The Bedford School cricket season is well underway and there have been some superb fixtures against schools including Oundle, Stowe, Eton and Uppingham, which have provided some serious competition for the boys. We have already seen some stellar performances from the likes of Charlie Mumford who scored a fabulous 101 not out against a strong Uppingham side for the U15As, and Alex Rennie who took six wickets for just nine runs for the 1st XI.
One of the highlights of the season so far, was the 1st XI two-day fixture against Tonbridge. An annual tradition which, while hotly contested, is a thoroughly enjoyable weekend for all the boys, perhaps more so for the away boys as they were able to enjoy Saturday night with their team mates in Burnaby Boarding House.
The match started with Tonbridge winning the toss and choosing to bat first, making 336-7 on our traditional flat pitch. Our key bowlers were Rahul Sheemar 19-1-86-4 and Alex Rennie 26-4-88-2. In reply we batted well, declaring on 290-6 just behind Tonbridge’s score with a view to setting up a game. Our top scorers were Michael Catt 91, Tom O’Toole 68* and Harry Gouldstone 61. Tonbridge then had an opportunity to try and bat with some intent to set a fair chase up for us but the bowling of Alex Rennie 13-2-61-4 and O’Toole 8-0-36-2 forced Tonbridge to bat slowly because of the fall of regular wickets. Tonbridge declared on 173-6 and left our boys to try and chase the unrealistic total of 220 in 32 overs. The two sides shook hands with 5 overs to go and agreed upon a draw. Bedford finished on 132-4 with Daniel Wells top scoring with 66.
