The cricket season is in full swing, and it is during these enjoyable fixtures that the hours of training put in all year round start to pay off.
For the second year running, the boys have been lucky enough to have OB and ex Northants cricketer Charlie Thurston (07-14) on board as a coach. While his main role is to coach the 1st XI, his coaching skills have been utilised by all elite cricketers across the Prep and Upper schools.
Charlie runs squad sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays with the first team and tailored one to one programmes, where he works with individuals to improve technique and to develop their game plan with the aim of implementing this into their game. Charlie watches the boys play during matches and gives his advice on areas to work on, while letting the boys come up with their own diagnosis and ideas – a system that the boys are responding to well.
Under the overall helm of Director of Cricket Mr Gary Steer, Charlie is also supported by former England coach David Ripley and former Northants player David Sales, who come into school for selected sessions across the week to deliver batting and specialist wicketkeeping workshops.
There has been some performance highlights, in particular the fixture against Tonbridge where 1st XI captain Sam Bailey was outstanding, scoring 136 runs. He came in at number seven when the game was in the balance and showed great character and fight to bat with great maturity and responsibility. Sam was supported by Anshul Poothi (Remove Form) who batted his highest score of the season of 79. The 1st XI also took several wickets in the field that day and showed that they can play to a high standard.
With three fixtures to go, the boys have a lot to play for, including games against Berkhamsted on 15 June and Stamford on 22 June to hopefully, finish the season on a high. There is also the T10 Competition on 27 June, which always creates a buzz and gives the boys a chance to play a little bit differently.
From Charlie’s perspective as a coach, he has learned a lot since being back at school, this time as a member of staff. He explained, “I have learned to always reflect on my approach and look at how my message comes across; do the boys understand it? Are they taking it on board? This is especially important when the results don’t go our way. Coaching is easy when we’re winning, but when we don’t, I start to learn things about people’s characters and how they bounce back and fight. The strong mental side and the focus in training has always been there – when the boys do lose, they hold their heads up high, they do not sulk. Instead, learn from it and put in even more work to get to the level they need to win.”
