aysgarth played well in their first 20/20 game.  Aysgarth bowled first with wickets from Turner, Hill, Theakston, Chapman and Brooksbank.  Their impressive fielding kept the score down too 77.

With the bat Stroyan (30) and West (36) reached the total in 13.4 overs and looked comfortable against the bowling attack.

Man of the Match: West

Cundall Manor U11A 57 v Aysgarth School U11 A 103

This game was a carbon copy of the home game versus Cundall.

Aysgarth were put into bat and with the exception of West batted poorly.  We gave away cheap wicket after cheap wicket.  West managed 48 not out.  He played some very good shots but was very lucky not to be out on several occasions.  Even though this was a 25 over game we were all out after 19.4 overs giving Cundall a 5 over advantage.

Aysgarth secured the win with some good bowling.  Nearly everybody who bowled got a wicket.

West 1 for 14, Turner 3 for 14, Hill 1 for 6, Hopkins 1 for 16 Regis 1 for 2 and Guthe 0 for 1.

Man of the Match: G West.

Aysgarth School U11 A 102 St. Martin’s Ampleforth 100

Match Type: 25 overs

Aysgarth won the toss and put St. Martin’s into bat.  They started very well and the first wicket only fell in the 17^th over with 67 runs on the board.  Aysgarth then had a spell of excellent bowling and even though we didn’t get too many wickets we kept the run rate down.  The final score was 100 exactly for 7 wickets.

Aysgarth soon knocked off these runs in just 15 overs and the man of the match again was G. West with 50 not out.  He was helped by 18 from O.Stroyan and 16 from H. Williams.  A convincing win – well done.

TB

1 H. Shepherd (capt) 2 N. Selwyn-Sharpe 3 J. Sanders 4 H. Hollins 5 H. Stephenson (wktk) 6 E. Crowe 7 J. Page 8 R. Parry 9 H. Furness 10 A. Birkbeck 11 J. Hopkins SC J. Ainscough

Aysgarth U11B versus Mowden Hall U11B

Venue: away

Date: 11-05-11

Result: Aysgarth won by 8 wickets.

The brave boys from Aysgarth strode to the wicket, positioned on the southerly face of a windswept hillside, dressed in their immaculate cricket flannels.  Harry Shepherd, the Aysgarth captain, surmounted the even odds of the toss and elected to field.

The opening over was bowled by Jack Hopkins and after six challenging deliveries our hosts had mustered two runs. Captain Shepherd bowled the second and conceded a further five. The third over saw Hopkins claim his first ever Under 11 wicket when Josh Page took a splendid catch at silly mid off. The miserly Shepherd bowled the fourth and Hopkins then doubled his tally of Under 11 scalps when Reuben Parry, slip fielder of the season-so far, snaffled an outstanding reflex catch at the second attempt. Jake Sanders entered the fray, replacing the talented Hopkins and took two wickets in his opening over with some devilishly deadly deliveries. Harvey Furness replaced his captain and bowled assiduously. After the initial ten overs Mowden had acquired twenty two runs for the loss of four wickets. Gus Birkbeck was called into the fray and supported the opening bowlers with confidence and further restricted the scoring opportunities of the batsmen. Edward Crowe, Reuben Parry and Josh Page all contributed with bowling spells before Shepherd beckoned his strike force once more. Sanders claimed a further wicket before Furness claimed two wickets in the over prior to Birkbeck ending the innings with Mowden 53 all out. Special mention must also go to Oliver Stephenson who kept wicket extremely well and made some splendid run saving stops behind the stumps. Well done indeed Ollie.

Hopkins with   5 overs 2 wickets 8 runs,  Shepherd 5 / 2/11,  Furness  5/2/4,   Sanders 5/3/9 were the pick of the bowlers.

Tea was taken beneath gathering clouds and Mr Irwin expressed his preference for the chicken sandwiches on this occasion.

Captain Shepherd generously requested that Ned Selwyn-Sharpe and Hugh Hollins opened the Aysgarth innings as they had not participated in the team’s bowling attack. Both batsmen prodded and poked their way to reasonable scores before succumbing to some accurate deliveries. Jake Sanders replaced Hollins and Furness took his guard once Selwyn-Sharpe had departed.  Furness swiftly reduced the arrears with some bludgeoning strokes and ensured the ball traversed the lush outfield and reached the boundary line with impressive velocity. Sanders meanwhile, used his technique to manoeuvre his shots to unprotected areas of the field. The odd extra contributed to the Aysgarth total and the boys amassed the 54 necessary runs in little over twelve overs. Sanders ended unbeaten on 21 and Furness likewise on 22.

Both teams enjoyed a hugely rewarding game of cricket and every boy contributed to their team’s performance. It was especially pleasing that our host umpire commented that he thought we had a lovely group of boys, who all worked for each other and were captained beautifully by Harry Shepherd.

Man of the match Jake Sanders for his contribution with both bat and ball.

Aysgarth U11B v Cundall Manor U11B

Date: 18-05-11

Venue: away

Result: Aysgarth won by 7 wickets

The Aysgarth team coach drew into the Cundall Manor car park full of enthusiastic boys fuelled by thoughts of their impending clash against familiar faces.

Captain Shepherd won the toss, by selecting tails, and requested the presence of the Cundall batsmen at the crease.  Jack Hopkins took the new ball, which was pink on this occasion, and conceded six runs in the first over. Jake Sanders supported Hopkins at opposite end, he took a wicket when Alfie Carter took a splendid catch, and conceded seven in his first over. After two overs the score stood at 13-1. This hectic pace continued throughout, and indeed accelerated with Harry Shepherd’s interesting spell of 4 overs for 44 runs. William Tallentire’s over rewarded the Cundall team with 13 runs, Edward Crowe’s over offered them 11 more and Reuben Parry bowled two overs for 17. Only Harry Stephenson’s 4 overs for 18 came close to bolstering our strike pair. We demonstrated true Aysgarthian generosity by donating 40 runs in the form of extras and we dropped half a dozen simple catches.

Mr Irwin simmered during tea and a few thoughts were discussed with the team.

Needing 140 to win, at an average of 7 runs an over, things looked challenging. Hopkins arrived at the crease, determined to demonstrate his cricketing prowess and swiftly crashed 12 of the opening over. Harry Stephenson, sporting by far the smartest flannels, supported Hopkins studiously and after two overs we had amassed 16 runs – we were ahead of schedule!

Hopkins’ innings ended with an LBW decision when he had scored a bludgeoning 15, providing an opportunity for Jake Sanders to test his mettle. Where Stephenson prodded and poked for stoical singles, Sanders slashed and sliced a scintillating six. The boys performed admirably and managed to maintain the run rate throughout the innings. Stephenson was finally caught by the wicket keeper for a glorious and hard-worked 29. This brought captain Shepherd to the crease, eager to profit from some loose bowling on his birthday. An expectant crowd willed him on, whilst simultaneously wondering if he would score the winning runs, three balls later Shepherd was back in the pavilion explaining what had gone wrong. Oliver Stephenson, Aysgarth’s very own infant Hercules arrived at the crease with keen intent. Knowing he required 16 from two overs, Stephenson smashed a huge pull shot for four, he repeated this stroke three times and the scorers could barely keep pace with the score. In a blur Stephenson had taken the tie, chalked up a ‘W’ and was marching triumphantly from the wicket to a jubilant band of travelling support, (and a fairly proud Father, I suspect!)

Jake Sanders finished unbeaten on 30 after a wonderfully crafted innings, well done Jake.

We dug deep and left ourselves in a hole after the fielding performance, but our swashbuckling batsmen rescued the tie with four excellent contributions.   VRI

Aysgarth U11B   versus   Bronte House U11B

Venue: Home

Date: 08-06-11

Result: lost by 12 runs.

Bronte House arrived at Aysgarth following a delayed journey but they swiftly announced their arrival with some sharp batting and lusty blows. After the first two pairs had batted against the bowling might of Sanders, 2 overs, 2 for 7, Birkbeck, 2,0,11, Shepherd 2,1,10 and Hopkins2,1,10 Bronte had added a net 19 runs to the score.

Page and Parry bowled to the third Bronte pair and the score climbed to 246 and after spells from Oliver Stephenson and Jack Wallace-Woodroffe Bronte had amassed a decent 263. The final Aysgarth pair of Harry Stephenson and William Lowther conceded 19 runs in their 4 overs to give Bronte a total of 282.

We pressed ahead with the game, opting to take tea upon its completion.

The Aysgarth reply faltered from the start. Oliver Stephenson looked to attack from the off, but his wild shots resulted in his dismissal twice, before actually scoring. Sanders also succumbed to the visitors’ bowling and he himself was caught. After the first four overs Aysgarth had added a meagre 3 runs. Hopkins and Shepherd strode to the crease, determined to add some much needed impetus to the Aysgarth innings. Hopkins in particular took a hold of proceedings and scored some mighty boundaries. After the eighth over Aysgarth had regained some credibility and had accrued 239 runs. The chase was underway.

Parry and Page scored with tremendously powerful shots, but 3 wickets between them stifled the score-line. Nonetheless, after their spell had ended we had 254 runs and victory was within our grasp. Lowther and Harry Stephenson and Birkbeck and Selwyn-Sharpe all batted well, but sadly the Bronte total proved to be a bridge too far on this occasion.

If we had restricted Bronte’s attack a little more forcefully and if we had reduced the frequency of our tumbling wickets more successfully we could and should have won this match. However,’ ifs and buts’ do not bring sporting success. It is achieved through the consequence of action on the playing field and on this occasion we were not quite up to scratch.

Man of the match – Jake Sanders.

Aysgarth U11 B versus Cundall Manor U11B

Date: 22-06-11

Venue: Home

Result: Lost by 6 wickets.

Overnight precipitation rendered the wicket soft but playable with a damp, but drying, outfield. Cundall Manor opted for tails and were head over heels when the coin landed favourably. Aysgarth were asked to pad up and Harry Stephenson and Harvey Furness were the first Aysgarth boys to stride to the crease. After 3 overs the scoreboard read 14 for 0 and Mr Irwin exuded confidence. After 4 overs the scoreboard read 19 for 2 and when, after 5 overs, it read 26 for 5 all confidence had evaporated and panic was setting in.

Calamitous calling, ridiculous running and shocking shot selection all contributed to the dismal demise of our upper order, although it is right to applaud some excellent fielding from our opponents.

Reuben Parry provided some resistance and for a few overs the run rate exceeded the wicket rate. As the innings drew to a close Aysgarth had amassed 109. Top score was Mr Wides with an impressive 25 followed by Mr No Balls with 23, Reuben contributed 15.

Jake Sanders was handed the ball to begin Aysgarth’s attack and bowled superbly, finding his line and length immediately. His first over resulted in just one run, his second permitted only two runs and he took a wicket. His third was slightly looser, offering a boundary but his fourth was sublime. Finishing with figures of 4 overs, 1 wicket for 11 was an outstanding effort. Sadly the other end was another story. Conceding an average of 10 runs an over is never going to be sufficiently frugal to facilitate victory and so it proved.

Cundall eased to their target with overs and wickets to spare, they even had the good grace to retire their opening batsmen upon reaching his 50.

Well played Cundall Manor, today the better team won.

Man of the match: Reuben Parry, who stood up tall to be counted.

Aysgarth U11B versus St Martin’s Ampleforth

Date: 25-06-11

Venue: home

Result: Aysgarth won by 79 runs.

Aysgarth welcomed the boys from Ampleforth on a pleasant afternoon and were asked to don their pads following Ampleforth’s success at the toss. Two balls into his obdurate innings Hugh Hollins was walking back to the pavilion, out for nought. Oliver Stephenson followed Hugh with an identical score, having been caught. Reuben Parry scored an explosive six before being bowled for nine. Harry Stephenson entered the fray with the score on 18 for 3 and didn’t leave the wicket until he had scored his first 50 of the season and retired unbeaten. Harvey Furness also contributed effectively, adding 40 to the team’s total. Aysgarth completed their innings on an imposing total of 136.

As swift progress had been made during the first innings, tea was postponed and we continued with our guests’ innings immediately.

The St. Martin’s opening pair graciously emulated the Aysgarth openers’ performance and both were removed without scoring. William Guthrie, whose arrival at Aysgarth in September is eagerly anticipated, then entered the fray and demonstrated effective technique in securing 19 runs. Lopez and Stewart also batted well before Furness removed both with an excellent catch, followed by a deceptive delivery. The Ampleforth batsmen never truly threatened to match the Aysgarth total and the inevitable demise of the final St Martin’s wicket arrived with the score on 57.

The Aysgarth boys fielded exceptionally, highlighting the substantial improvements that have been made in recent weeks. Harvey Furness batted superbly and also bowled diligently. However, on this occasion, even Furness’ achievements were overshadowed by the outstanding innings from Harry Stephenson, well done indeed.



Aysgarth U11B versus St. Olave’s U11B

Date: 29-06-11

Venue: home

Result Match tied

Whenever we compete against a team from St Olave’s we expect a stiff examination of our sporting prowess and also of our character, this occasion proved no different.

Jake Sanders and Thomas Bowring opened the Aysgarth bowling and despite some fine deliveries the Olave’s batsmen prospered. Boundaries at regular intervals ensured that the scoreboard ticked over with metronomic regularity. Bowring bowled splendidly, taking two wickets for 15. Furness matched Bowring’s figures and Oliver Stephenson exhibited the improvements in his wicket keeping with two stumpings.

The St Olave’s total was 95, after 22 overs. A challenging, but not insurmountable task.

Aysgarth were reminded most earnestly that time was on our side and there was no need to try to bludgeon their way to victory. It was highly disappointing therefore that after the first over we had lost our first wicket, in the second over we lost our second wicket and by the conclusion of the sixth, five of our brightest prospects had been snuffed out. At 29 for 5, and an alarming collection of ducks, Mr Irwin’s optimism mirrored that of a turkey at Christmas. In truth, he thought we were goosed.

But cometh the hour, cometh the young men.

Harvey Furness and Harry Shepherd contributed wonderfully, with Captain Shep scoring his highest total of the season, 24. Josh Page added 6 and Harry Stephenson arrived at the crease with Aysgarth requiring 13 runs for victory. Would superstition hinder our charge for victory? Only time would tell.

 Wides and no balls accounted for 4 of the necessary runs. Page scrambled a single before his wickets were splayed, and Harry Stephenson batted well for 7, leaving the scores level.

Two overs remaining, two wickets in hand, one run required. Simple.

No, not so simple.

A spooned catch to the wicket keeper and another lofted shot to silly mid off meant that the final two Aysgarth wickets toppled before the elusive run was scored and the match ended in a tie. A fair reflection of the match and a fitting manner to end the season.

Man of the match Captain Shep, who couldn’t quite win the match but did manage to navigate us away from defeat.

Under 11C versus Cundall Manor

This was a close match and either side could have won.  In the end Cundall needed 17 runs to win off the last 2 overs which seemed very achievable considering the short boundary.  The game was played in glorious sunshine and Aysgarth batted first.  The pick of the batsmen was Simon Marshall, who opened and scored 28 runs.  After 20 overs Aysgarth scored  118 runs.  Cundall started well and soon were getting on the score board.  Gus Birbeck had a good 4 over stint and got 2 wickets, as did William Lowther.  However the pick of the bowlers and man of the match was Thomas Bowering who bowled 4 exceptional overs, late in the innings, and even though he didn’t get a wicket managed to only give away 5 runs which proved to be a vital turning point in the game and eventually swung the match in Aysgarth’s favour.

TB

Aysgarth U11C versus Bow U11B

Date: 25-05-11

Venue: home

Result: lost by 3 runs.

With recent tempestuous weather receding, the players of Aysgarth took to the field following a successful toss. Aysgarth captain, Alfie Carter, called upon William Lowther to open his sides’ bowling attack and his decision proved to be inspired as Lowther took his first wicket with only his fourth ball. A cutting delivery pitched on middle and took out the Bow opener’s off stump, jubilant scenes followed demonstrating Aysgarth’s buoyant spirits. The second Aysgarth over was rather less successful with 11 runs haemorrhaging from it and after two overs Bow were a respectable 16 – 1. Bow maintained their assertiveness and after six overs they enjoyed glancing at the, efficiently maintained scoreboard, which read 26-1. Lowther then claimed his second wicket with disrupting the bails once again. Thomas Bowring supported Lowther and quickly troubled the batsmen with his orthodox spin bowling and soon found himself amongst the wickets. As he bowled his final ball of his five over spell the miserly Bowring had conceded just 9 runs for 2 wickets, an outstanding contribution. Mungo Reeves was drafted in to replace Lowther who ended his bowling efforts with figures of 5 overs, 2 / 27, and Harry Chaytor-Norris succeeded Bowring. Both bowlers worked hard to maintain their line and length and were largely successful in their endeavours. Reeves finished his five overs with 3 wickets for 19 and Chaytor-Norris 2 – 9. The Bow total, after their allotted twenty overs, was 79 – 9, well supported by the extras column which amounted to 32. Mr Irwin was delighted with the effort of his bowlers and optimistically suggested we commence the second innings immediately. Aysgarth have shown fine technical skills whilst batting in the nets and Captain Carter’s optimism was shared by his coach and umpire. Sadly, optimism is sometimes misplaced and when the top four Aysgarth batsmen had been dismissed when scoring a total of two runs from the bat and a smattering of extras, it seemed that an abyss had enveloped West Lodge and we were teetering on the edge. Thomas Bowring, batting at number 6 and William MacMillan at number 7 then strode to the crease and demonstrated the steel, backbone and passion we so desperately needed. Skilful defensive play from Macattack and a lusty four from Bowring had the score line progressing once more and soon Aysgarth were steadily establishing a partnership. This ended abruptly, as Bowring was caught for 8. Gabriel Adebiyi came in at number 8 and used his unorthodox, diagonal bat, repertoire of strokes to ensure the scorers remained interested, if not enthralled. When MacMillan was bowled for 7, Aysgarth needed 9 runs from 6 balls to secure an unlikely victory. Harry Chaytor –Norris ensured he wasted as little time as possible as he was bowled for a golden duck. Connor Hagues entered the fray and scored a single bringing Gabriel to the strikers end. Needing 8 runs from four balls things looked bleak, but suddenly the pressure took its toll on the Bow bowler and successive wides reduced the deficit to 6 runs from the final ball. Adebiyi faced his greatest moment as an Aysgarthian cricketer, could he snatch a most unlikely victory and rise to the salutations of his teammates? Now was the time the find out. The ball was delivered, slow and looping, it arced through the air, and Adebiyi swung his bat. He missed, the ball hitting his chest and ricocheting away. Hagues called for an opportunistic run and set off. Gabriel responded likewise and began his sprint. The fielder over-reacted in the heat of battle and his wayward return sailed over the wicket keeper’s head. Hagues called for a second run and returned from whence he came, as did his partner. Yet another misfield saw the ball speed beyond the clutches of the keeper and yet again Hagues bellowed for another run. Off set the panting Adebiyi, off set Hagues. This competitive climax was rapidly disintegrating into a comedy of errors, both men made their ground and awaited the expected over throws, but now the Bow boys had regained their composure and kept the ball in hand. We fell three, heartbreaking, runs short. We were beaten, but not unbowed. Our final score of 76 / 8 was good, very good, but not quite good enough. Man of the match – Thomas Bowring a contributor with both bat and ball.

 Aysgarth U11C’s XI vs Ripon Choir U11A’s

Date: 08/06/11

Venue: Away

Result:  Aysgarth win by three wickets.

Whilst driving towards Ripon through a deluge of biblical proportions, the chance of playing cricket at all today seemed a slim one. Indeed, just after our departure Ripon Choir had rung to cancel the game but fate had already cast its dice by that time and to England’s fourth smallest city the U11C’s headed, brimming with confidence and high spirits.

With two old boys of Ripon Choir in our ranks this was always going to be a juicy contest with players from both sides wanting to prove a point. Amazingly, upon arrival the rain abated and by the time tweed jackets were fixed securely onto pegs June sunshine was breaking though the now less threatening clouds. With the pitch drying nicely it was decided that 20 overs each would be the match allowance with Ripon to bat first. The opening bowlers Bowring and Tallentire bowled accurately and consistently and few runs were scored with the loss of two wickets, one to each bowler. The match continued in a sedate manner until the introduction of one of their bigger hitters who threatened a big score until sharp work in the field saw Jamie Ainscough manage to run him out. One other wicket came off the very tidy bowling of Chaytor-Norris and with fielders working hard backed up by good bowling Ripon managed only 62-4 at the end of the innings.

The reply from Aysgarth started in scintillating fashion as Marshall and Crowe took on their bowlers with gusto and managed to score 21 off the first three overs. Unfortunately wickets were also tumbling with Marshall getting bowled, Carter getting a good delivery first ball and Crowe following him back into the hutch not long after. With Tallentire getting run out in a fashion he won’t forget any time soon and Hagues getting out cheaply the score had moved to 35 but crucially for the loss of 5 wickets with the match very much on a knife edge.  At this stage Aysgarth needed a cool head who could recognise the importance of keeping his wicket, in steps Thomas Bowring who calmed down the run chase and brought some order to the innings. Supported well by Hollins, the pair moved Aysgarth towards the winning line with little fuss. The game had one final sting in the tail though as two wickets gave Ripon renewed hope before Ainscough hung aroung and allowed Bowring to hit the winning run.

My man of the match goes to Bowring for his fantastic effort with the bat scoring 12 patient runs and for also bowling a tight spell with the ball and picking up a wicket.

U11C vs. St Olave’s

A close match ended in defeat by 3 runs despite some very good bowling and batting.  Our bowlers made steady headway through the opposition batsmen with Tallentire being the pick of the crop finishing with statistics of 4 overs, 1 maiden, 4 runs and two wickets.  Our batsmen started hunting down St Olave’s 84 off 20 overs in fine style with Marshall and Tallentire taking us to 40 off 8 overs before Marshall was bowled for 20.  Runs kept coming but a quiet period where St Olave bowlers kept the runs down, and single runs were not taken, put the pressure back on Aysgarth and when Reeves came in with 4 balls remaining and 9 needed to win, victory seemed unlikely.  Despite this pressure, 3 good shots and running between the wickets left us with 4 to win of the final ball, but with the boundaries covered 1 was all that Reeves managed, drawing a close to a very evenly matched game.

Aysgarth U11 D V Cundall Manor

Cundall set us a target of 117 after 20 overs.  Aysgarth did bowl well and even though he didn’t take a wicket George Boyle was probably pick of the bowlers.  Also, I thought our fielding was o.k. considering we haven’t had much practice.  Andrew Stembridge, who was man of the match, opened the batting and was retired after hitting 7 fours and a partnership of 51 with Felix Mason Hornby.  Aysgarth scored 117 with only 13 balls remaining.  This was a very entertaining match and I hope it bodes well for the remaining games.

Aysgarth U11 D V Cundall Manor

This was a hugely entertaining game which came right down to the wire.  Cundall set a target of only 74 after 20 overs which proved unobtainable. The low scores were a result of a long and slow outfield.  However, Asygarth seemed to be on target at the half way stage through their innings.  Ned Leatham got run out from a direct hit, as did three other batsmen, which is a rare sight at this level, just as he was getting his eye in.  The game came down to the last over with Aysgarth needing just 6 runs to win and 5 to draw.  Cundall’s bowler picked an exceptional time to produce a maiden wicket over and we lost.  This was a good game and both teams enjoyed themselves.  Well done Cundall.

Men of the match: Bolwing Andrew Stembridge – 2 wickets in one over.

                                  Batting James Alvarez – highest score

TB

St Olave’s U11D v Aysgarth U11D

Aysgarth won their last game of the season by 43 runs.  Either side could have won in a match that had no fewer than 183 extras awarded.  Despite sometimes feeling like a scarecrow I thoroughly enjoyed the game and it was good that all ten outfielders got two overs each.  The pick of the bowlers was Ned Leatham who only gave away just 6 runs and got 1 wicket.

Felix Mason – Hornby 0- 18, Andrew Stembridge 0 - 14, James Alvarez 0 - 10, Enrique Martin 0 - 17, Reuben Isle 0 – 10, Paddy trant 0 -15, Tom Philpott 0 – 9, Andrew Ramsey 0 – 12, George Vivian 0 – 15.  Barney Jones didn’t bowl because he was too busy stopping balls at the other end and he managed to keep our extras down to just 85.

Felix and Reuben were the pick of the batsmen and got 22 and 21 respectively.  Ned managed to run himself out (again) after hitting a glorious off drive. Andrew scored 11 whilst Enrique got 11 not out. Unfortunately the other boys did not bat – maybe next time we should play a 50 over game.

It is therefore very difficult to choose a man of the match and maybe the parents who kindly came to support should decide it amongst themselves.

Well played everybody.

TB

Aysgarth U12A v Woodleigh U12A

This was an opportunity-filled day, with the prospect of a sneak-peek at next year’s probables and possibles – not to mention the chance for leadership, understanding, awareness and ruthlessness to be displayed in spades by boys who are – at the moment – junior players in the hierarchy of the 1^st XI. We lost Bevan Fawcett and Archie Stroyan to county commitments, which depleted our team but shows that as a school, we have some considerable success in the sport of cricket.

The boys rattled about in a 60-seater coach for the 90 minutes it took to reach Woodleigh, and upon arrival we fastened our hiking boots and made the trek to the pitch. Upon that arrival, it tipped it down merrily for at least half an hour, thunder and lightning punctuating the chatter from both teams. Eventually we trooped on to the pitch, playing a twenty-over match in which Woodleigh batted first on a tricky track. Tom Fenwick and Alex Legard handled the wet ball well, being very economical and being supported by some excellent leadership from Sam Hoddinott, who placed his field well and encouraged his players in a very impressive manner. Lysander Adair, fresh from a good performance for the White Rose, bowled 4 magnificent overs of spin during which he conceded just 7 runs and picked up a wicket, ably supported by spin-twin Bertie Lawson-Tancred who also picked up a wicket from his miserly 4 overs. Eventual final target – 80 – with a formidable Aysgarth top order ready for the challenge. 

Heart attacks are disturbingly commonplace on cricket fields, and the statistics show that umpires and coaches are most prone to them – how true this rang, when after one miserable over I saw Sam Hoddinott and Lysander Adair traipsing back to the pavilion for 0 and 4 respectively. I almost called the ambulance for myself when Oliver Rudd followed them for 6, to leave Aysgarth 12-3. It must be said that Lysander received a ball that may well have dismissed Ricky Ponting, but this did little to ease my terror. I needn’t have been so dramatic, however, as Tom Fenwick and Alex Legard steadied the ship and steered Aysgarth back to calmer waters with comfort, Legard departing for a well-crafted 18. Tom Fenwick looked the part, positive and clinical in his successful attempt to guide Aysgarth to the win, carrying his bat for a match-saving 34 not out and being accompanied by Freddie Corner, who hit the match winning runs with aplomb.  James Francis showed maturity in a partnership with Fenwick, and it must be said that this was a very encouraging team effort both with the bat and with the ball.

My thanks to Mrs Legard, who very kindly offered to arrange some nets for the boys in the event of the torrential downpour rendering play impossible. In the end, we climbed back into our preposterously large vehicle savouring a victory, and a legally doubtful bag of Haribo Tangfastics.

Man of the Match – Tom Fenwick for his match-saving innings and calmness under pressure. 

Aysgarth U12A v Cundall Manor U12A

The curtain closing on the 2011 cricket season, Aysgarth U12A had one last encounter upon which to focus their energies. A super opportunity to stake a claim for next year, and if victorious, a good way in which to round off the season.  The toss was lost by Archie Stroyan, but no matter – Cundall elected to bat first which gave Aysgarth the chance to showcase their fielding and bowling skills. Members of the 1^st XI have worked extremely hard this year in a bid to improve their accuracy when bowling and their sharpness in the field, and none more so than “Reginald Edge” – Alex Legard – who again displayed excellent understanding of the situation and was rewarded with 3 wickets for the miserly price of 12 runs. Legard’s haul included the wicket of George Bentley, a thorn in the side of Aysgarth this year and a very good cricketer – he made 68 and hurried Cundall along from a worrying 40-6 to a roundabout par 123 all out. Bertie Lawson-Tancred, an absentee for the latter part of the day due to circumstances we shall come to shortly, bowled beautifully and kept an end extremely tight with his leg-spinners, emulating Legard in achieving 3 wickets for 12 runs.

Now we visit the predicament of Bertie. In a valiant effort to save essential runs, Bertie threw himself – body on the line – onto the sun-baked outfield, only to emerge from this dive in what appeared to be great pain. However, the adrenaline acted like morphine as Bertie suddenly moved his shoulder and stated that all was well, but he wouldn’t mind a sit down. His wish was granted, along with many assurances from his medically under-qualified cricket coach that a sit down and some ice would put the world back in order – a subsequent x-ray showed a clean fracture of the collarbone and explained all that the simple Yorkshire “Thee’ll be alreyt son” attitude couldn’t. We all hope Bertie recovers well and pays no attention to the medical opinions of his cricket coach in future. At least he gets the rest of the term off. Every cloud, etc.

The Aysgarth chase started in earnest, with Stroyan and Rudd initially showing good, busy body language and picking up the singles. It was a shame, therefore, when Rudd and Stroyan were both bowled in an attempt to continue their work, bringing the in-form Michael McIntyre to the crease. Bevan performed in style for 6 overs, before unluckily falling to a pea-rolling off-spinner. Sam Hoddinott survived a very close LBW by the skin of his teeth to make 25, and the dependable Alex Legard made a quick-fire 19. This left Aysgarth requiring 30 runs with the effervescent Tom Fenwick and the smooth-talking James Francis at the crease, and they began to give us all a lesson in how to close out a game. Fenwick the main actor, this pair picked up runs and the odd boundary in their gutsy match-winning partnership, guiding the ship home with 5 balls to spare. A win by 5 wickets, and a cheering way to end the season. Mr Chadwick can now relax, read a few medical journals and contemplate next year, when one feels that significant progress will be made with the core of under 12’s from this year and a few cheeky imports from the current 3^rd form. Thanks to all for their support.

Man of the Match – Ton Fenwick for his match-winning heroics.

 Aysgarth U12B’s vs Cundall Manor U12B’s

Date: 29/06

Venue: Away

Result:  Aysgarth lost by 3 wickets

A disastrous batting collapse meant that Aysgarth lost this closely contest against Cundall Manor after losing their last 8 wickets for only 23 runs. Initially a strong partnership between Trotter (25) and Holder (14) looked to be putting Aysgarth well on the way towards a strong total but the aforementioned collapse meant the total stuttered to 78 all out.

Cundall in reply moved along at a pedestrian rate thanks to some tight bowling but never looked in danger of making the total once it was in sight and duly managed the run chase losing 7 wickets. Trotter (8-2) and Bourne-Arton (12-2) were the pick of the Aysgarth bowlers after bowling with consistency and menace.

Man of the match – George Trotter

Aysgarth U9A 321 v 228 Terrington U9A

Won by 93 runs

The cricket season got underway for the U9's on Saturday and we were greeted with sun but a howling gale which made bowling and fielding incredibly difficult.  Despite this the boys prepared themselves properly before the match and decided to put Terrington into bat.

The opening pairs of bowlers bowled tightly restricting the home team and wickets were taken at regular intervals.  There was some hesitation in the field on occasions but this will hopefully rectify itself in the next week as the boys become more comfortable with their roles. 

The home side eventually posted a score of 228, something that we decided if we apporoached the task correctly and did not give away many wickets was a very achievable score.  I am delighted to say that apart from the odd fresh air shot trying to smash the ball into the next county, all the pairs contribued to the total with the Aysgarth team finishing on 321 runs and a 93 run victory.

Howver, there is a lot to work on and we will be working hard on the training field this week to prepare for our two away matches against SJS and SMH.

Aysgarth U9A 330 v SJS U9A 228

This was a much improved performance in many respects with all the players displaying a gretaer confidence and understanding than was shown in Saturdays opening match against Terrington.

SJS were put into bat and despite the short boundaries they were unable to really generate any momentum with the bat.  On the whole the Aysgarth side bowled well but there were still far too many extras for the coaches liking and the extras column ended up being SJS's top scorer.

Wickets fell at steady intervals and most of the catches were held meaning Aysgarth had a very gettable 228 runs to win the game.

Despite a shaky start each pair made a valauable contribution to the score and the Aysgarth side finally finished on 330 runs resulting in a 102 run win.

Aysgarth U9A 290 v Mowden Hall U9A 262

Aysgarth won by 28 runs

This was a tense afternoon of cricket and an afternoon where lots of valuable lessons were learnt by the Aysgarth side.  Having been put into bat the home side consistently lost wickets through poor shot selection and diabolical calling leading to a number of suicidal run outs.  Thank fully the latter pairs were able to consolidate and with the help of some wayward bowling by the visitors Aysgarth posted a total of 290, a score that was well below the normal par.

After a heart to heart at the half way stage and a few stern words the Aysgarth side were determined to improve on their start to the match and to their credit their fielding and bowling was first class.  The opening pair of Guthe and Duff bowled accurately and 5 early wickets set the tone for the rest of the innings.  All the bowlers bowled more accurately than ever before and the vast majority of chances were taken either with catches or run outs.

Aprart from a late rally by the penultimate Mowden pair Aysgarth hung on for a 28 run victory to keep their 100% start to the season going.  There is work to do with a difficult run of matches coming up in the run up to half term but on this particular afternoon the players have played their 'get out of jail card' hopefully for the last time this season.

Cundall Manor U9A 261 v Aysgarth U9A 290

Aysgarth won by 29 runs

This was a much improved performance from the previous Wednesday and a fantastic away victory.  Having won the toss Aysgarth elected to field and got off to the perfect start when Robin Guthe held a catch in the first over.  Wickets fell at regular intervals and despite the od overthrow due to poor backing up Aysgarth restricted the home side to a total of 261, a total that was very gettable as long as the Aysgarth side did not lose too many wickets.

The batsman played superbly, blocking the good ball and waiting for the bad one.  In the whole innings not one wicket fell which was particularly pleasing after the batting performance against Mowden Hall.  As a result the scoreboard moved along steadily and Aysgarth got home with a few runs to spare.  I anticipate a tough return fixture in a few weeks so the U9A's must continue to improve if they hope to maintain their 100% record.

Aysgarth U9A 370 v 270 Bronte House U9A

This was an excellent victory against some very competent opponents.  The big difference from previous weeks was the quality of the Aysgarth batting and running between the wickets.  All of a sudden batsman were displaying a huge array of shots through the off side and the leg side, the calling was clear and the scoreboard kept ticking through cleverly run singles.

However, at half time and a huge score amassed the teams fielding was not quite at its peak and too many dropped catches tarnished what was otherwise an excellent performance.  There is still plenty to work on and improve as we start the second half of term with the ultimate aim of having a complete performance with both bat and ball in our remaining matches.

Aysgarth U9 A 221 v 356 Cundall U9A

Aysgarth struggled against a very good Cundall side in their first match for 4 weeks.  Aysgarth looked rusty in the field and struggled with the bat in a match that Cundall could do no wrong.  The boys will need to fight back on Saturday against Ampleforth.

PB

Aysgarth U9A 336 v 223 St Martin's U9A

This was a very good performance from the Aysgarth side.  Made up of 4 regular U9A's and 4 U9B's all boys made valuable contributions in a convincing victory.  Batting first Ivan Burnell took to the Ampleforth bowling and hit 6 boundaries to get the team off to a flying start.  Henry Wilkinson showed good technique in his innings and Ben Hoddinott continues to impress with his range of stroke play.  At the halfway stage 336 had been reached, a good score for 4 pairs.

In the field the Aysgarth team looked sharp, some great catches were held and Ampleforth were unable to generate any momentum.  Despite not picking up lots of early wickets Wilkinson and Hamilton had a really good spell later in the day to cement victory.

Aysgarth U9A 295 v 315 St Olave’s U9A

There are some days where you have to hold your hand up and say that you were beaten by the better side and this was one of those occasions.  Having said that there was no disgrace in losing this high quality encounter enjoyed by all the players and spectators.  There were times where it was impossible to believe you were watching an U9 game such was the high quality of bowling, fielding, batting and understanding of the game on show.  It was a privilege to be involved in such an encounter.

Batting first St Olave’s were really solid pushing singles and when the bad ball presented itself despatching it to the boundary, a valuable lesson for all the bowlers to learn about putting the ball in the correct place in the coming years.  However, Aysgarth were spirited in the field Sam Hoddinott took two excellent catches, Archie Senior bowled his best overs of the season and every fielder was fully committed to saving every run and backing each other up on all occasions.  The visitors finally ended their innings on 315.

The Aysgarth innings started cautiously and it was clear the bowling attack was strong.  However, some good shot selection and taking the singles on offer meant the scoreboard started advancing towards the target and with one pair to bat 26 runs were required, a stiff challenge but very gettable.

Unfortunately, the bad balls were not punished and as the pressure built St Olave’s grew stonger and with an over to go an outstanding direct hit not for the first time in the afternoon put paid to any chance of an Aysgarth victory.

On a fine but windy afternoon the Aysgarth U9B team played their first match of the season.  The level of excitement was extremely high as for the vast majority of the team it was their first ever real cricket match.  Our opponents were Cundall Manor School who proved to be worth adversaries.  Our captain, Ivan Burnell, won the toss and chose to bat first.  Edward Hamilton led the way with some fine shots and he was ably supported by Sam Page.  As we worked through the batting list we found runs a little difficult to come by and we will now work hard on hitting the ball further and on improving our running between wickets.  Our total of 244, which included the 200 free runs to start with, was pleasing and was due in part to some fine batting by our skipper.

It was now Cundall Manor’s turn to bat and it soon became apparent that scoring runs was one of their strengths.  However, our bowlers stuck to their task and I was particularly impressed by the efforts of Ned Carter who restricted our opponents scoring rate.  Cundall Manor finished on 293, which was a victorious total and we congratulated them on their success.  I was very pleased with the efforts and enthusiasm of our boys, the conducted themselves extremely well, learnt a great deal from the game and ate the match tea with gusto.

Ted Haslam

Aysgarth U9 B cricket team hosted the Woodleigh U9 A team in a pairs cricket match this week.  Freddie Hopkins, Donald Stembridge, Simon Botros, Freddie Strange and Timmie Lawson-Tancred were all playing their first cricket match for the school and acquitted themselves extremely well.  They had practiced very hard in preparation for the game and fully deserved their opportunity. 

Woodleigh batted first and it was clear from the outset that they were going to present quite a challenge for our team.  The batsmen hit the ball hard, however we applied ourselves diligently, fielding well and bowling steadily.   When it came to our turn to bat our captain, Ivan Burnell, and Sam Page impressed with their technique and power while Edward Hamilton ran between the wickets with great speed, taking runs where others would not dare to.

At the conclusion of the match Woodleigh were clearly victorious but the Aysgarth team had not let themselves down and have learned a great deal from the game.

UNDER 9B V  CUNDALL MANOR SCHOOL     22 June 2011

The Under 9 team travelled to Cundall Manor for the second game against that school this season.  We were aware from the first encounter that we would face strong opposition and the situation was compounded by the fact that two of our team had to withdraw from the team on the morning of the match due to illness.

However under the direction of Edward Hamilton, our captain, we set out in good spirits, determined to do our best. We batted first and put up a solid performance despite the opposition taking catches that under 9 teams would not normally be expected to achieve.  Freddie Strange and Freddie Hopkins batted impressively, but the story of the innings was really that we lost too many wickets, which in pairs cricket results in a 5 run penalty each time.

Cundall went in to bat and started strongly. With excellent fielding we restricted their run rate, but the target that we set them was too small and they ended the match victorious. We congratulate them on their success, but take pride from our performance and the improvement that we have made in recent weeks.

Under 9Bs St Olaves

After a good bus trip, we arrived 20 minutes early ready for battle. The boys were in good spirits to get the game on the road after winning the toss captain Edward Hamilton elected to bowl. Edward Hamilton opened the bowling with a maiden over. His second over he pick up a wicket and a only went for 9 runs. The work in the field was superb woody York throwing himself at the bowl to save a few boundaries. The second to last pair Donald Stembridge and Harry Tennant came on to bowl well both picking up a wicket each which slowed down St Olaves run rate. The boys manage to restrict St Olaves to 276. Edward Hamilton and sam page opened the batting with a solid start getting 20 runs between them. The second pair Donald Stembridge and Harry Tennant came out blazing with Donald hitting a six in the first over. Harry batted well protecting his wicket and letting Donald doing all the hitting. Donald top scored on 10 runs. After 4 over’s they were on 252. The last 3 pairs batted very well only giving away 2 wickets, Freddie strange with a quick fire 7 runs boosted the run rate. They ended up winning by 16 runs. On the day their fielding and good team spirit is what won on the day. Player of the day Donald Stembridge

St. Martin’s Ampleforth Cross Country Meeting.

Thursday Jan. 13^th

U-11                                                                      U-13

13^th J. Theakston                                              2^nd H. West

14^th G. West                                                       12^th D. Austen

29^th O. Stroyan                                                  23^rd O. Rudd

34^th L. Adair                                                         32^nd A. Legard

36^th H. Shepherd                                              39^th J. Kendrick

37^th N. Selwyn Sharpe                                    42^nd W. Westgarth

Total: 163pts.                                                     Total: 150pts.

39^th G. Hill                                                            S. Hoddinott

A perfect January afternoon with conditions underfoot firmer than expected made for an excellent afternoons running at St. Martin’s Ampleforth. Traditionally we have done very well at this event but this year we did not manage to pack enough runners into the top ten positions to be able to challenge for the top team places. There were however some excellent individual performances with Harry West’s 2^nd place being perhaps the performance of the day.

Cross Country is never easy so well done to all the runners and we shall be working on our fitness for the Sedbergh event in two weeks time.

SPS

Rawthey Run, Sedbergh Jan. 27^th 2011.

U-11                                                                      U-13

12^th G. West                                                       12^th G. Holder                                   

20^th G. Hill                                                            17^th G. West

43^rd H. Hollins                                                     18^th O. Rudd

46^th O. Stroyan                                                  24^th D. Austen

48^th N. Selwyn Sharpe                                    28^th J. Kendrick

Total: 169pts.                                                     Total: 99pts.

67^thH. Canning                                                   37^th A. Legard

68^th F. Stephenson                                          40^th J. Wallace-Woodroffe

5^th out of 14 schools.                                       3^rd out of 7 schools.

The Rawthey Run is always a well organised and most enjoyable cross-country event. This year the ground was quite firm although it was a very cold afternoon. We had no top ten finishers but did have some good solid team performances to end the cross-country season.

Well ran everyone!

SPS

St. Martin’s Ampleforth Cross Country Meeting.

Thursday Jan. 13^th

U-11                                                                      U-13

13^th J. Theakston                                              2^nd H. West

14^th G. West                                                       12^th D. Austen

29^th O. Stroyan                                                  23^rd O. Rudd

34^th L. Adair                                                         32^nd A. Legard

36^th H. Shepherd                                              39^th J. Kendrick

37^th N. Selwyn Sharpe                                    42^nd W. Westgarth

Total: 163pts.                                                     Total: 150pts.

39^th G. Hill                                                            S. Hoddinott

A perfect January afternoon with conditions underfoot firmer than expected made for an excellent afternoons running at St. Martin’s Ampleforth. Traditionally we have done very well at this event but this year we did not manage to pack enough runners into the top ten positions to be able to challenge for the top team places. There were however some excellent individual performances with Harry West’s 2^nd place being perhaps the performance of the day.

Cross Country is never easy so well done to all the runners and we shall be working on our fitness for the Sedbergh event in two weeks time.

SPS

Rawthey Run, Sedbergh Jan. 27^th 2011.

U-11                                                                      U-13

12^th G. West                                                       12^th G. Holder                                   

20^th G. Hill                                                            17^th G. West

43^rd H. Hollins                                                     18^th O. Rudd

46^th O. Stroyan                                                  24^th D. Austen

48^th N. Selwyn Sharpe                                    28^th J. Kendrick

Total: 169pts.                                                     Total: 99pts.

67^thH. Canning                                                   37^th A. Legard

68^th F. Stephenson                                          40^th J. Wallace-Woodroffe

5^th out of 14 schools.                                       3^rd out of 7 schools.

The Rawthey Run is always a well organised and most enjoyable cross-country event. This year the ground was quite firm although it was a very cold afternoon. We had no top ten finishers but did have some good solid team performances to end the cross-country season.

Well ran everyone!

SPS

Rawthey Run 2012

U-11                                                                                      U-13

9^th Hugh Hollins                                                                 6^th Sam Hoddinott

11^th William Guthrie                                                        10^th George Holder

13^th Harry Canning                                                           13^th Oliver Rudd

18^th Otto Stroyan                                                              16^th George Hill

21^st Finn Stephenson                                                      25^th Jack Theakston

Total: 73  3^rd place                                                           Total: 70 4^th place

30^th Ben Hoddinott                                                          26^th George West

46^th Tom Regis                                                                   32^nd David Austen

The Rawthey Run is always a well organised event but not even the best of planning can prevent the foul weather we all experienced at Sedbergh this week. However, this did not dampen the Aysgarth cross-country runner’s spirit and I was delighted with their determined running and how well they ran as a team, all placing in the top half of their races. Conditions under foot were very muddy and slippy making it a difficult run in the cold and the wet.

The standard of competition was very high, especially from the top few schools. Out of the 15 or so schools that took part it is good to see Aysgarth so well placed; so well done all of our runners..

Well ran everyone!

SPS

Aysgarth 1^st XI v Sedbergh Junior School

This was a tough but very good opening game to the season. After our first two fixtures were cancelled we were desperate to get the season going, and a hard working win has at least started the season on a good footing. We nearly scored in the first minute or so with the ball stopped on the goal line by a defender, and then we were put under pressure at the other end. With the wind howling down the pitch it was a real end to end game throughout. Sedbergh scored first from a very nicely worked goal and were leading at half time 1-0. Plenty of chances at both ends had presented themselves but both defences had soaked up the pressure well. A slight change in formation and playing with the wind at our backs made a difference. We levelled the score with a penalty after a handball and Pablo Villagra Rodrigues hit the ball confidently into the roof of the net from the spot. We went another goal up after a curling corner from George West, converted by Bevan Fawcett. Harvey Williams then scored a deserved goal for all his hard work in midfield and Bevan hit number four to give us some comfortable breathing space. Sedbergh then pulled one back, a powerful shot from the edge of the area and put us under plenty more pressure. There was lots of skill from both sides on show, in very difficult conditions. Final score 4-2, well done.

1^st XI v Cundall Manor A

This was another very good game between two teams that wanted to keep the ball down and play some attractive football. There was talent on both sides with Cundall looking particularly dangerous on the break. We had a few shots in the first half and we were unlucky that they went just wide on a number of occasions. Cundall scored against the run of play and were leading at half time. A change of tactics at half time saw us cause more problems for their defence and we quickly evened the score line with a well worked goal, scored by George West. Five minutes later we scored again after a good run from Olly Rudd and this was also converted convincingly by George. We had a goal disallowed for offside and we were playing some good football. The play went back and forth but with five minutes to go we had a free kick given against us just on the edge of the penalty area. This was struck very well and gave Sam Hoddinott no chance as it hit the roof of the net. We then succumbed again to a late goal. We ended the final minute with two corners but we could not score and so lost 2-3. A disappointing result but we looked a better side and we did play some fine football for this level.

1 J.Francis 2 A.Legard 3 G.Adebiyi 4 F.Simmons 5 G.Trotter 6 G.Hill 7 G.Holder 8 H.Armstrong 9 J.Zaballa 10 J.Stanyon-Carr 11 L.Adair 12 N.Selwyn-Sharpe

The 2^nd XI made a great start to the season with a 5-2 victory over Sedbergh junior school. The conditions made it difficult to play much of a passing game, and early on Aysgarth struggled to get the ball out of their feet and clear. After going behind to an unfortunate goal, Aysgarth responded well with Zaballa levelling things up with a neat finish. Aysgarth went behind again to a screamer that left the keeper with no chance, but just before half – time 2 quick goals had us back in front after heeding the coach’s request to get some shots on goal. Armstrong utilised his back to flick on a Legard free kick, and Hill put one out of the keeper’s reach from outside the box. So at the break the game was poised at 3-2, Aysgarth having scored 3 from 4 shots on goal. Having been outmuscled by the opposition in the first half, the lead seemed to see Aysgarth grow in confidence, and the 2nds dominated possession and territory. The icing on the cake was a Legard free kick “from the half way line”, which lobbed the keeper in the middle of the goal (though his coach had told him to stick it top left – we’ll let him off this time) before signalling how many goals he expected to score this term. It was a pleasing win against a physical team in conditions that took some adjusting to, and a strong team effort. However, Henry Armstrong deserves recognition for his tireless efforts up front, and James Francis for recovering superbly after an early wobble.

The 2^nd XI continued their winning start to the season with a 4-1 victory over Cundall Manor. It was a scrappy affair, with both teams struggling to get the ball under control. Alex Legard tucked away the first two free kicks with pinpoint accuracy, as he continued to establish himself as the dead ball king of 2^nd XI football. There were also goals from Zaballa and Trotter that would good poacher’s efforts. Trotter deserves special praise for resourcefully using his stomach to score his. James Francis had good command of his area, and was unlucky to be beaten by a retaken penalty. Henry Armstrong was again excellent, and looked dangerous whenever he touched the ball.

1 Guthe Turner 2 Bolton Stephenson 3 Chapman Corner 4 Carter Kendrick 5 Halsall Dixon 6 Shepherd Palmer 7 Wallace WFurness 8 Parry Durrant

NB This is now two seven a side games.

Due to illness, Sedbergh were unable to put out a full strength side so Aysgarth provided 4 players to make up an 11 a side match.  Aysgarth did play the better football and looked far more organised than the Sedbergh side.  Aysgarth scored early on in the first half and never really looked in danger of conceeding any goals.  Aysgarths passing was good and this allowed the players space. 

At half time, the players that had played for Sedbergh were swapped and they played for Aysgarth.  Aysgarth continued to hold their shape and were able to score furtther goals.  An unfortunate handball late in the second half saw Sedbergh awarded a penalty that they scored from.

A well deserved victory for Aysgarth.

The following boys scored for Aysgarth:  Halsall 4; Shepherd 2; Parry 1.

THe third team continues to show strength and good progress.  The conditions at Cundall were fine and the pitch was good.  Aysgarth domintated in all areas of the game from the first whistle.  Positional play was good and the team were able to work around the opposition effectively.  Ball skills were good, bet at times passes that were on target were not strong enough to reach the target.

Organisation withing the team was good and pupils supported each other well.  Golas came fast and furious.  The midfielders and strikers linked well.  Shepherd was tireless in his efforts and he was instrumental in setting up many of the goals.  Corner also carried the ball forward well, with his crosses from the right found their target time and again for Halsall to finish off.  The boys were also keen to have a go from further out with Turner slotting a monster kick from just inside the opposition half.

The ony goal to be conceeded again came from a penalty.

Well done on a very good display of football boys.  Keep up the good work.

The following players scored for Aysgarth: Halsall 5; Corner 2; Turner 1; Shepherd 1; Wallace Woodroffe 1; Furness 1.

This was a great, evenly matched game.  Both sides spread the ball wide and showed good ball control skills.  Defence was solid on both sides and apart from a few lapses in concentration, both sides did well.  St Olave's drew first blood, but Aysgarth retaliated and leveled the scores.  An own goal from St Olave's when they were under pressure saw Aysgarth into the lead.  After half time Aysgarth scored to go three one up.  St Olaves upped the pressure a bit and a momentry lapse in organisation saw them through to score.  Just before full time they scored again to equalise. 

A good, even tempered match.  Well done to both sides.

The following scored for Aysgarth:  Shepherd (1) and Halsall (1)

Aysgarth 4th XI 0 v 4 St Olave's 4th XI

This was a result that did not really do justice to the Aysgarth side who dominated territory for large parts of the game but were unable to find a breakthrough against a stubborn, defence, goalkeeper and the woodwork.

On a big pitch with small goals play was often congested in the penalty areas which meant creating chances was difficult.  The Aysgarth midfield worked tirelessly but could not find the incisive ball through to the forwards and when they did poor control led to missed chances.

Credit to St Olave's who when they did create chances were ruthless in front of goal and for this deserved their victory.  Time for the 4th XI to regroup and prepare for next weeks fixture with Cundall Manor.

Aysgarth U11a’s vs Sedbergh U11a’s

Date: 21/01/12

Venue: Home

Result: Aysgarth win 5-0

The opening game of the season saw the U11a’s put in a classy performance against one of our strongest rivals to lay down an impressive marker for the rest of the term.

 With our first match cancelled and much of the practice time spent jogging rather than playing, it would be understandable to expect a good deal of rustiness on the part of the Aysgarth team. In fact, the very opposite was true as from the first whistle the quality of passing and understanding between the players was first rate. For much of the first half the Sedbergh team were pinned down in their own half unable to keep up with the slick passing between the Aysgarth midfield and forwards. Stroyan pulled the strings in the centre of the park feeding the wingers Stephenson and Senior who bombarded the Sedbergh box. Eventually pressure told and Stroyan found enough space to clatter one home from close range before the lead was doubled by a precise finish from Brooksbank.

The second half continued in much the same way as Aysgarth dominated possession leaving Regis with little to do in goal. Much of the best play was built right from the back as the captain Stephenson and Hollins soaked up any pressure comfortably before releasing the creative players to wreak havoc in the opposition box. The goals now started to flood in as Brooksbank first scored after a neat pass from the substitute Wilkinson and then completed his hat-trick with a well placed finish. The game was rounded off by Senior who executed a deft turn and volley nestling the ball into the bottom corner.

Man of the Match – Great performances all round from the Aysgarth boys today but with a hat-trick to his name, Fraser Brooksbank rightly picks up the man of the match.

Aysgarth U11a’s + B’s vs Cundall U11a’s and B’s Round Robin

Date: 21/01/12

Venue: Home

Result: Aysgarth A’s won one lost one, Aysgarth B’s drew one and lost one

From the glorious start to the season on the weekend both the A’s and the B’s were brought back down to earth with a bang as both tasted defeat against a well organised and strong Cundall side.

On a smaller pitch that normal the first game saw the A side fight to beat a spirited Cundall B side, eventually running out as 1-0 winners courtesy of a Fraser Brooksbank winner 5 mins from time. This was followed by a tremendous performance from the B team who managed to hold the Cundall A side to a 0-0 draw with Ben Hoddinott having a cracking game in goal. Unfortunately, this was immediately followed by a narrow 2-1 defeat after Sanderson having equalised with only a few minutes remaining. The final game saw Aysgarth A team just not have the strength to cope with a powerful Cundall side who benefitted from the small pitch and tight space. Despite a hard effort, Cundall ran out eventual winners, 2-0.

Although its always a shame to lose a match, both the A’s and the B’s can build from this experience and make sure that lessons have been learnt. 

Aysgarth Under 11B versus Sedbergh

Aysgarth won this game 2 – 0.  The man of the match was the Sedbergh goal keeper who played exceptionally well  who stopped and saved many of the Aysgarth efforts.  Aysgarth scored once in each half.  The first was a side foot placed shot from William Lowther that found the right hand corner of the goal.  The second goal was scored by Hugh Sanderson who linked up nicely with Lowther for a nice one – two and slotted it passed the keeper from close range.  Man of the match for Aysgarth was awarded to George Southall who played the ball intelligently each time from defence.  This was a good start to the season.

TB

Aysgarth U11a’s + B’s vs Cundall U11a’s and B’s Round Robin

Date: 21/01/12

Venue: Home

Result: Aysgarth A’s won one lost one, Aysgarth B’s drew one and lost one

From the glorious start to the season on the weekend both the A’s and the B’s were brought back down to earth with a bang as both tasted defeat against a well organised and strong Cundall side.

On a smaller pitch that normal the first game saw the A side fight to beat a spirited Cundall B side, eventually running out as 1-0 winners courtesy of a Fraser Brooksbank winner 5 mins from time. This was followed by a tremendous performance from the B team who managed to hold the Cundall A side to a 0-0 draw with Ben Hoddinott having a cracking game in goal. Unfortunately, this was immediately followed by a narrow 2-1 defeat after Sanderson having equalised with only a few minutes remaining. The final game saw Aysgarth A team just not have the strength to cope with a powerful Cundall side who benefitted from the small pitch and tight space. Despite a hard effort, Cundall ran out eventual winners, 2-0.

Although its always a shame to lose a match, both the A’s and the B’s can build from this experience and make sure that lessons have been learnt. 

Aysgarth U11Cand D Round Robin Tournament

Aysgarth C v Cundall D 1- 0 scorer Bowring

Aysgarth D v Cundall C 0 -8 no goal scorer

Aysgarth D v Cundall D 0 – 6 no goal scorer

Aysgarth C v Cundall C 0 – 0 no goal scorer

Lots of fun had by all especially the boys, parents and referees.

Aysgarth U11Cand D Round Robin Tournament

Aysgarth C v Cundall D 1- 0 scorer Bowring

Aysgarth D v Cundall C 0 -8 no goal scorer

Aysgarth D v Cundall D 0 – 6 no goal scorer

Aysgarth C v Cundall C 0 – 0 no goal scorer

Lots of fun had by all especially the boys, parents and referees.

Aysgarth U-9 B    3 v 0   Sedbergh U-9 B

Aysgarth U-9 A   1 v 1   Sedbergh U-9 A

Two pulsating matches at Sedbergh kicked started the U-9 football season. It was wet and quite windy but that did not stop all the teams from really giving their all.

The ‘B’ teams played first and it has to be said that the Aysgarth team did dominate this game with poor old Rory Brooksbank in goal rarely touching the ball. Caspar Cunningham the captain looked very sharp all game and fully deserved to score his hat-trick. Freddie Strange, Timmy Clarkson Webb, Roddy Cummins and Tom Sinnott were all full of running and competed well in the tackle to help Aysgarth keep possession. So a winning start for the ‘B’ team with Man of the Match, hat-trick hero, Caspar but well played everyone!

The ‘A’ team match was a much tighter game with both teams tackling and competing well. Henry Bateson in the Aysgarth goal made some super saves and certainly impressed with his big clearances, especially when kicking with the wind! Sadly Aysgarth missed a penalty when William Wallace was brought down in the box, poor old William scuffing the ground as he took his shot. Then Sedbergh took the lead with a well taken goal. This is where the Aysgarth boys showed real character, playing with great determination to get back into the game with an opportunist goal from captain Oliver Stone. Some great combative play from Edward Hamilton, Charlie Lawson-Tancred and Archie Whitworth made sure we earned a well deserved draw. Man of the Match for the ‘A’ team was Henry Bateson for his very good goalkeeping.

A wonderful start to the season, well played everyone.

SPS   

U9A+B v Cundall U-9 A+B

 (at Cundall)

Aysgarth B          0 v 5       Cundall A

Aysgarth A          4 v 2       Cundall B

Aysgarth B          0 v 3       Cundall B

Aysgarth A          2 v 2       Cundall A

Cundall fielded some strong footballing sides against our U-9’s on Wednesday afternoon so our boys had to work hard to keep in some of the games. The Cundall A side proved too strong for our B’s but Tom Sinnott was outstanding in defence in that match to earn that ‘Man of the Match award’.

Our A team played very well against the Cundall B’s dominating the game but then letting them score a couple of goals that made the score line look closer than the actual game was. Charlie-Lawson Tancred with two fine goals earned the ‘Man of the Match’ award in that game.

The Cundall B team also proved a little too strong for our B’s who were very unlucky not to score with a couple of fine chances from Charlie West of PP3 who wins that ‘Man of the Match’ award. Charlie looks set to be a star of future.

Finally we come to the best game of the afternoon, the clash of the A teams. Cundall played some good football to deservedly take a two goal lead. However I was delighted with the character shown by our team to battle back to earn a 2-2 draw. Fine goals from William Wallace and Oliver Stone helped us draw level and in the last few minutes both teams had chances to win the game but the scores remained level. William Wallace was outstanding in that game and earns the Man of the Match award.

It was a wonderful afternoon of U-9 football, well played everyone!

SPS

Aysgarth U-9 B    3 v 0   Sedbergh U-9 B

Aysgarth U-9 A   1 v 1   Sedbergh U-9 A

Two pulsating matches at Sedbergh kicked started the U-9 football season. It was wet and quite windy but that did not stop all the teams from really giving their all.

The ‘B’ teams played first and it has to be said that the Aysgarth team did dominate this game with poor old Rory Brooksbank in goal rarely touching the ball. Caspar Cunningham the captain looked very sharp all game and fully deserved to score his hat-trick. Freddie Strange, Timmy Clarkson Webb, Roddy Cummins and Tom Sinnott were all full of running and competed well in the tackle to help Aysgarth keep possession. So a winning start for the ‘B’ team with Man of the Match, hat-trick hero, Caspar but well played everyone!

The ‘A’ team match was a much tighter game with both teams tackling and competing well. Henry Bateson in the Aysgarth goal made some super saves and certainly impressed with his big clearances, especially when kicking with the wind! Sadly Aysgarth missed a penalty when William Wallace was brought down in the box, poor old William scuffing the ground as he took his shot. Then Sedbergh took the lead with a well taken goal. This is where the Aysgarth boys showed real character, playing with great determination to get back into the game with an opportunist goal from captain Oliver Stone. Some great combative play from Edward Hamilton, Charlie Lawson-Tancred and Archie Whitworth made sure we earned a well deserved draw. Man of the Match for the ‘A’ team was Henry Bateson for his very good goalkeeping.

A wonderful start to the season, well played everyone.

SPS   

U9A+B v Cundall U-9 A+B

 (at Cundall)

Aysgarth B          0 v 5       Cundall A

Aysgarth A          4 v 2       Cundall B

Aysgarth B          0 v 3       Cundall B

Aysgarth A          2 v 2       Cundall A

Cundall fielded some strong footballing sides against our U-9’s on Wednesday afternoon so our boys had to work hard to keep in some of the games. The Cundall A side proved too strong for our B’s but Tom Sinnott was outstanding in defence in that match to earn that ‘Man of the Match award’.

Our A team played very well against the Cundall B’s dominating the game but then letting them score a couple of goals that made the score line look closer than the actual game was. Charlie-Lawson Tancred with two fine goals earned the ‘Man of the Match’ award in that game.

The Cundall B team also proved a little too strong for our B’s who were very unlucky not to score with a couple of fine chances from Charlie West of PP3 who wins that ‘Man of the Match’ award. Charlie looks set to be a star of future.

Finally we come to the best game of the afternoon, the clash of the A teams. Cundall played some good football to deservedly take a two goal lead. However I was delighted with the character shown by our team to battle back to earn a 2-2 draw. Fine goals from William Wallace and Oliver Stone helped us draw level and in the last few minutes both teams had chances to win the game but the scores remained level. William Wallace was outstanding in that game and earns the Man of the Match award.

It was a wonderful afternoon of U-9 football, well played everyone!

SPS

Aysgarth U9 C and D v Cundall Manor C and D

The C and D squads arrived at Cundall Manor amid cries of “the pitch is a swamp! Call it off!” and much to the joy of everyone concerned, these cries were not heeded. The first match saw Aysgarth D take on Cundall C, and we performed admirably, albeit rather solidly confined to our own half. Cundall managed to put one or two (seven) goals past us, but our chaps were not demoralised. Indeed, compared to what followed, this was a sparkling result. Aysgarth C lost by a margin seldom seen in any form of the game, a gaping, monstrous and immense gap, characterised by Aysgarth picking the ball out of the net time, and time, and time again. Let’s not bother ourselves with details.

The next two matches saw Aysgarth improve their performances and boys such as Archie Page, Harry Page, and Oliver Wood demonstrated a keen desire to compete. Indeed, all boys tried hard, but they were simply outplayed. Sometimes in life this happens, and it was nice to see the Aysgarth boys unconcerned by winning the game of football and just happy to take part. God helps those who help themselves, and God knows we needed help, but at least we helped ourselves. If you understand that, you’re doing better than me.

There are two ends to every stick. Winning, losing, technical ability, scorelines, offsides, penalties, free kicks – anyone can blather on pompously about those things. Spirit, courage, enjoyment and realising that you were second best on this occasion – those things resonate much louder around my head.  Congratulations to Aysgarth for keeping their heads high, smiles on faces, and looking forward to the cricket season. 

Aysgarth U9 C and D v Cundall Manor C and D

The C and D squads arrived at Cundall Manor amid cries of “the pitch is a swamp! Call it off!” and much to the joy of everyone concerned, these cries were not heeded. The first match saw Aysgarth D take on Cundall C, and we performed admirably, albeit rather solidly confined to our own half. Cundall managed to put one or two (seven) goals past us, but our chaps were not demoralised. Indeed, compared to what followed, this was a sparkling result. Aysgarth C lost by a margin seldom seen in any form of the game, a gaping, monstrous and immense gap, characterised by Aysgarth picking the ball out of the net time, and time, and time again. Let’s not bother ourselves with details.

The next two matches saw Aysgarth improve their performances and boys such as Archie Page, Harry Page, and Oliver Wood demonstrated a keen desire to compete. Indeed, all boys tried hard, but they were simply outplayed. Sometimes in life this happens, and it was nice to see the Aysgarth boys unconcerned by winning the game of football and just happy to take part. God helps those who help themselves, and God knows we needed help, but at least we helped ourselves. If you understand that, you’re doing better than me.

There are two ends to every stick. Winning, losing, technical ability, scorelines, offsides, penalties, free kicks – anyone can blather on pompously about those things. Spirit, courage, enjoyment and realising that you were second best on this occasion – those things resonate much louder around my head.  Congratulations to Aysgarth for keeping their heads high, smiles on faces, and looking forward to the cricket season. 

Aysgarth Under 11 Hockey v St Martins Ampleforth

Aysgarth enjoyed two fun hockey matches at Ampleforth.  The U11B team lost 6-1 but played well in places and got better in the second half.  The A U11A team drew 1-1 with a fantastic goal from George West.  Jack Theakston played well in defence and the man of the match went to William MacMillan who played in goal for both the A & B team.

Aysgarth Under 11 Hockey v St Martins Ampleforth

Aysgarth enjoyed two fun hockey matches at Ampleforth.  The U11B team lost 6-1 but played well in places and got better in the second half.  The A U11A team drew 1-1 with a fantastic goal from George West.  Jack Theakston played well in defence and the man of the match went to William MacMillan who played in goal for both the A & B team.

U13 Hockey v St Martins Ampleforth

The U13 A & B team enjoyed two great games against a strong Ampleforth squad.  The U13B team lost 7-1 with a great goal from Jerry Covell.  The A team played in a very exciting match losing 3-0.  Aysgarth created plenty of chances to score bur were unable to hit the target. Man of match went to ‘The Wall’ Charles Nainby Luxmoore who was excellent in goal.

U13 Hockey v St Martins Ampleforth

The U13 A & B team enjoyed two great games against a strong Ampleforth squad.  The U13B team lost 7-1 with a great goal from Jerry Covell.  The A team played in a very exciting match losing 3-0.  Aysgarth created plenty of chances to score bur were unable to hit the target. Man of match went to ‘The Wall’ Charles Nainby Luxmoore who was excellent in goal.

Aysgarth v Cundall Manor Judo

Never has a man more ignorant in the sacred art of Judo been charged with penning a report, but better to light a candle than to curse the darkness – so I did a little research. Here goes.

Judo, apparently, means “Gentle Way” which is tremendously hard to believe after witnessing Charlie Doyne throwing a boy across the room last Tuesday evening, and that was only one of the rather eye-catching moves on show. Judo competition, or Randori, thankfully does not allow striking with hands and feet or any of the spear-twirling one may witness in the movies, but it does promote the subduing of one’s opponent through grappling, joint locking or choke holds. A startled crowd witnessed wild but carefully ordered scrapping, with Chris Totty giving me nightmares with his facial expressions and Harry Canning showing a terrifying side to his gentle personality. The afore-mentioned Doyne, Freddie Hopkins and Bas Sanders provided more amazement as they snarled fiercely and engaged in battle, and some little first-formers took to the mats amid concerned gasps from the gallery – but asserted themselves admirably.

Nage-Waza, or throwing techniques, are not familiar to me to say the least, but one Cundall boy was rather proficient in them and even I could see that. Our chaps struggled valiantly against him, and the one boy who I shall now be careful not to upset is Harry Canning – who managed to secure a very popular win against this warrior, much to the delight of the ever-expanding crowd.

I cannot possibly mention everybody’s name here, but one and all should be proud of themselves. It was a good night, enjoyed by the spectators and observing staff, and our thanks go out to “the one that came before” – Sensei – for organising and executing the event. Cundall came out on top on this occasion, a defeat I feel sure we will avenge with some of our fearsome fighters – but the main thing is that the boys have learned this noble art and will continue to enjoy it.

Mowden Hall Sevens- Lost in Group Stages

This was always going to be a tough afternoon facing Durham, St Olaves and Terrington in the Group stages.  Durham had won their own tournament last week, St Olaves had won the Terrington Sevens and Terrington had already proved to be tough opponents over the last few weeks.

However, I am pleased to say that the Aysgarth players played with determination and real commitment despite knowing they were going to be up against it.  The highlight of the day was the second half performance against Terrington where being 19-0 down at half time the team rallied finally losing 19-7 and with a bit more luck may have turned the game around.

This was ideal preparation despite the results for Rosslyn Park next week when I hope that everything will come together and the players can perform on the biggest stage of all.

1 J.Francis 2 B.Fawcett(C) 3 J.Warburton 4 H.Bolton 5 D.Guthe 6 E.Hamilton 7 F.Corner 8 E.Madronal 9 O.Rudd 10 A.Stroyan 11 G.West 12 S.Hoddinott(VC) 13 H.Williams 14 B.Botas 15 A.Legard 16 H.Armstrong

Aysgarth 1st XV 10 v 5 Witham Hall 1st XV

This was a titanic battle to start the term played in perfect playing conditions.  Defences were certainly on top and the ferocity that both teams attacked the breakdown and the scrum made this an intriguing encounter.

All the points came in the first half, Ethan Madronal scoring twice for the home side with the Witham reply coming after a period of concerted pressure on the Aysgarth line.

Half chances were created in the second half but none were capitalised on and relief was felt at the final whistle not just because the result had gone Aysgarths way in such a close game but also that there was no more running and hard work to be done.  Every player had given it everything ensuring the term had got off to a winning start.

Aysgarth

1st XV 10-10 SJS 1st XV<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

This was a fantastic game of prep school rugby, not necessarily for the quality that was produced but for the sheer endeavour and tenacity on display by both sides. The howling game had a huge bearing on the game and it was unsurprising that the team with the wind behind them dominated large periods of each half. SJS led 10-5 at the break having played with the wind and Aysgarth levelled the scores late in the second half after a period of concerted pressure. In a frantic finale it was the visitors who nearly stole the game but came up a metre short of the line. In the end a draw was probably a fair result.<o:p></o:p>

Aysgarth 1st XV 17 v Barnard Castle 1st XV 5

This was yet another highly competitive game of rugby.  On a glorious sunny afternoon both sides played some excellent rugby but the visitors had enough in the locker to secure a victory on the road.  In the first ten minutes Barnard Castle started strongly and the Aysgarth defence was once again up to the task making numerous tackles and forcing the home side to work hard through the phases to make ground.  Late in the first half Aysgarth started to get more ball and quicker ball and were able to start imposing their game.  Width was put on the game and the home side started to become stretched resulting in tries for Madronal and a rejuvenated Archie Stroyan who ran the game at fly half superbly.

The score remained 12-0 for the vast majority of the second half until Madronal scored his second from another scrum won against the head, this was the most pleasing aspect of the second half as the forwards once again took control.

Barnard Castle scored a late try from a charged down kick but Aysgarth had done enough.

Aysgarth 1st XV 39-15 Ampleforth 1st XV

This was an excellent performance on a glorious October afternoon.  At last the handbrake was released and the 1st XV were able to play some free flowing running rugby combining good forward play with lots of width.  The backs looked clinical and were more accurate than they had been on previous occasions and the forwards continued to set a good platform.

The home team raced into a 34-0 lead but then to their credit Ampleforth fought back and made life a lot more difficult.  The visitors scoring 15 points in reply and by no means were overrun.

Another difficult week lies ahead with a trip to Red House on Wednesday and then a game home to Cundall Manor on Saturday.

Tries were scored by: Madronal, Williams(2), Bolton, Hoddinott, West

Aysgarth 1st XV 56 v 5 Red House 1st XV

This was an excellent away performance in difficult conditions against rugged opposition.  The defence was first class once again and when in space both backs and forwards utilised their options acucurately finally running in 10 tries.

There are still areas to work on over the coming days in preparation for the big local derby at the weekend but the early signs in the season are most encouraging.

Aysgarth 1st XV 34 v 0 Cundall Manor 1st XV

The scoreline probably flatters the Aysgarth 1st XV but having said that it was another solid if not spectacular performance at home.  The early exchanges were dominated by the visitors as Aysgarth struggled to get a hold on the game.  However, 5 minutes before the interval some nice play up the blindside enabled George West to score in the corner and this lifted the home side.  Madronal added another one on the stroke of half time and added one early in the second half.  Finally Aysgarth started winning some decent ball going forward, this led to a lovely score from a chip over the top by Stroyan that was gathered in by Harvey Williams. 

The best try of the game soon followed when Hoddinott who was outstanding in defence all afternoon linked up with Botas to put the winger over in the corner.  The rest of the game was spent in the middle of the field with the Aysgarth defence holding firm despite conceding a lot of late penalties.

Aysgarth 1st XV 37 v 19 Durham 1st XV

This was an epic battle played in damp conditions and it was a credit to both teams that they were able to play some decent rugby.  Aysgarth got the better of the early exchanges and raced into a 10-0 start in the opening minutes and but for a knock on would have scored the try of the season and extended their lead to 17 points.

However, the lead was extended just before half time when Botas crashed over in the corner.  The second half could not have been more different from the first, Aysgarth started poorly and the visitors found themselves back in the game after a period of lacklustre defending.  Harvey Williams added tries in between but at one stage with ten minutes to go the gap was just eight points.

Leaders were required at this stage and the Aysgarth forwards took it on themselves to ensure their grip on the game did not loosen.  A period of concerted tight forward play created space out wide for another two tries to seal a hard fought victory in the dying minutes.

Aysgarth 1st XV 37 v 19 Mowden Hall

This was yet another convincing victory played out in near perfect conditions.  Despite the positive scoreline there was a sense of frustration from the Aysgarth team that they had not been able to establish a real fluency to their play for the full game.  Having said that there were patches of brilliance as backs and forwards combined to produce some scintillating scores with the wingers Botas and West being the beneficiaries of some excellent play inside them.

Mowden battled hard all afternoon and in there no. 8 they had a very powerful player who posed a real threat from the base of the scrum ending up with a couple of tries to his name.

With half term looming the 1st XV remain unbeaten, have undoubtedly improved and in patches played some excellent rugby that belies their years.  However, there are some massive games coming up in the second half of term where only hard work and further improvement will continue this run. 

Aysgarth 1st XV 67 v 0 Malsis 1st XV

This was a very pleasing performance to round off a fantastic half of term.  What was made even more pleasing is that for the second half 13 of the team will be back next year after we made multiple substitutions, all gaining vital experience at this level.

Once again Bevan Fawcett and Sam Hoddinott were immense not just in their own performances but in the way they looked after the more inexperienced players.  Tries were scored at regular intervals throughout the game, Madronal scored two, Williams scored 4, Hoddinott scored 2 and the rest were shared out through the squad.

From a coaches point of view despite all the changes the Aysgarth performance and shape remained fluent and showed that the structures in place below are beginning to really benefit the players when they reach the top of the school.

Roll on the second half of term where the games are just going to get bigger and bigger.

Aysgarth 1st XV 19 v 12 St Mary's Hall 1st XV

This was a pulsating encounter between two unbeaten sides.  The Aysgarth side have had a torrid week on the injury front, at one stage 5 regular players were unavailable including the captain and vice captain.  Fortunately, two of the five players made the starting team and preparation could begin for one of the toughest games of the season.

The start of the game for Aysgarth set the tone where they did not allow the visitors to settle at all and built pressure with a lot of big ball carries and well cleaned out rucks.  A couple of early chances were not taken but a try finally arrived when Harvey Williams scored after some good handling from the backs.

The conversion was successful and the 7-0 scoreline remained the same until early in the second half when SMH scored in the corner leaving the score at 7-5.  The next try was decisive and in some ways it came out of the blue.  Aysgarth shifted the ball wide to Botas who beat two defenders and then ducked under another and suudenly found himself running in under the posts.  The conversion was successful and the lead was 14-5.

The next 15 minutes were nip and tuck until the decisive score 5 minutes from the end.  Madronal caught a line out and then powered up the touchline 50 metres to score.

SMH did not give up however and with 45 seconds to go scored again and converted from wide out, this left the score at 19-12.  It meant there was one last play, SMH received the kick off and moved the ball wide making ground.  Fortunately, the Aysgarth cover defence got across and were able to force the winger into touch.

This was a fantastic win in the face of adversity throughout the week and the 1st XV and particularly those players who came into the side did a tremendous job and can be really proud of their efforts.

Aysgarth 1st XV 17-0 Cundall Manor 1st XV

There are times in your life when you think you have seen just about everything, the birth of your second child 24 hours earlier and then a normal afternoon of prep school rugby alters this thinking.

The first yellow card I have ever seen issued at prep school rugby(deservedly so I might add) caused some confusion but when the second yellow card arrived less than 2 minutes later for a technical offence we were in unchartered waters playing with 13 men for 10 minutes of the second half.

Fortunately for the 1st XV they adopted an almost siege mentality and it could be argued played better in these ten minutes than in the rest of the game.  I was proud of the teams commitment, organisation, fitness and clear thinking during this period which allowed us to keep Cundall Manor at arms length.

Prior to this unexpected drama we had played well and certainly in the first half we were absolutely clinical.  The first score arrived in less than a minute through Madronal after a good offload from Hoddinott and the second finished off by Botas after good work from backs and forwards handling in the midfield.

The 3rd try was the best of the game as Williams attacked the hole from a perfectly timed flat pass and soared through the defence to extend the lead and at 19-0 this was the way the score remained until the final whistle.

There are just three games to go and the bags are now to be packed to go and take on the challenge of the Scots in Edinburgh next weekend.

Aysgarth 1st XV 19 v 12 Cargilfield 1st XV

This was one of those matches that will live long in the memory for players, coaches and spectators alike. With most of Yorkshire flooding the touchlines this was always going to be highly competitive and so it proved. I can't recall a greater display of guts,determination and sheer hard work particulalry in defence.

Aysgarth spent the vast majority of the game without the ball but their organisation in keeping the line intact and the number of tackles made on the bigger Cargilfiled players was nothing short of immense.

Ethan Madronal gave Aysgarth the perfect start but Cargilfield came back strongly. The 8 minutes spent on our own line in the 1st half without conceding was probably the most important part of the game. Wave after wave of attack was repelled, the ball was held up twice over the line and then on been awarded a free kick the team had the audacity to run from behind their own try line and take the play all the way up to halfway.

Cargilfield did get their try but from a well worked back row move Madronal scored again and Aysgarths lead at 14-5 remained until three minutes from the end of the game. Finally a tackle was missed and the deficit was reduced to 14-12.

A nerve wracking three minutes should have ensued but fortunately from the kick off poor defending from Cargilfield let Madronal in again and the celebrations could begin.

Aysgarth 1st XV 31 v 5 Merchiston Barbarians

This was another excellent team performance, very different from the previous day in that we had a lot of possession.  The team played with a good structure, forwards and backs interlinking well and some great tries were scored to round off what was an excellent tour.  Our attention now turns to the final game of the season next Thursday against St Olave's.

Aysgarth 1st XV 59 v 5 St Olaves's

Despite St Olave's missing several 1st team players this should not detract from a fantastic performance to complete a 3rd unbeaten season in five years.  The first twenty minutes were as a relentless a spell of rugby that I have witnessed at this age group both in defence and attack.  The most pleasing aspect was the style of play and once again the ferocious defence.

I am not going to name individual try scorers in this report(there were many) as this was a complete team performance just as the whole season has been with every member giving their all in the pursuit of excellence and achievement.

It has been a pleasure to work with such a group of players and they deserve all the plaudits, recognition and memories of such an outstanding rugby season.

1 Ramsay 2 Furness 3 Wallace-Woodroffe 4 Page 5 Parry 6 Fairbank 7 Turner 8 Dixon 9 Trotter 10 Theakston 11 Holder 12 Hill 13 Halsall 14 Mawson 15 Adair 16 Simmons 17 Adebiyi 18 Shepherd 19 Selwyn Sharpe 20 Bourne-Arton

This match was a fantastic start to the season. Conditions were appalling. The heavens opened soon after the start of the game and within minutes spectators and players alike were drenched. Aysgarth got out of the starting blocks quickly and immediately put the Sedbergh side under pressure. The first few minutes were spent camping on the opposition tryline. Unfortunately the captain George Trotter received a boot in the head and went off for the rest of the match. Positions got shuffled and the team soldiered on. The match was characterised from some tremendous support play from Aysgarth. They continually went forward, attacking the gainline and moving over it more often than not. Players ran onto the ball well, putting Sedbergh under constant pressure. When Sedbergh did manage to get the ball, they were well tackled and the ball efficiently removed from their possession. Aysgarth managed to score 5 tries without conceding a point. Well done on a tremendous match with each and every player making a solid contribution to the win.

The following players scored for Aysgarth: Armstrong - 2 tries, Parry - 1 try, Adebiyi - 1 try, Holder 1 try. Theakston kicked very well considering the conditions, to convert two of the tries.

A great all round performance from the 2nd XV and a well deserved win.

Playing conditions were in a stark contrast to recent weeks.  The final score belies how close the match actually was.  Aysgarth were superior in the set pieces and were stronger in the ruck.  They created plenty of try scoring opportunities, but at the same time gave away hard won ball far too easily.  Aysgarth had a huge amount of possession.  However, everytime they went on a rampaging run, two aspects let them down - they allowed the opposition to rip the ball away far too easily, and poor handling resulted in too many knockon's.  Barnard Castle took the opportunities presented to them and capitalised on them. 

Aysgarth have some areas that they need to tighten up on and have a lot of work to do before the next match.

Another very hot day and a lovely atmosphere for rugby.  Aysgarth were determined to improve their play and correct the mistakes of the last game.  And what a change it was!  They attacked strongly from the first kick.  Support play was fantastic, with players offloading well and others running onto the ball at pace.  Despite the heat, the players set up a furious tempo and the points came freely.  The forwards won plenty of ball, retained it well and created opportunities for the backs to spread the ball wide.  There was some fantastic running rugby, with 7 of the 10 tries being scored by backline players.  The backs ran at very good angles and were quickly on the ball.

Tries were scored by the following pleyers - Halsall (3), Adebiyi (1), Holder (1), Mawson (1), Theakston (1), Parry (1), Turner (1) and Fairbank (1).  Jack Theakston also had his kicking boots on and scored 8 conversions.  This really was a very good team effort and all the boys are to be congratulated on an excellant effort.

Conditions were sunny and firm underfoot with a very strong side wind.  Aysgarth contributed five players to help make up a 15 man team for Moorlands and play got underway.  Play was scrappy at times and the wind made handling and kicking of the ball very difficult.  Both sides played hard, but there were numerous occasions where the Aysgarth forwards seemed content to just stand and look at the ball instead of driving the opposition off and securing the ball for themselves.  The back line is moulding into a solid unit with some strong running and were able to break through the opposition with some strong running and good movement of the ball. The blusterly conditions did not help much, making handling very difficult.  That being said, the match was exciting at times with play frequently moving to either end of the field .

Mention must be said of the Aysgarth boys who helped Moorlands yesterday.  They played selflessly and very hard to contribute to a good match.  They played uncomromising rugby and were a credit to the Aysgarth spirit and ethos.  One of the tries scored for the Moorlands team was made by an Aysgarth boy.  Well done boys!

The following boys scored for Aysgarth: Adebiyi (1 try), Adair (1 try), Holder (2 tries), Selwyn Sharpe (1 try), Dixon (2 tries), Theakston (3 conversions).

Another keenly contested match between two old rivals. Aysgarth were determined to give of their best and improve on their previous performance. The match was fast and played with commitment. The forwards controlled the ball well and provided the back line with plenty of opportunities to run the ball and spread it wide. The fine attacking platform that was created was well utilised. The forwards were far more effective in their clearing out in the rucks and the had a number of very powerful mauls. Well done on a very good game.

Points were scored by the following players: Adebiyi (1 try), Wallace-Woodroffe (1 try), Armstrong (1 try), Dixon (1 try), Theakston (1 try and two conversions)

Aysgarth were far too strong for the Durham 2nd XV today.  From the first whistle, Aysgarth subjected the Durham players to a tremendous onslaught of hard, uncompromising rugby,  Wave after wave of attacking play saw the Durham boys on the back foot for most of the game.  Give Durham their due that they never gave up.  They held their heads up high and bravely stood their ground.  At one stage they made a particularly determines effort and were able to force their way through the Aysgarth defence and score a very well worked goal.  Aysgarth, however where on a roll, with every one of the players making a significant contribution to a fantastic team effort.  They gave a fine display of running rugby, with the forwards combining well and then spreading the ball wide, for a well deserved win.

The following players scored for Aysgarth:  Adebiyi (4 tries), Halsall (2 tries), Parry (2 tries), Furness (1 try), Mawson (1 try), Armstrong (1 try), Tricks (1 try), Theakston (9 conversions).

Wow, what a match. The opposition were much bigger and stronger than Aysgarth, but when Aysgarth scored a converted try in the first two minutes of the game they did not expect much resistance. They relaxed and were unprepared for the onslaught that followed. The combined Bramcote and Woodleigh first side came back with a vengance and hit Aysgarth with everything they had. Aysgarth were soon reeling under the impact and were driven back time and time again, spilling the ball and struggling to get any possession. When they did, the ball was quickly turned over and points scored. Going into half time, Aysgarth were 14 - 7 down and looking a bit dispondent.

After the break, however, the whole Aysgarth team lifted their game ten fold. A few positional changes altered the strengths of the team and they started to hunt for the ball. They changed their body positions, burrowing low into the mauls and ripping the ball out from the guts of the opposition. It was gruesome, but effective and Aysgarth were soon back in the game and getting the upper hand. Great forward play, combined with free running backline play and very good pressure applied to the opposition payed dividends. Four more unanswered tries and a conversion saw them home safely.

Well done to each of the boys for keeping positive and giving of their best. Team work was the order of the day!!

Points were scored by the following boys: Adebiyi (3 tries), Turner (1 try), Mawson (1 try), Theakston (2 conversions).

This was a storming game.  The St Marys side were strong and really up for a good game.  They had three players who really stood out and made a big differnce to their side.  One particularly elusive player was able to scythe through the Aysgarth defence fairly early on in the game.  After that, however, the Aysgarth boys effectively closed him down and whenever he got the ball, there were at least two defenders ready to take hime on.

The game became a tumultous battle with the ball going from one end of the pitch to the other and back again with the frequency of a vibrating violin string payed at full tilt.  tackling was hard and unforgiving, as was the relentless attack from both sides.  Releif came for the Aysgarth side when Reuben Parry was able to round off a fantastic Aysgarth attack and score.  This brought the score to 5 all and it remained at that for the rest of the match.

There was one heart stopping moment, when during an attack by the St Marys player, Aysgarth were awarded a scrum on their own 22m line.  Both sides were told that this was the the last play of the match.  Aysgarth won the ball and instead of kicking the ball into touch, they decided to try and score again, running the ball from their 5m line.  In the ensuing tussle, they lost the ball and needed furious defence to keep the opposition out.  Luckily they managed to do so - heart stopping stuff!

Well done to both teams on a good game of rugby.

This was another very good win from a very strong second team.  Cundall Manor were unable withstand the storm that was the Aysgarth attack.  Play was ferocious and although the Cundall players bravely stood up and faced Aysgarth they found it very difficult being on the back foot.  Tackling was not really up to scratch and Aysgarth were able to gain ground very rapidly time afetr time.  Aysgarth had points on the board very quickly.  It didn't go all Aysgarths way, however.  They did knock the ball on a lot and as a result gave away far too many scrums.  Cundall were not able to capitalise unfortunately.  Again each and every Aysgarth player gave of their all.  Even the five players that came on at half time ensured that there would be no drop in standard of play and pressure.

Aysgarth showed superb skill in their rucking and mauling, taking the ball forward rapidly and doing very well in the offload.  The forwards were commanding.  The back line, however, played wonderful running rugby and also tackled superbly, ensuring that Cundall had little space to run the ball.  George Trotter, commanded the game from the base of the scrum very well.  Theakston distributed the ball superbly and kicked the team out of any trouble.  Halsall and Mawson were sublime, carving through the opposition.  Maswons awesome try saving tackle saw him runfrom one side of the field to the other to pounce like a lion on the poor runner streaking for the corner.  Holder had some great runs, joining the line from full back, gaining yards and was very unlucky not to score.  Shepherd, Adair, Hill and Selwyn Sharpe also made sterling efforts.

Well done to the whole team.  The following boys scored for Aysgarth: Adebiyi (3 tries), Halsall ( 2 tries), Parry (1 try), Armstrong (1 try), Trotter (1 try), Selwyn Sharpe (1 try), Theakston (1 try and 4 conversions) Fenwick (1 conversion)

Aysgarth 2^nd XV were very apprehensive against this unknown quantity from Edinburgh.  Their first touring match ever, about to start after a four hour coach trip and a very nice Thai lunch.  Warm up time helped to calm the nerves and lift the spirits.  The Aysgarth boys got off to a cracking start, putting the  home side under immediate pressure.  The opposition were stronger in the initial set scrums and pushed Aysgarth back and wheeled the scrum to their advantage.  Aysgarth were able to recover quickly and sterling work by the loose forwards rapidly provided the backs with turnover ball.  Running play was strong, with the backs getting over the advantage line time and time again.  Spreading the ball out wide proved very effective and the wings got plenty of ball to work with.  Aysgarth displayed some superb running rugby.  Nine tries were scored in all, most coming from the back line.  The hard, gruelling work, however, was done up front, with the engine room working hard in top gear to secure the ball and deny Cargilfield much possession.  The Aysgarth flyhalf had brought him kicking boots with him and succeeded in converting 8 of the tries – an excellent achievement in very blustery conditions.

Cargilfield showed typical Scottish grit and continued to give stiff  opposition, eventually getting worn down by the total onslaught.  They did manage to score two well worked tries, converting one of them.  Well done to both teams for playing an entertaining match and thank you to Cargilfield for hosting us.

The following boys scored for Aysgarth:  Holder (2 tries), Adebiyi (2 tries), Stephenson (2 tries), Mawson, Halsall and Fenwick (1 try each), Theakston (8 conversions).

We anticipated that this would be our toughest fixture to date and this proved to be correct.  After a rainy morning, the sky cleared and we were treated to sunshine in a cold blustery wind.  We knew that the Merchiston boys would be fast and strong.  Aysgarth were, however, caught off guard by the speed at which the opposition moved up at them on the kick-off.  Merchiston gathered the ball quickly and after a couple of deft sidesteps they were through to score a very soft try.  This was converted.  The Aysgarth boys responded magnificently and attacked the opposition with vigour and determination.  The battle up front was immense and Aysgarth had to defend wave after wave of attack.  Bodies were being put on the line here, as the Aysgarth boys absorbed the pressure.  After 10 minutes, however, captain George Trotter took a very hard tackle, damaging his shoulder and he was unfortunately unable to continue.  Aysgarth now had to step up the pace and the effort.  They tackled and stole and drove forward, increasing the pressure , drawing the Merchiston team apart to create holes in their defence.  Suddenly, stand-in captain Tom Mawson was through and away, running from just inside his half to score under the posts.  Jack Theakston converted and the scores were equal as the game went into half time.

The second half was of similar ilk – fast, hard and uncompromising.  The ball swapped sides over and over again, both sides giving their all.  It was a real battle royale!  After 18 minutes, Aysgarth suffered another casualty with Jack Wallace – Woodroffe hurting his ankle.  Again the bench stepped up and quickly filled in the gaps, but at this stage the Merchiston boys had camped in the Aysgarth 22 for seven or eight minutes.  Aysgarth lost a bit of rhythm ans Merchiston went over in the corner.  As per Scottish rules, the conversion was taken 15m in from the touchline and the kick was successful.  The Aysgarth boys retaliated again, continuing to give of their all, but were now exhausted and unable to score again.

Merchiston emerged deserving winners and must be congratulated on their victory – it was by far our toughest game.  The band of battle weary Aysgarthians left the field with mud, cuts and bruises galore, but with their heads held high.  They had represented the school with honour and courage, each and every member of the squad giving their all.  They had proved themselves worthy tourists.  Well done boys – we are all very proud of you!

We knew that this was going to be a tough match and it turned out to be so.  Both teams were strong and played hard, uncompromising rugby.  Aysgarth boys played with determination and committment.  Loose play was very physical and possession changed from team to team frequently.  St Olaves dominated the set pieces, but Aysgarth defended well and held their own.  It was in the loose, that Aysgarth made the most progress.  The forwards were relentless in their defence, turning over the ball time and time again to give the backs  good ball.  Aysgarth frequently came close to scoring, but sometimes their decison making went wrong and the opportunities were lost. 

Despite losing this match, the Aysgarth boys can look back on it with the knowledge that it was a bravely fought tussle and the result could have gone either way.  The boys played there hearts out.  Aysgarths try was scored by Tom Fenwick after a particularly good period of play from Aysgarth.  He also took the conversion.  We did miss three valuable players who were unavailable for various reasons.

Well done to all the boys that have represented the 2nd XV this season.  It has been a great season and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with all of you. 

The 3^rd XV got off to a great start this week against Barnard Castle. Straight from kick off they drove the ball up inches from the opposition line, before turning it over and nearly conceding a length of the pitch try if not for Santiago Bello just making the tackle a yard short of our line.

The pack were superb in the first half, creating a great platform and providing constant momentum going forward. At half-time the score was 10-0 in our favour, with the opposition having barely touched the ball at all. The hot coach journey seemed to have sapped some of our energy when it came to the second half, and after having gone 17-0 up, our line was finally breached 5 mins from time to finish 17-5.

All three tries were great sniping efforts from scrum half Ned Selwyn Sharpe as he managed to exploit the gaps caused by the forward’s dominance. Special mention must go to the flankers Tricks and Bourne–Arton who seemed to be everywhere, carrying the ball and putting the big hits in.

The 3^rd XV continued their strong start to the season with a 71-0 victory at St Martin’s. On a scorching hot day, they raced into the lead and never looked back. The forwards were once again superb, but second half the backs got in on the act too with some classic finishes out wide. We were also very successful with the conversions, managing to make 8 of our 11 kicks, while using 4 different kickers. Scorers were Selwyn Sharpe (2), Martin (2), Fernandez de Santaella (2), Tricks, Rooms, Carter, Villagra and Crewdson.

The 3^rd XV continued their fine form with a 60-0 win at home against Cundall. In slippery conditions, they accelerated into top gear after a sticky start going in 41-0 up at the break. Once they came to life, they played some lovely Rugby, with the backs getting it down the line at pace, and the forwards using the rolling maul successfully. The backs benefitted from the great ball provided by the forwards, accounting for 8 of the 10 scores. Selwyn Sharpe was as sharp as ever, collecting 3 more tries to add to his collection, making it 8 in 3 games for the 3^rd XV. The other scorers were Martin (2), Rooms (2), Bello, Crewdson, and Villagra. Hopefully this success will be built on next week against Durham.

The 3^rd XV narrowly lost 12-10, but were incredibly unlucky not to come away with the win, in a game their forwards dominated. The flankers George Bourne-Arton and Joss tricks were superb, like legal versions of Richie McCaw. The 3^rd XV will feel confident that this defeat will be avenged in the return fixture in December.

The 3^rd XV overcame St Mary’s to triumph 51-5 at home on Saturday. Early on, the game was very physical and every yard was contested. Aysgarth began to pull away at the end of the first half, going in 17-5 up. After the break, the 3^rd XV took the game by the scruff of the neck and the tries started to come thick and fast. Simmons crossed three times, with Rooms, Tricks, Chapman, Martin, Stephenson and Selwyn-Sharpe also getting on the score sheet. It was a fantastic performance, the best of the season so far, with some superb support play and work at the breakdown.

A new look 3^rd XV made the journey to play Cundall Manor again on Wednesday, but the result stayed the same. A few players were handed their debuts, and players ended up taking on unfamiliar roles as the game wore on. 12 tries were scored by 11 different people, with Kendrick scoring 2 in his first game of the season. The support play again was excellent, and the team connected beautifully on many occasions, but Zaballa’s match ending try was a particularly fine team effort.

The 3^rd XV suffered another heartbreaking loss to St Olave’s finishing the season with a tough 15-10 loss. The game was a physical contest, and the opposition were much bigger than the Olave’s side we played last time. Santiago Bello scored the two tries with some jinky runs, the second coming after a remarkable piece of play you won’t find in any coaching manual. After spilling the ball backwards, fly half Alfie carter booted the ball down the line where it was caught and taken in for the score. At 10-10 and with 5 minutes to go, Olave’s cleared the ball from behind their own goal line. We were unable to secure the ball, and one of their players ran in, scooped it up and took it in to break Aysgarth hearts. Despite their best efforts, the 3^rd XV were not able to pick up a final try. Only losing 2 games to the same opponent by a combined 7 points was a fantastic effort from a great side.

This match was a real clash of the Titans. It would be fair

to say there were boys on the field, from both sides, at the start of the game who would really have preferred to have been back at school! By the end of the game everyone had really enjoyed an epic encounter which was sympathetically and helpfully refereed. Both sides played some excellent rugby and there were many memorable moments for both teams. We started under pressure but we held firm and then had a marvellous breakaway from Andrew Stembridge that resulted in a try saving tackle five yards out by an Olave’s player. Olave’s then scored after some good play from their backs and the score at half time was 5-0 and all to play for. I must mention one fantastic tackle made by Charlie Doyne, who literally threw himself through the air to make a classic round the ankle tackle on an Olave’s boy to save a certain try. Any 1^st XV player would have been pleased with the text book type downing of the player.

The second half was even more tense, the Aysgarth spectators were amazed with the passion their sons were playing with, and biting fingers as the tension grew. We finally won some ball and the ball came to full back, James Crewdson who powered his way down the field from our 22 line to score. 5-5. Five minutes later we were in front with a super move from captain James Kendrick and Jamie Zaballa which resulted in James breaking through and scoring under the posts. Jamie then converted the ball straight through the middle of the posts, 12-5. Big James Trevelyan was playing the game of his life, Tom Philpott, Josh Moye, George Boyle and Felix Mason- Hornby were trying their hardest in the scrum, Will MacMillan put in some important telling tackles and we were left with six minutes left. The tension rose even more when Olave’s deservedly scored after some more pressure. 12-12. 4 minutes left, could we score again? Adam Palmer had a run but did not have enough space, Rueben Isle then put in a try saving tackle and Abid Rahman and Elliot Durrant played their part in the backs, having a few runs with the ball in hand. A penalty against us, and then heartbreak. A quick penalty caught us out and Olave’s scored again. 17-12. Two minutes left. We drove, pushed pulled and shouted for the ball (the spectators were trying to shout the ball over the line!) and we even got over their line but the ball was definitely held up. One last push from all players from five meters out but sadly we could not get there before the final whistle blew. What a game, it really was a super effort from all the Aysgarth and Olave’s boys and I really believe that even the most reluctant player actually surprised themselves and enjoyed the game. That is what sport is all about. Well done.

Aysgarth U10 A at the Clegg Cup, Barnard Castle

Venue: Away

Date: 05-10-11

Result: Aysgarth win the Cup.

A windswept hillside in County Durham provided the setting for The Clegg Cup, a competition run by Barnard Castle Prep School for the Under 10 age category. Aysgarth fielded a strong team, although the boys had not had any training together due to ‘book week’ activities.

Our first match pitted us against a determined Cundall Manor team. The Aysgarth pack dominated from the start with Chris Totty stealing the ball repeatedly in the scrum. Angus Duff worked with desire around the pitch and Robin Guthe ran tirelessly. Despite the forward dominance Aysgarth were unable to unlock the Cundall defence and the game ended 0-0.

Mowden Hall line up against Aysgarth for our second match. Again the pack dominated and again we failed to crack a disciplined defence. The match ended 0-0, at least our defence was holding strong.

Our final group match was against a large and physical Yarm team. Aysgarth upped the tempo from their previous games and Archie Senior began to command proceedings at the breakdown. Henry Wilkinson propelled the ball wide and Ben Hoddinott and Woody York enjoyed the freedom to open their legs and show their class. Despite the progress of the back line, it was the irrepressible Chris Totty who scored Aysgarth’s opening try. The visiting crowd of Duffs, Wilkinson, Southall, Senior and Guthe celebrated the boys’ success and Mr Irwin commented to Mr Wicling that Aysgarth were in command, only to see Mowden race the length of the pitch and immediately equalise. The Aysgarth team, however, are made of stern stuff and their passion was rewarded with a fine try from Woody York, who demonstrated his strength at running with the ball in hand. Aysgarth won the match 2-1 and finished second in their group.

The semi finals of the Cup competition loomed and Newcastle Boy’s School stood between Aysgarth and a place in the final. Newcastle had been the stand-out team of the afternoon, but they had not yet faced the boys from Aysgarth. The first half was a ferocious contest between two, equally committed, teams. Possession oscillated between the sides and for the first time this afternoon the Aysgarth pack had met their equal and Newcastle deservedly snatched the opening score. At half time Aysgarth trailed one try to zero. Instructions issued and positives reinforced, the boys once again took to the field with discipline and determination. Senior worked well behind the pack, Wilkinson handled with confidence, Hoddinott ran wide and distributed the ball well. It was now the back line who were propelling the team forward and York seized the moment with a thunderous dash to score the equalising try. Still Aysgarth were not done, still the backs ran, Finn Stephenson, Theodore Abbott and George Southall all contributed well on the wings. Woody York received a pass from Senior and raced to the blindside. He fought valiantly to ground the ball but was held up, over the line, with some excellent defending. The final whistle sounded and the scores, in this keenly contested game were even. Sudden death extra-time was called and Aysgarth played into the stiff breeze. The Aysgarth team weathered an early storm from Newcastle but ground out territory through disciplined play. The gains made from arduous toil paid dividends when Senior stole through the slenderest of gaps to ground the ball despite despairing defensive doings. The final whistle sounded and Aysgarth were in the final, Mr Wicling’s team had just been eliminated in the other semi-final, but we won’t mention that.

The final was to be contested between Aysgarth and Cundall Manor, two sides bolstered by latter round successes and an expectant hush surrounded the ground at kick off.

The first half saw territory, possession and domination shared equally between these familiar foes. The pendulum swung first one way and then reciprocated in the blustery conditions. Aysgarth limbs were weary from their exertions in the previous game, whilst Cundall legs seemed swifter by comparison and thus when Cundall scored the first try, at the death of the first half, Aysgarth hearts sank. However, Aysgarth boys are made from oak and not willow, so their resolute, second half, reply resulted in renewed resolve. Forward they charged and onward they marched, with the ball in their hands and pride in their hearts. Closer and closer they edged to the Cundall try line, until at last and inevitably the crack enlarged and Senior planted the precious pill precisely.

The scores were tied, the final whistle blew, the victory was shared, deservedly.

Aysgarth won the resulting toss to carry the cup aloft to its new abode in Newton le Willows, where it remains to this day.

Thanks go to our heroic supporters, especially to our new ‘water technician’ Mrs Duff. We must also thank Barnard Castle school, who organised the whole event very well. Finally my personal thanks go to all of the boys, who each represented the school impeccably. They truly were a credit and a fine advertisement for Aysgarth School and I could not be prouder of them.

VRI

Aysgarth U11A 7’s

Durham School Seven’s Tournament

10-03-11

Result:  Aysgarth won second place overall.

The ten proud boys of Aysgarth began their tournament against Terrington in uncertain style. A narrow victory was earned despite a little lethargy and lacklustre drive.

Our second match was played on a much larger pitch against Dame Allen’s School. The Aysgarth boys played with much greater vigour, inspired by Hugh Hollins catch from the kick off, which he returned under the posts for a fantastic solo effort. Further tries from George West, Lysander Adair and Harry Shepherd ensured that the Aysgarth express was finally rolling.

The third game was again on the large pitch, this time Red House provided the opposition. Some swift back play from our opponents was met with determined tackling and once again the Aysgarth boys were resolute in their play. The victory demonstrated that the team were now focussed on the matter in hand and set up the match against St Martin’s Ampleforth beautifully.

Playing on a much smaller pitch, St Martin’s opened the scoring with some very fleet back play. George West replied with a stunning try, racing down the wing to level matters. Further physical play and good handling resulted in successive tries for Aysgarth and the robust nature of the match was typified by Bertie Turner and Digby Guthe.

The final group match was against Newcastle School for Boys and Aysgarth made wholesale changes with Harry Shepherd, Ned Selwyn-Sharpe and Reuben Parry coming into the side. The boys reacted superbly and ensured that another victory was secured, along with top place in the group.

The semi final match was against a very talented Barnard Castle side and the score-line oscillated between the two determined teams. George West ran the opposition ragged, Jack Theakston made his decisions decisively and George Hill supplied the ball swiftly. When the final whistle blew it was Aysgarth who claimed the spoils of a very tough match.

The final was against our old friends and rivals Cundall Manor. The game began with some combative play and it became apparent that Cundall would prove to be our toughest opponents of the day. A lead was established by Cundall that the valiant Aysgarth team could not overcome. Each of the boys contributed to the final performance and Digby Guthe’s crunching tackle was particularly memorable. Sometimes we just have to accept, that despite our best efforts, we are beaten by a better team. This was such an occasion.

We extend our congratulations to Cundall Manor and thank them for their opposition. We also thank our supporters that made the journey to watch the boys perform so well. Finally I would like to thank the boys and to congratulate them on an excellent performance and to praise them on the impeccable manner in which they conducted themselves.

Aysgarth U 11 sevens team at St Martin’s Ampleforth

Saturday 19^th March

Aysgarth opened their afternoon of rugby with a comfortable victory over a depleted Cundall Manor B team. This perhaps led the team into a false sense of security as they were then beaten by the hosts Saint Martin’s Ampleforth 14-7. This performance was not of the standard expected by either the spectators, coach nor players. Fortunately the boys picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and regained their momentum with a commanding victory over Mowden Hall. A similarly clinical performance earned a victory over Sedbergh, leaving the boys in the semi-final, facing Cundall Manor A team for a place in the final. After a hard fought match Cundall emerged 19-7 victors and rightly earned their chance to take the title. The performance was excellent from the Aysgarth team, ensuring Cundall’s narrowest score-line and scoring the only try that this exceptional team conceded all competition.

Defeat in the semi meant we were destined to face St Martin’s once again, this time in the plate final. The boys were determined to rectify the earlier abject performance against the hosts, yet once again they fell behind early in proceedings. This time however the boys rallied and proceeded to run in successive unanswered tries. When the final whistle blew Aysgarth had made amends, repaired repute and won 35-7. 

The plate, if not the cup, was theirs. Well done boys.

1 T. Regis 2 H. Canning 3 J. Hopkins 4 R. Guthe 5 H. Hollins 9 O. Stroyan 10 H. Wilkinson 11 H. Stephenson 12 B. Hoddinott 13 W. Guthrie 14 E. Crowe 15 F. Brooksbank Sub W. Lowther, W. York, O. Stephenson

Aysgarth U11 A versus Sedbergh U11 A

Venue: home

Date: 21-09-11

Result: Aysgarth won 27-5

Stiffening wind and a determined opposition ensured that this would be a true test of the U11 A team’s mettle and will. Captain Otto Stroyan won the toss and elected to play with his back to the breeze and seize the climatic advantage. Aysgarth began well and, although their rucking was less than crisp, they ensured that they retained the ball well. Some excellent scrummaging, particularly from Harry Canning and Tom Regis, meant that Aysgarth stole the ball from their opponents on several occasions, providing their backs with the ammunition necessary to launch several searing attacks. Henry Wilkinson, operating at fly half demonstrated excellent handling technique as he mastered the blustery conditions and took ball after ball from the dependable scrum half Stroyan. Despite the fluidity of the back play it was a forward, Jack Hopkins, who scored the opening try and ensured that Aysgarth entered the half time break 5-0 ahead.

Several substitutions were made at the break and Chris Totty and Joe Scott made their U11 A team debuts. William Guthrie dazzled and bewitched as he danced through the visitor’s defensive line and touched down to extend Aysgarth’s lead. This was followed by a superb try from the ebullient Totty, who streaked through several tackles to score a spectacular solo effort. Sedbergh are always resolute competitors and it was no surprise that they came back at Aysgarth. A long kick off and a misjudgement provided our guests with a scrummage on our five metre line, from which they subsequently scored. This aberration merely galvanised the Aysgarth team who began to ruck, scrummage and dominate proceedings far more comprehensively. It was inevitable that Guthrie would strike again and indeed he did so, along with Stroyan who sealed an emphatic 27-5 victory.

Man of the match: Henry Wilkinson, who maintained his composure in extremely difficult conditions.

1 T. Regis 2 H. Canning 3 J. Scott 4 R. Guthe 5 H. Hollins 9 O. Stroyan 10 H. Wilkinson 11 H. Stephenson 12 B. Hoddinott 13 W. Guthrie 14 E. Crowe 15 F. Brooksbank Sub W. York, O. Stephenson, J. Hopkins

Aysgarth U11A vs Ampleforth  1/11/11 

An excellent match resulted in a satisfying win to a good Ampleforth side who won by a single try at the teams last meeting.  With both sides scoring three tries, this was a close match throughout, the difference being a single conversion in the end.  The desire of the forwards to win and own the ball made a huge impact to Aysgarth play which allowed the back line to play fast and deep, though tiring bodies saw this line of play fade off towards the end of the game.  Lovely running on the wing by Crowe and two tries by Guthrie saw the whole team home and the team can be rightly proud of an excellent performance. 

Man (men) of the match: The Pack and Guthrie

Aysgarth U11A versus Cundall Manor U11A

08-10-11

Home

Result: Aysgarth lost 17-24

A match played in difficult conditions, against a strong and disciplined Cundall Manor team ended with victory going to the visitors. Solid scrummaging and resolute rucking provided the platform for Cundall to record a well deserved victory, despite tries from Ben Hoddinott, Hugh Hollins and Fraser Brooksbank.

Man of the match  William Guthrie

Aysgarth travelled to Mowden Hall and gave a good account of themselves, despite losing a closely fought match. Harry Canning worked well at hooker, stealing opposition ball, despite operating within a retreating pack. Otto Stroyan was effective at scrum-half and William Guthrie demonstrated his typical energy at centre. Handling in the backs was efficient but not incisive and this lack of a cutting edge rendered Aysgarth possession impotent.

Twice Mowden regained parity following promising Aysgarth scores before finally snatching a late and decisive score.

Man of the match, Tom Regis

Aysgarth won this match convincingly and demonstrated that they are a capable team. Tries were shared between forwards and backs, with William Guthrie showing fine technique with his place kicks. Malsis never buckled and pushed Aysgarth to the final whistle, but the result was rarely in doubt. An excellent team performance.

Aysgarth travelled deep into Bronte country determined to avenge our mauling at the hands of a very strong and talented Bronte House team earlier in the season. Aysgarth were without talisman William Guthrie, who was suffering from illness, although physical training sessions boded well for this tough encounter. The opening encounters proved to be a pulsating, breathless affair. For fully ten minutes the ball was shipped through slick hands and recycled by both teams. Rarely was the sopund of the referee's whistle heard, as all players conducted themselves with discipline and determination. It was Aysgarth who came close to breaking the deadlock when Harry Stephenson broke clear, with only the full back to beat he succumbed to an excellent tackle. Bronte were quickest to the breakdown and their desire was rewarded with the first try of the match. Aysgarth responded well, but the Bronte backs propelled the ball wide and with some deft handling, secured the second score of the encounter. Their half-time lead of 12-0 was hard on the Aysgarth team but not insurmountable.

Bronte began the second half as they had ended the first, Aysgarth worked tirelessly and stole possession on numerous occasions but failed to penetrate the home team's defence. Eventually Bronte forward pressure resulted in their third try and extended their lead to 17-0. To their great credit, Aysgarth never gave up and when Oliver Stephenson set up Hugh Hollins to race clear and narrow the deficit, just rewards were recieved. This was, apparently, the first try that Bronte House have conceeded all season. Stephenson then slotted the resulting conversion to end the tie 17-7.

Defeat is never as sweet as victory, but this result seemed almost as palatable. the Aysgarth boys worked extremely hard and showed an enormous improvement on the previous fixture against Bronte House.

Very well done indeed boys

Aysgarth completed the gruelling two hour trip to St Mary's in comfort and in good time. Conditions under foot were greasy, but firm and the weather was pleasantly autumnal. Aysgarth kicked off and immediately began to assert pressure on our hosts' defence. Solid tackling and determined rucking resulted in swift recycling and Edward Crowe rounded off a fine move to score the opening try on the right flank. St Mary's responded resolutely and began to strip possession from the Aysgarth pack at the breakdown. Eventually the ball found its way to the St Mary's wing who raced in to score the levelling try. The conversion edged the home team ahead and a further, converted, try extended their lead. The back line of St Mary's were able to press the Aysgarth boys in defence and it was quite remarkable how quickly they were able to tackle the visiting three quarters. Barely had Henry Wilkinson caught a sharp pass from Otto Stroyan and he was immediately confronted with two or more opposing players bearing down on him. Yet still he managed to compose himself and deliver attacking opportunities to Hoddinott and Guthrie. It was Guthrie who siezed his chance first, scoring a fine try just before the end of the first half. As the boys took on some well-deserved water the half-time score was 14-10 to St Mary's.

The Aysgarth team reorganised themselves and prepared to overturn an unexpected scoreline.

The black and blue pack began to establish superiority at the breakdown and Harry Canning  repeatedly won ball in the scrum. Hugh Hollins picked up a loose ball and dashed over to snatch the lead and Harry Canning scored a further try to extend it. Greater discipline in the tight and more determination around the field provided the platform for a final try from Hugh Hollins and some improved place kicking from William Guthrie meant that the final score was 31-14 to Aysgarth.

An excellent all-round performance, but without the ball it would have been tricky. Man of the match - Harry Canning, for winning us the ball.

Aysgarth U11A v Lyndhurst U11A

Date:  09-11-11

Venue: Away

Result:  Aysgarth won 20-15

     Last season’s fixture against Lyndhurst proved to be a heartbreaking experience for the Aysgarth U11A team, as the home side snatched victory with the final move of the match. Surely such drama could not be replicated this year?

Lyndhurst won the toss and elected to receive the kick. William Guthrie hoisted the ball skywards and the Aysgarth pack thundered into life. Lyndhurst kept possession and unleashed their first attack of the encounter but this was quickly rendered impotent through some tenacious tackling. Aysgarth won scrappy ball in the loose and their forwards, led by Tom Regis, established superiority at the ruck. Otto Stroyan demonstrated his growing maturity at scrum-half as he marshalled proceedings behind the pack and varied his passing and running options assiduously. Henry Wilkinson recognised that the great expanse of lush green grass provided him with the opportunity to send successive passes wide. Following one such move, Harry Stephenson prospered, receiving the ball with one man to beat, he ran at his opponent's outside shoulder and proved to be unstoppable in the corner. Such was the width of the pitch, Guthrie’s conversion was never in danger of adding to the score, but this was no reflection on his undoubted abilities. The match continued at a frenetic pace, with both teams running the ball hard and fast. Handling was excellent throughout and only resolute defence from both sides kept the score-line down. Hugh Hollins had enjoyed several rampaging runs at the Lyndhurst defence before he finally managed to smash through and score Aysgarth’s second try.  Once again the conversion fell well short but Aysgarth now commanded a 10-0 advantage. Lyndhurst are a formidable outfit and their reply was robust and instant. Stung by conceding the opening scores, they increased their application and rucked harder and ran faster. When they sent the ball wide, through some precise passing, there was little that Harry Stephenson could do to contain the extra man on the wing.

The teams headed into the break 10-5.

Mr Irwin stressed the importance of clean rucking and securing possession at the interval and praised the boys for their first half efforts. His words were clearly heeded as Aysgarth were the first team to score in the second half with Harry Stephenson again scoring, from a fine back line move, in the corner. The conversion again fell short, leaving Lyndhurst 15-5 in arrears. With the game seemingly won the Aysgarth team eased their pressure and this proved fatal. Lyndhurst stormed back, having stolen the ball at the ruck following solo forays from Aysgarth players. Twice they seized the ball and twice they extracted the greatest reward for their travails. With ninety seconds to full time, a ten point lead had been squandered and the scores were level, 15-15. Surely history was not about to repeat itself, surely Lyndhurst were not going to steal another victory from our grasp?

Guthrie kicked the ball high, Tom Regis raced forwards to pressurize the expectant recipient and the Aysgarth pack propelled themselves onward, in a desperate lunge to victory. Forward determination presented Stroyan with the ball and he, in turn, fed Wilkinson. Wilkinson drew his man before off-loading to the heroic Hoddinott, who passed to Guthrie. Guthrie ran wide in an endless, agonising, arc. As he neared the try line a desperate rearguard defensive action prevented him from touching down and the move faltered. This time however, the Aysgarth pack were up in support and as player after player crashed into the ruck Hugh Hollins was able to retain his composure to touch the ball down for his team’s fourth try. The Aysgarth team steeled themselves for a final Lyndhurst attack following another unsuccessful conversion attempt but this proved unnecessary as the referee signalled the end of the contest.

An Aysgarth victory, 20-15, snatched from the hungry jaws of defeat. Timely, earned and deserved. The boys had written their own history this time around and it shall endure evermore. The assembled travelling support had witnessed the most entertaining of matches and the team’s greatest performance of the season. The praise from the parents; Stroyan, Hoddinott, Wilkinson, Hollins, Guthrie, Guthe and Stephenson was accurate and gratefully received. What a finely educated and perceptive bunch you all are. It was especially gratifying to hear such wonderful comments from Mrs Wilkinson who praised the smart attire of the team, a compliment which should be reserved for the matrons I suspect!

Well played boys, an outstanding effort, and a fine result against a talented and tough Lyndhurst side.

Men of the match:

Tom Regis for spearheading the forward effort and Ben Hoddinott for his heroism in the back line.

VRI

Aysgarth hosted a strong Terrington team who had won the majority of their fixtures this season. Determination and desire were the Aysgarth keywords during their pre-match talk and the boys applied both of these admirably. Even with five Form 2 boys joining the match at half time, Aysgarth proved themselves worthy winners. Guthrie, Canning and the Lincolnshire Bulldozer, Tom Regis, established superiority and despite a strong finish from our visitors Aysgarth were always in command. Cheered on by a vociferous crowd, including Mrs Brooksbank, both teams played their parts in a very entertaining match.

Aysgarth welcomed Cargilfield from Edinburgh, for their final match of a three game tour. Cargilfield have swept all before them 'North of the border' and the Aysgarth players were still nursing a few bruises from their tough encounter with Terrington, the previous day. Early Aysgarth pressure, in the face of a squally wind, resulted in the opening try. Thunderous tackling and hard, aggressive rucking, from both teams provided a spectacle that the large crowd applauded with enthusiasm. Harry Canning, Tom Regis and Joe Scott all contributed well to the forward effort, whilst William Guthrie, Henry Wilkinson, Ben Hoddinott and Fraser Brooksbank all supported them with some excellent handling in atrocious conditions. Mr Barlow's kind offer to officiate was eagerly accepted by Mr Irwin and he performed acceptably.

The result was never secure until the final whistle blew and the pressure from our visitors never wained throughout The only certainty was that all of the boys gave their all, for the whole duration of the match.

An excellent exhibition of Prep School rugby, well done to all involved.

Aysgarth travelled to Cundall, eager to overturn a humbling defeat earlier in the term. Early signs were worrying as Cundall secured posession and scored the opening try, this was converted from beneath the posts. Aysgarth steeled themselves and responded well after the break, scoring to level the tie and then to build a seven point lead. Cundall reacted most quickly from the resulting kick off to level the tie once again. Late Aysgarth pressure almost snatched a victory from our hosts but their defence was resolute to the end and the match ended with both sides victorious. Well played indeed boys.

Result Aysgarth 33 St Olave's 14

Rugby excursions to St. Olave’s always instil a little trepidation in the unwary, the wary are usually terrified. St Olave’s have developed an enviable and deserved reputation as a fearsome rugby school and their recent results demonstrate that this season has been no different to previous years. Our annual pre-season friendly resulted in fewer Aysgarth injuries this year, but the result was as familiar and welcome as post Christmas lunch indigestion. Olave’s won, convincingly.

On this occasion the Aysgarth team travelled south on the back of an excellent sequence of five unbeaten matches and confidence was at a season long high, but St. Olave’s are always tough opponents and our respect for them remained undiminished. Olave’s kicked off and Aysgarth set about their task with fervour. The Aysgarthian pack arrived at the ruck before their counterparts and secured possession. Otto Stroyan snapped quick ball from the sodden pitch and unleashed attack after attack. Calling from Henry Wilkinson was clear and instructive and he linked beautifully between his captain and his back line. Ben Hoddinott again demonstrated fine technique and William Guthrie chose his running and passing options assiduously. Harry Stephenson received the ball and sped towards the line, scoring the opening try after a barrage of Aysgarth strikes. Guthrie converted and Aysgarth led their nemesis’ 7-0. Aysgarth surged forwards from the restart, Canning and Regis catching the eye with crunching tackles. Quick, recycled ball was shipped effortlessly to the backs and this time Guthrie seized the initiative and crossed the line to extend his team’s lead to 14-0. Such was the domination that Aysgarth were exhibiting it was difficult to establish whether Joe Scott’s bloodied nose was due to a bump or to shock. High Hollins added a further try and Oliver Stephenson slotted to take our brave and bold boys into the break 21-0 ahead.

The second half began and so did Olave’s reply! First one, converted try, quickly followed by another, meant that our lead was now a meagre 7 points. Mr Irwin’s chirp changed from cheery to challenging as his champions elect chose to chance their luck. The boys took this verbal volley valiantly and rose to resurrect their advantage. Forwards began hitting rucks with renewed rigour and backs began battling to bring the ball home, towards the blue shirts. Guthrie, a man for all seasons, but especially the rugby season, took the game by the scruff and crashed over to score his second try of the encounter. Oliver Stephenson kept his cool in unseasonal warmth, and converted beautifully. Oliver then scored with a surging run down the flank to secure the result, his efforts clearly affected his composure as his conversion carried wide.

No matter, the final whistle blew and numbers on the scoreboard were there for all to read. Aysgarth had emerged, elated and victorious. St Olave’s were gentlemen to the end, as gracious in defeat as they always are in victory. Many thanks to their staff, their spectators and their players.

Man of the match: Ben Hoddinott for terrific tackling, perfect passing and stealing St. Olave’s ball on numerous occasions.

Aysgarth U11A vs Chapter House 5th Oct 2011

Mr Irwin was occupied with the Under 10 Barnard Castle Rugby competition, which they won, so Mr Bullas had to step up to the plate for this match, which was played in gale force 5 wind conditions.  The final score was Aysgarth 22 Chapter House 0.  The Aysgarth pack was impressive and this allowed the backs to have many opportunities to run at the opposition.  It is therefore no surprise to see Harry Stephenson, Will Guthrie, Ed Crowe on the score sheet.  The 4^th try was scored by Tom Regis, near the touchline, and Oliver Stephenson, with the aid to the strong wind belted the ball between the posts from an acute angle – superb kick.

Mungo Reeves was the man of the match and Mr Bullas very kindly bought him a Cockburn’s Steak and Gravy pie for what can only be described as a try saving crunching tackle.  Well done Mungo.

Under 11B v Bronte House

This game was played in glorious sunshine and the only difference between the two teams was a single conversion.  Aysgarth took the lead twice in the game but Bronte House kept coming and coming.  Aysgarth defended well and the man of the match was Alex Totty.  George Southall kicked the winning conversion from between the posts.  The game should have ended up a draw but unfortunately Bronte missed their conversion attempt with the ball falling just before the posts.  I am very much looking forward to the re-match at Bronte further in the season.

Score: 12 – 10 Tries scored by Paddy Trant & Hugh Sanderson (Capt) Conversion by George Southall

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Under 11B v St. Martin’s Ampleforth

The abnormal summer weather meant this game was played in glorious sunshine.  St Martin’s were a few players short and we loaned them 3 players each half.  The Aysgarth boys who played for the opposition played very well indeed and need to be congratulated for playing so well against their own school.

Aysgarth took control early on in the first half and continued to play well, scoring 4 trys before the break.  We changed the teams at half time, strengthening the opposition.  This seemed to work and only managed to score twice.  Archie Senior kicked a conversion to make the score 32 – 0. The game was not as one sided as the score might suggest.  Aysgarth spent large parts of the game on the back foot and defending. 

 Score: 32 – 0 Tries scored by Mungo Reeves, Woody York x 2, Jack Hopkins, Archie Senior x2 Conversion by George Southall.  Man of the match – Mungo Reeves  - different gravy today.

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Under 11B Cundall Manor 8^th Oct 2011-10-10

Aysgarth won this match 36 points to 7.  The biggest difference between the two sides was Aysgarth’s rucking ability.  We won so much of the breakdown play that Cundall didn’t seem to get much of the ball.  Archie Senior was fantastic as scrum half and determined much of the play.  3 trys were scored by the forwards with Jack Hopkins getting two and Harry Chaytor – Norris one.  Archie Senior, who was awarded the man of the match, got two trys and two conversions and George Southall who was ill for the last match scored a try and also a conversion – not a bad way to make your reappearance.  This was a good solid performance all round.  In fact it is getting difficult to pick a side because the whole squad is playing well at the moment – Well done.

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Under 11B v Bronte House

I was really looking forward to this game after such a close encounter six weeks ago when Aysgarth won by just two points.  Bronte started really well and confidently scoring after just 2 minutes and looking by far the better team.  Aysgarth, after a short sharp telling off, started playing much better and more importantly played as a team. The forwards were particularly impressive and acted as a strong unit.  I thought William Tallentire had a super match playing in the second row and was almost worthy of man of the match but was narrowly beaten into second place by Hugh Sanderson, also second row.  The final score was 22 – 10 and the trys were scored by Archie Senior, Jack Hopkins, Chris Totty and Mungo Reeves.

Under 11B Vs St Mary’s Hall U11B’s

Saturday 5^th November 2011

Result - Aysgarth won 50-0

The long trip across the Pennines was duly rewarded with a dominant win as Aysgarth U11b’s continued their fine season. For much of the game, St. Mary’s could not keep up with Aysgarth’s powerful running, rucking and tackling and within moments tries were being scored from all corners of the pitch. Hopkins, Totty, York, Senior and Sanderson all crossed the whitewash and Ainscough managed to score three in an excellent personal display.  With churning out such devastating performances week in and week out, the coach has his work cut out for him when deciding on the next team sheet.

Man of the match – With such a dominant all round display from both forwards and backs it would be difficult to single out one player but Hopkins terrified the opposition from the kick off with an excellent performance.

Lyndhurst 0 Aysgarth Under 11B 61

Aysgarth won this game quite convincingly.  The try scorers were Paddy Trant with 2, Mungo Reeves with 2, Chris Totty with 3 and Jack Hopkins with 2.  The conversions were shared out by our two kickers Archie Senior and George Southall.

TB

Under 11B Vs Moorlands U11A

Result 5 – 36

Aysgarth’s unbeaten season came to a crashing halt against Moorland’s Under 11 A side.  The first half was a very even contest but when we leaked a try in the 17^th minute our heads dropped and we lost confidence.  Our tackling was particularly poor and too high and the aggressive members of the team didn’t quite deliver.  Angus Duff did manage a score late on but quite honestly the contest was over.  We will need to pick ourselves up after this defeat or else we will struggle to get a result against St Olave’s next Thursday.

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Under 11B Vs St Olaves U11B

Wednesday 3^rd December2011

Result - Aysgarth lost 12 - 10

This was a really fantastic game of rugby with both sides scoring two trys - Finn Stephenson and Jamie Ainscough for Aysgarth.  Unfortunately we didn’t manage to convert any of conversion attempts and Olaves did.  The situation was made even worse because we had forgotten our kicking tee.  The referee was very impressed with Aysgarth’s forwards and thought they were the best set of Under 11B forwards he had seen in a long time, which is a big compliment.  Their backs were very good and in order to compete we needed to keep the ball but unfortunately we kept giving it away cheaply, also we didn’t get the ball to the backs and there was far too much kicking for my liking. It would have been nice to finish the season with a win but this wasn’t the case.  However, I was very proud of my team and the way they have progressed as the season went on.

Aysgarth U11C’s vs Bronte House U11C’s

Date: 29/09/11

Venue: Home

Result: Aysgarth win 32-10

Under sweltering conditions on West Lodge the U11c’s began their season in fine style with a resounding 32-10 victory over Bronte House, a result that promises much for the coming season.

With unseasonal temperatures encouraging the brand of highly skilled running rugby that you would expect from the U11c’s, a high scoring game was always a possibility and indeed minutes after kick off Aysgarth’s first possession resulted in a fine try for the slippery Donald Stembridge. After the restart, Aysgarth yet again asserted their dominance as Jake Sanders skipped over from 20m to make the score 10 – 0 and a comfortable afternoon looked likely. Bronte, to their credit though, came back in force with an excellent passage of play where they managed to keep the ball for many phases and exert huge pressure on the Aysgarth line. Aysgarth though tackled ferociously and withheld the attack for almost 10 minutes before a lost led line out led to a try. With time running out in the first half, the ball quickly found its way to James Alvarez who produced some incredible running to weave in and out on his way to scoring a fantastic try for a prop all the way from the half way line.

The second half started tightly as Bronte worked the ball out wide and managed to cut the lead to only five. Aysgarth at this stage decided to put the game to bed and thanks to a superhuman effort in the maul from Thomas Shelley and the rest of the forwards, the game drifted away from Bronte as tries were conceded. Shelley got his name on the score sheet and Sanders managed to complete his hat-trick with a fine performance from full back.

It was altogether a very good performance from the U11c’s with excellent tackling, running and rucking and if we can continue this level of performance throughout the year we should expect an excellent year.

With a personal haul of 17 points from the game, the man of the match has to go to Jake Sanders for a fantastic attacking performance, well done.

Aysgarth U11C’s vs Chapter House U11b’s

Date: 05/10/11

Venue: Away

Result: Aysgarth win 27-10

In stark contrast to last week’s unseasonal heat wave, the U11c’s travelled to York under leaden skies and high winds as autumn announced its arrival on our fixture list. With a challenging wind and the first away game to contend with, the u11c’s knew that this would be no walkover as they attempted their second consecutive win of the season. With hats firmly held onto heads the spectators braced themselves for the first whistle as Jake Sanders got proceedings underway with a fine kick putting Chapter House under immediate pressure. In this case pressure led to points as fine work from the Aysgarth forwards led to repeated turnovers until Paddy Trant exploited a gap in the stern defence with the following phase allowing William Tallentire to crash over putting Aysgarth up 5-0. This was the pattern for much of the game as Aysgarth bossed the breakdown and stifled Chapter House’s ability to exert any pressure with the ball in hand. By half time Aysgarth had scored 3 tries to Chapter House’s 1 and were well on the way to a victory courtesy of fine tries from Sanders and Pybus.

The second half started worryingly for Aysgarth as a fine run from their fly half led to a try but the same pattern as the first half soon took shape as Aysgarth started to dominate the rucks and mauls. Before long Aysgarth had retained their 10 point lead with another try for Sanders before Ritchie-Bland sealed things late on with an opportunistic snipe from scrum half which Chaytor-Norris duly converted.

Aysgarth did well to show their versatility this week by winning against an athletic side but who could not hold onto the ball when faced with the organised Aysgarth forward pack. This was a match won in the shadowy recesses of the rucks and the mauls and one the tight five should be rightly proud of. As such, my man of the match goes to one of the forwards who did all the hard work without getting the deserved recognition on the day, Chad Usher. Well done to everyone.

Date – 08/10/11

Result – Cundall 24 – Aysgarth 14

With confidence soaring following the opening games of the season, the rolling juggernaut of the U11c’s was halted in disappointing fashion at the hands of our closest rivals, Cundall Manor.

It had all started in promising fashion after the opening blows when Jake Sanders picked up the ball deep in his own half and found enough space on the outside to exploit and showed a clean pair of heels   to go under the sticks and convert to make it 7 – 0. From here though the heavier Cundall pack started to make their presence felt and repeatedly forced turnovers and despite desperate and determined defence eventually managed to cross the whitewash twice before half time putting them into the lead 10-5 at the changeover.

The start of the second half continued in this theme as Aysgarth just couldn’t get their hands on the ball despite hard work from all the pack with Manners and Burnell to the fore. Tackles became increasingly desperate with Stembridge and Shelley making some last ditch saves to stop Cundall running away with it. Again though pressure told as Cundall again managed to cross the line twice and this time converting to effectively put the game beyond Aysgarth. The game wasn’t over though and credit should go to Aysgarth whose heads didn’t drop and went back down the other end in the closing minutes to score another try with Jake Sanders going over for his 7^th try in three games.

Although a difficult match for Aysgarth, the boys showed a true fighting spirit that they should be very proud of and will have the chance to exact their revenge in the return fixture later in the season. Again the man of the match goes to Jake Sanders for an excellent performance scoring two individual tries. Well done to all and thank you to Cundall Manor for being excellent hosts.

Aysgarth U11C’s vs Bronte House U11C’s

Date: 02/11/10

Venue: Away

Result: Aysgarth win 40-0

After suffering their first defeat of the season at the hands of their rivals Cundall Manor in the previous game, the U11c’s travelled to Bradford for the return fixture against Bronte House keen to make amends. In a new-look line up with changes in both the backs and forwards, Aysgarth made a bright start, repeatedly putting Bronte House under immense pressure with the forwards playing fantastic power rugby and dominating the break down. Before long tackles were being broken and tries were flooding in from all corners of the park with Trant scoring the first two followed by Duff scoring two himself and Usher also crossing the whitewash making it 25-0 at half time.

 The second half gave the team an opportunity to play in positions they were not accustomed to and this made the game slightly more even as Aysgarth were not able to apply the forward pressure as they had in the first half. However, tries from Stembridge, Usher and Duff (hat-trick) gave Aysgarth a fully deserved final whistle score line of 40-0.

Clearly, the U11c’s managed to vanquish some ghosts from the previous game with this powerful performance but greater challenges await and it is up to the team to keep on working hard and improve.

Men of the Match – Some fine individual performances across the field with Duff scoring three, Usher terrifying the opposition, Jones and Trant making many fine runs and many other excellent performances. As such I could not single out just one individual and I will instead award the man of the match to the whole team, well done.

Aysgarth U11C’s vs Lyndhurst U11c’s

Date: 10/11/11

Venue: Away

Result: Draw 21-21

The next fixture of the season saw the U11c’s travel across the Vale of York for a tough fixture against Lyndhurst that ended in a satisfying draw for both teams.

It all started inauspiciously for the mighty C’s as our top scorer of the season so far managed to forget his boots and looked set to spend the fixture stranded on the sidelines. Fortunately, our wonderful hosts managed to dig out some trainers and the game could start with the full complement of players. The referee’s whistle let battle commence and immediately both teams knew that the game ahead would be hard fought and well matched. Aysgarth got the better of the start as repeated turnovers forced by the forwards led to good field positions and allowed Jake Sanders to find enough space on the right to crash over. However, the ensuing restart put the C’s under immediate pressure and Lyndurst capitalised on some lacklustre tackling with a score of their own, levelling the scores. Aysgarth though were not to be subdued and spent much of the rest of the first half out-scrummaging Lyndhurst and getting the better of the breakdown. Consequently, the hard work done by the forwards led to space for the backs to exploit and the mercurial Angus Duff duly crossed the whitewash twice before half time giving the C’s a commanding 21-7 lead at half time.

Unfortunately though, after the break, Lyndhurst came back ferociously and profited from the C’s switching off and allowing them to have space and time on the ball. The defences were breached and wave after wave of Lyndhurst players charged towards the try line intent on getting back into the game. Twice they succeeded and managed to level the scores at 21 all. With defeat now becoming a real possibility, Aysgarth finally started playing like the team of the first half and finally put Lyndhurst under some pressure. The remainder of the game was played out scrappily as each team vied for dominance unsuccessfully until the final whistle was blown leaving the game drawn 21-21.

In the end, a draw was a fair result for both sides as neither deserved to lose. Aysgarth played magnificently and should be very proud of their excellent performance.

Men of the Match – With two tries and a super display with ball in hand it has to be Angus Duff.

Date – 16/11/11

Result – Aysgarth 20 – Cundall 10

Following the narrow loss away to Cundall earlier in the season revenge was exacted in an enthralling game that went right down to the final whistle and was only eventually settled with the final action of the game.

The atmosphere before match was one of quiet determination as each player mentally went through their role and prepared for one of the biggest games of the season which had even more significance than normal after the defeat in October.  Aysgarth opted to kick first in order to inflict the first blows and very quickly the Cundall boys knew they were in for a game as within moments the forwards had wrapped up one of their players and the turnover was forced. The first scrum was solid and the ball was spun out to Sanders who showed fleet of foot by rounding the opposition and scoring the first try. Cundall were stunned by the early aggression and made the most of good territory to get a foothold in the game and start to exert pressure on the Aysgarth line. Despite valiant defence, Aysgarth could not clear their lines and eventually conceded leaving the game tied 5-5 at half time.

With Albone replacing Ritchie-Bland for the second half, Aysgarth were determined not to let the momentum slip and started to exert their dominance in the pack. Thanks to the hard graft of Shelley, Usher and Pybus turnovers were repeatedly forced as the opposition were held up off the ground. Aysgarth thundered against the opposition ranks again and again repeatedly threatening a score until Abbott capitalised on a brilliant scrum to touch down in the corner. We then got complacent though and after giving away a series of penalties, Cundall were gifted field position and managed to score to level the score with only 5 mins left to go. The U11c’s though were not willing to let the chance slip and played the best 5 minutes of the season by twice able to go down the other end and score two stunning tries through Abbott and Usher in the dying moments to seal a famous win.

Man of the match – With Abbott scoring two, and a brilliant performance throughout the backs and forwards it was difficult to single out one player this week. However, with a barnstorming performance in the rucks and with ball in hand I have given it to Usher this week who scored a super, well deserved try right at the end. Well done to all.

Aysgarth U9 IX 45 v 10 Sedbergh U9IX

Aysgarth won their first match of the season with an enjoyable game against Sedbergh.  The conditions were brutal,with strong winds and heavy rain blowing across the Howgills.  Aysgarth made a positive start scoring early with 3 tries from Edward Hamilton in the first 5 minutes.   William Wallace scored the forth try and Aysgarth tackled hard in defence to keep Sedbergh pinned down.   In the second half, Oliver Stone scored early on before Sedbergh fought back with two tries.  Aysgarth continued to try and move the ball allowing Henry Bateson to score.  Edward Hamilton scored another two tries taking his total to five and giving Aysgarth a total of 45 points.  Charlie West played very well making some excellent tackles supported by Freddie Strange who won an enormous amount of ball at the break down.

Man of the Match: Edward Hamilton

Aysgarth U9 IX 10 v 10 Chapter House U9 IX

Aysgarth played well against a good side from Chapter House.  Aysgarth took the lead with a try from Edward Hamilton.  Aysgarth continued to defend well but conceded a try just before half time.  Oliver Stone scored an excellent try early in the second half but Aysgarth struggled to hold on and Chapter House equalled the score in the dying minutes.

Man of the Match: Oliver Stone

Aysgarth U9IX 5 v 45 Cundall Manor U9IX

Aysgarth played against a very big and strong Cundall side and found it difficult from the start.  Aysgarth did tackle hard though and improved throughout the game.  Well done to Freddie Strange who scored his first try.  Aysgarth learnt alot from the game and certainly their defensive game has improved.

Man of the match: William Wallace.

Aysgarth U9 IX 40 v 10 St. Martin’s Ampleforth

Aysgarth played their best rugby against Ampleforth and managed to string together second and third phases that stretched the Ampleforth team.  Oliver Stone scored first under the posts followed by a try by Edward Hamilton running in from the half way line.  Hamilton went on to score two more tries and Stone scored in the second half.  Charlie West ran the length of the pitch to score his first try and Freddie Strange and William Wallace also add to the total!

Henry Bateson played his best rugby to date putting in some big tackles and the pack rucked well throughout the match.

Man of the Match: For his big tackles, Henry Bateson.

Aysgarth School U9 IX 40 v 10 Malsis U9 IX

Aysgarth played very well in their final game before half term.  Oliver Stone scored early and Aysgarth continued to run home the tries in the first half.  Edward Hamilton scored along with William Wallace and Charlie West. Oliver Stone also scored a second try to make the half time score 25-0

In the second half, Malsis fought back and the boys, on both sides, played good rugby.  Oliver stone scored his third try and Henry Bateson ran the length of the pitch to score his first try for Aysgarth. Edward Hamilton got a second try to take the total to 40 points.

Well played all the boys and I hope you have a wonderful half term.

PB

Aysgarth U9 IX 15 v 15 Bronte House U9IX

Aysgarth finished a thrilling encounter all square against a talented Bronte House side. They fought back brilliantly after going behind early to go in 10-5 up at the break. After conceding 2 tries to go behind again, a lovely team try finished by William Wallace in the corner levelled things up. A tense finish ensued with Aysgarth hanging on for dear life, as Bronte dropped the ball over the try line, and then were inches away from scoring, before Edward Hamilton stole the ball.

Man of the Match: Oliver Stone for 2 good tries

Under 9A Mini tournament at St Mary’s Hall

First game was against Sedbergh, the boys were up for the challenge knowing previously that they had won comfortably against them. The boys started off the game well with an early try, their fierce defence had the opposition running the opposite way. Some good skills by Oliver Stone and William Wallace helped in the 3-1 win. Our last match of the day was against St Mary’s Hall, these boys were bigger than us but once again the Aysgarth defence held its own. Freddie Strange and Archie Page were very solid in the rucks not giving much ball away to the opposition.  Once again Edward Hamilton fed the backs good ball to let them finish crashing over the line 3 times. Final score 3-1, the boys played very well as a team,on and off the pitch. Well done boys.

Player of the day

Archie Page

Aysgarth School U9 IX 50 v 30 Terrington Hall U9 IX

In a well spirited and exciting game Aysgarth scored ten tries to beat Terrington by 20 points.  Terrington scored first but Aysgarth steeped up and enjoyed playing free flowing rugby.

Tries were scored by Stone (3) Hamilton (2) Wallace (2) Bateson, Strange, West.

Well played to all the boys who played their best rugby to date.

Man of the Match: Archie Whitworth for some excellent rucking on the wing at the breakdown

Aysgarth School U9 IX 0 v 50 Cundall Manor U9 IX

Aysgarth tried very hard against a very strong Cundall side.  Cundall were always going to be to strong for Aysgarth and Aysgarth struggled to win ball at the breakdown.  Aysgarth didn’t drop their heads and played better toward the end of the match.  William Wallace ran hard at the Cundall defence and Edward Hamilton played well at scrum half.



1 Strange 2 Bateson 3 Page 9 Hamilton mi (c) 10 Stone 11 Sinnott 12 Wallace 13 West mi 14 Whitworth SUBS Duguid

Aysgarth U9B v Cundall Manor U9B

Miserable, windswept, chilly and a little wet – and that’s just the referee. These are words which appear in the mind when one casts it back to Saturday afternoon, when the might of the Aysgarth Under 9’s clashed with the pink of Cundall. Expectations were hardly through the roof, as most of these young chaps had never played the game as well as having very little training time together – so it was with a large degree of pride that the referee witnessed some crunching tackles, some passion and spirit and a not insignificant amount of strong defence from the boys in blue. It must be said that Cundall were rather more adept at crossing the try-line than we were, and in fact put 8 tries over – but to focus on this mere detail is to miss the point. There was a hint of a formation, a sniff of a scoring opportunity, and a spirited effort which lasted all game – all resulting in a satisfied contingent, feeling confident that there are foundations on which to build. Man of the match this week goes to Charlie Lawson-Tancred, who adopted a personality rather different to his usual quiet, studious self and tore holes in the Cundall defence, giving them a scare more than once. Roll on the next fixture, where who knows – we may come together as a unit and destroy the opposition.

Aysgarth 0 – 30 Ripon Choir School

Well, the margin of defeat has shrunk since last game. In my eyes, that’s an improvement and a movement in the right direction. The boys of Ripon Choir School must be afforded much of the credit for their dominant performance, again exploiting the holes in the Aysgarth defence to good effect and dominating the scoreline by six tries to zero. However, and I assure you I am not always the eternal optimist, Aysgarth will again be commended for their fighting spirit. It must be accepted that the under 9 B team is not expected nor likely to be victorious on a regular basis, but rather is a vehicle which teaches the boys respect, honour, competition, grace and dignity through the sport of Rugby – and the boys who represented the school today are learning fast. This then, not the scoreline, is the point I will choose to emphasise. 

Aysgarth U9B 50-25 Bronte House U9B

This match was akin to the aftermath of a King Prawn Vindaloo – it threw up more surprises than you can shake a stick at. In honesty, I was expecting chaos and carnage from the first whistle, when prior to the start a boy who shall remain nameless politely asked: “Sir, if he holds on to me, can I smack him in the face?” and as I waited for him to smile and reveal his jest, it simply dawned on me that he was serious. Manu Tuilagi has rather a lot to answer for, Mr Johnson.

Anyway, the game. Bronte had a young side and were playing their first match, so we had an advantage – that is not to take anything away from what followed, as Aysgarth sliced and diced the opposition into a large number of pieces through swashbuckling sidesteps, fancy feet, strictly-come-dancing pirouettes and a good deal of heavy handed rucking. Rory Brooksbank looked like a fox in a henhouse, tearing away through the swathes of green shirts and touching down with careless abandon. This eventually resulted in him being banished to the wing, in an effort to be sporting. Charlie Lawson-Tancred and Rory could be said to be engaged in some form of convergent evolution as Rugby players, with Charlie also demonstrating superb progress throughout the season and similar to Rory, often showing the opposition a clean pair of heels. Charlie touched down repeatedly, and was also banished in a sportsmanlike gesture towards the end of the game.

I must mention our dear forwards at this point, as they have suffered the elbows in eyes, studs in backs, knees on heads and mud in mouths all season – with this game being their best to date. Deranged rucking and tackling, wide-eyed determination and inspirational courage contributed to Roddy Cummins, Tom Penty, Tom Jowitt and Freddie Murray Wells effectively winning the game for us by securing possession of the ball regularly, which was then whizzed into the back line by a slippery Caspar Cunningham.

It is always risky to mention names, because those who aren’t mentioned sometimes wrongly assume they haven’t played as well as the rest. Well, to get eggs there must be some cackling. It needs all those small and significant contributions from many different sources, the small penetrating runs of Harry Cadogan, the fleeting hands of Patrick Tallentire, the rapid pins of Timmy Clarkson Webb, the heart and desire of Ben Sill and the prowling menace of Bas Sanders.

To believe with certainty, one must begin by doubting. I began by doubting, unsure whether the U9B’s would experience the elation of victory this year. We have lost games, but there is no loss without some form of gain, and I never doubted the spirit, heart, vigour and vibrancy of these small boys. Bravo to all.

Aysgarth U9B 10 - 25 Cundall Manor U9B

It is said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and what better way is there to sum up this Under 9 rugby season thus far. Embarking upon a voyage of discovery atop an uncertain ocean, these boys now have the sole of one foot planted firmly ashore, feeling the stiff breeze of progress washing away their anxiousness and replacing it with knowledge.

And so we arrive at Cundall Manor, the perpetrators of a tidy thrashing received by the blues upon home soil – to the tune of 50 points or thereabouts – but details are for fools, and this was a new day. Cundall found, to their surprise, that a little learning is a dangerous thing, and although they were still the superior outfit in terms of formation and structure, they found it a great deal harder to penetrate the rugged defences of Aysgarth. One of the most satisfying things about this team of boys is their sharing of responsibility and the way they have come together as a team – a house divided against itself cannot stand, and Aysgarth have found this out through a season of small mistakes and learning experiences.

With this in mind, it warmed the hearts of the cold spectators as they witnessed Aysgarth fighting valiantly against the bigger, well drilled attack of the opposition, keeping rank and backing each other to the hilt – even when buried under a heap of pink shirts with a stud up his nose, little Max Falkingham emerged to retake his position on the wing. The undoubted thorn in the Cundall side was Rory Brooksbank, who nipped and whipped through gaps and tugged a train of opposition tacklers toward the try-line on a number of occasions, crossing the line once and threatening it many times with his swift sidesteps and twinkle toes. Again, Charlie Lawson-Tancred demonstrated his toughness and was involved in most areas of the game, whilst Cunning Caspar was a menace at scrum-half (and quite often a number of other positions!) as Aysgarth limited the Cundall team to four tries in the first half.

The second half saw the game change direction slightly, as Aysgarth came out with an orange segment inside them and a burning, seething determination blazing in their eyes. As in the first half, Rory and Charlie were the beating heart of an ever-strengthening body of men, scything through the defences of Cundall and benefiting from the much-improved assistance of the fearsome forwards, Jowitt, Cummins, Murray Wells and Penty. Cundall drew first blood, but the little strokes of the Aysgarth axe finally felled the great oak, and Charlie L-T crossed the line to rapturous applause. The remainder of the match was hard fought, attack and counter attack, crunching tackles, well-crafted moves ending in mud-splattered knock-ons and offsides – but no further score, ending the clash 5 tries to 2.

A great, great man once said that courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities... because it is the quality which guarantees all others – I think that this is a beautiful and succinct message, conveying exactly the huge value of “having a go” and doing one’s best – directly applicable to each and every one of this year’s under 9 B squad. The last meeting between these two sides resulted in a 45 point margin of defeat for us, and this time it was 15 – making us three times better than we were a few weeks ago – and that is not allowing for Cundall improvement. Procrastination is the thief of time, and our refusal to ignore important tasks and willingness to identify our mistakes has paid off. I am delighted with this team. The End. 

Aysgarth U9B 0 – 45 Moorlands U9A

Well, from the sublime to the ridiculous is only one step, a single step fraught with danger and soaked in blood, sweat and tears. Aysgarth entered the match as the confirmed underdogs, the second string tied around a thorny branch, the lamb against the lion – but prepared for war. Moorlands emerged from the atmospheric darkness of their team coach with menace in their eyes, strode purposefully to the changing rooms and prepared their armoury, leaving the spirited boys in blue to contemplate the challenge ahead.

And so it began, the physical clashes audible over the windswept dales as giants collided in battle, the spectators gasping and groaning as swords met with shields, heads met with turf and bone met with bone. Unfortunately, the ball met with the try-line rather too often, as Moorlands utilised their physical advantage to good effect and ripped a gaping hole in the fabric of the Aysgarth defence, through which the demoralising wind of defeat raged.

It is safe to say that Moorlands were the best team in this contest, in terms of their physical and technical rugby ability and this was clear for all to see. However, the sharpest eyes and minds do not value victory alone. There can certainly be dignity in defeat when one accepts and learns from one’s mistakes, retains good grace and acknowledges the strengths of the opposition. Credit must be given to Moorlands, who dished out a merciless obliteration of Aysgarth and gave us plenty to think about, but these boys do not let the sun go down on their anger. It is how we cope with a heavy defeat that will define our characters – do we intend to mope? No, for he who weeps, does so alone, and misery loves company. We shall not provide that company. Let the hard work begin again, let the remaining days of term become a mission to achieve what we deserve from the final match at St Olave’s, and let us enjoy it.

All I ask from these merry men is that they try their best. The old cliché, and I make no apologies for using it. Before this match, I had not been let down in this request. I still haven’t.

Aysgarth U9B 0 – 60 St Olave’s U9B

The curtain fell on the 2011 rugby season with a resounding crash, bang, wallop, and the ignominy of another huge defeat – but sometimes, to travel is better than to arrive. We have travelled, struggled, battled and muddled our way through the season with some rather embarrassing moments, some elation, some tears, and a whole lot of knowledge gained. This game was a mismatch, pure and simple, but unfortunately what can’t be cured must be endured, and the boys had to endure a bit of a thumping at the hands of a very strong unit.

I refuse to talk any more about that match. Apparently the sausages were quite good, but let’s move on. There have been times in my sporting career where I have taken defeat personally, dwelled on the loss and let it seep bitterly into my thoughts, gradually eating away at my motivation and making life difficult. I have the benefit of this experience and the realisation of how pointless this mindset is, which I am determined to convey to my charges in every sport I coach. One simply cannot make an omelette without breaking some eggs, which means excellence will come with sacrifice, contentment with heartache. Rugby will provide these boys with good and pure experiences, bringing happiness and satisfaction in the joy and grace of competition – but they can always say they endured a very difficult season in their very first year, which shaped, moulded and built their characters.

I have enjoyed this year, and I hope the boys have gained and developed morally, socially and just a little bit technically. Half a loaf is better than no bread, and one must always seek the positives, the lights glowing through the gloom, the candle in the forest – it may take a little mental discipline, but such things can always be found even in deepest adversity. Until the football season, I bid you merry christmas and farewell to the egg shaped ball.

For every moment of triumph, for every instance of beauty, many souls must be trampled.

Hunter S Thompson

1 Charles Nainby-Luxmoore(c) 2 Harry Bolton 3 George Crawford 4 Wilfred Deacon

Tennis Pairs at the Repton School Prep School Tournament.

Four boys went to this competition and acquitted themselves very well indeed. The first pair of Henry Bichot and Antoine Poli had a very tough group and played what turned out to be the winners of the whole competition, in their very first match. Long rallies were played mostly from the base lines and the standard of tennis was very high in a swirling wind, making life very difficult for both pairs. We lost this match 4-2 to Grace Dieu A, and as it turned out  we were the only pair to have won any games against them in the group matches. The first pair won all their other group matches against Prestfelde B, Ranby House B, Abberley Hall and St Hugh’s, but the one loss was sadly enough to remove them from the competition. Our second pair of Harry West and Arthur James also played some very good tennis and they were unlucky to also lose just the one match against Terra Nova A. Both boys tried hard and played some excellent rallies but the result against Terra Nova meant they too were runners up in their league. They beat Foremarke Hall B, Ranby House A, S.Anselm’s and Witham Hall. The standard of tennis this year was as high as I have seen it and all competitors did really well in some tricky rain storms and strong winds. Well tried.