Taylorian

Sport

Cricket 2022

across all age groups; he was awarded Bowler of the Season for the U15As for his magical left arm spin. Abdullah Minhas was awarded Batsman of the Year. His destructive style added a different dynamic to the team and often changed the game for us; his standout performance was a century in our first cup game. Our final award was presented to a player that consistently performed across the season with bat, ball and fielding: Tommy Embleton fully deserved the award for not only his ability but also his attitude in training. Mr J. O. Middleton Squad: J. Beeby, A. Bhandarkar (Capt.), S. Desai, T. Embleton, J. Groves, K. Lakhani, A. Minhas, N. T. Patel, T. Ranjan, J. Rose, S. Sanjai, J. Steven-Jennings, H. Walker, P. Wijesinghe Rajapaksha Arachchige. U15B It was the ol’ “season of two halves” for the U15Bs this year. Readers of previous editions will remember that we generally struggled before half term; I am pleased to report there were no such struggles after the break as five wins on the bounce were secured. There’s a lesson here about the value of “relaxed net sessions”, perhaps. The batting unit started to gel and there were good knocks from a number of individuals, not least Henry Walker, Taran Ranjan and Sohan Desai. The strength of the bowling unit was its depth: by my count we have had 13 different players take wickets this season and we could always field a strong attack. Leo Ramirez-Espain emerged from the ranks to lead the side with aplomb; he was always assisted by a host of able lieutenants. We will be looking for a number of these players to step up to senior teams next year and there is certainly the potential for some of them to reach the very highest ranks of MTS cricket. Well done all. Mr M. T. Herring Squad: E. Antony, S. Desai, R. Ludhra, Y. Madhaparia, A. Merali, S. Pankhania, A. Patel, N. Patel, M. Pattni, L. Ramirez Espain, T. Ranjan, V. Sethi, K. Shah, K. Shah, Y. Shah, S. Siyyid, H. Walker, T. Wasan, V. Weerasinghe.

commitment of the Upper Sixth and Fifth Form players who played loyally throughout their examinations. Mr I. McGowan Squad: P. Bhatia, N. Bhattacharya, S. Ganesh, D. Justus, (Capt.), J. Kenny, G. Muralitharan, A. Patel (Vice-Capt.), K. Patel, G. Puri, A. Sawant, A. Sheikh (Vice Capt.), R. Thapar, A. Whiteside, V. Palekar. Coaches: Mr I. McGowan, Mr P. J. B. Davies, Mr A. J. Booth 2nd XI MTS had three matches after half term and won all three in convincing fashion. We comfortably beat St Albans by 8 wickets. Our bowlers bested the opposition batsmen with guile and turn; St Albans only managed to set a target of 124 for us, which we chased down easily. Tommy Embleton’s clean striking and aggression (he scored 57 not out and was awarded Man of the Match) marked the gulf between the two sides. We then went on to win by a resounding 9 wickets against Magdalen College School. They batted first and struggled with our pace and aggression, losing their top order for 60. Tom Ford and Rishi Thapar (Man of the Match with 57 not out) all but took us to the target of 93 with a significant combined tally of 80. This result helped build momentum and confidence in the group, despite being depleted by injuries and exams. Our final game of the season saw us beat Dulwich by 8 wickets. Dulwich struggled to hit any boundaries, and wickets fell at regular intervals; Zaki Akbar was the pick of the bowlers with 3-16. We then comfortably reached the total of 111 with a blend of sharply-taken singles and bigger hits around the ground from Shivam Soneji, Dillan Shah, Niraan Shah and Gursimar Puri. This was one of the best performances of the year, with the younger players demonstrating the kind of skill that will prove handy next year. Overall, it was an excellent season for MTS’s 2nd XI: the team had too much talent and application for most opponents, and played with intent and high-order skills. Squad: J. Kenny (Capt.), G. Puri, A. Kundi, K. Dhanuka, T. Ford, S. Shankar, D. Steven-Jennings, V. Palekar, Z. Akbar, D. McLeish, N. Shah, D. Shah, O.

Isherwood, A. Meshram, R. Ganakuru, T. Patel, R. Shah, V. Shah, A. Bhandarkar, T. Embleton, S. Soneji. Coach: Mr T. W. Jenkin 3rd XI Despite the appealing weather in June and July, the second half of the 3rd XI cricket season was punctuated with opposition cancellations. As a result, players who had started the season in the 3rd XI were given game-time across the fixture list for other teams. We did manage to play St Paul’s (and fell to an agonizing defeat) but the highlight was probably a strong victory over local rivals Haberdashers’ – a victory that the boys cherished. By the end of the season, therefore, the boys had gained a great deal from time together in matches and honing their skills in practice. Special mention should go to 3rd XI stalwarts Aarav Chadha, Rayen Gandhi, Sabeh Sahni, Tilak Patel, Sahaj Pankhania, Mekyle Farishta and Puneet Patel for their season’s efforts, although the large player rostrum over the season suggests another good season in 2023. Mr T. C. H. Greenaway Squad: A. Chadha, M. Farishta, R. Gandhi, J. Hely-Hammond, K. Kothari, A. Kundi, S. Pankhania, P. Patel, S. Patel, T. Patel, S. Sahni, S. Sangani, V. Saluja, R. Shah, K. Thakrar. U15A The second half of the season was mixed. The side continued their excellent run of form at weekends, producing five wins from five against strong opposition. Unfortunately, the team’s cup run came to an end early in the second half of the season. St Paul’s played a magnificent match, which was the side’s only loss of the season since the first run-out against Whitgift. We had some incredible contributions from players in all our fixtures: Aadtiya Bhandarka found his form with the bat and produced two high quality innings at the end of the season, finishing both on 50 not out. Jack Groves and James Beeby bowled exceptionally well across the season and picked up excellent figures between them. The pick of the bowlers, however, was Jacob Rose, who finished as the school’s leading wicket taker

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Taylorian 2023