Cricket and Hockey Tour 2016

35 boys and four staff travelled to Holetown on Barbados' west coast and stayed for 11 nights in a hotel situated less than a mile from the famous Sandy Lane and just a short walk from the beach.

The hockey team played four matches against various teams made up from the Barbados Development Squad at the Usain Bolt stadium at the University of the West Indies. They had some very athletic individuals and proved to be tenacious opposition in every game. Sherborne managed to gain narrow victories in the first two games, winning 1-0 and 3-2 respectively, before losing the third match, another extremely close encounter, 3-2. The series hinged on the final game and although Sherborne held the lead on a couple of occasions the Bajans fought back and the match ended in a 2-2 draw. This meant that we secured the series 2-1 which was a fantastic effort considering the strength of the opposition and the unfamiliar playing conditions.

The cricketers played five matches against a mixture of club and school sides. In some games the age of the opponents ranged from 8 to 23 and one player who played against us on two occasions was an Olympic sprinter. Despite being 9 for 4 in the first innings of the opening match, Sherborne managed to sneak a narrow victory thanks to some excellent bowling whilst the second match was a much more comfortable win for the tourists. Some poor batting in the next two fixtures resulted in consecutive losses before a much improved performance with the bat meant the fifth game was won and a winning record of three wins and two losses was achieved. One game was rained off and in its place we paid a visit to the iconic Kensington Oval ground in Bridgetown.

When not playing cricket or hockey the boys enjoyed various excursions including a jeep safari around the island, a day of beach fun at the Boatyard, a night at Oistin's Fish Fry and some cabaret entertainment at Harbour Lights. Perhaps the highlight was the Catamaran cruise up the west coast on the last day of tour when we got to swim with sea turtles and snorkel around ship wrecks. There was also time throughout for relaxing on the beach or by the pool.

Andy Nurton
Master in Charge of Cricket