N E W S L E T T E R - Radley College
N E W S L E T T E R - Radley College
N E W S L E T T E R - Radley College
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<strong>Radley</strong><br />
THE<br />
N E W S L E T T E R<br />
| <strong>Radley</strong> <strong>College</strong> Cricket Club | Transforming D Social |<br />
| Geography | Next Steps - Radleians at University |
<strong>Radley</strong> <strong>College</strong> Cricket Club<br />
Could there be a more opportune time to write about <strong>Radley</strong> cricket? For a short spell,<br />
from July to that ticker-tape August Sunday at the Oval, Radleians seemed to bestride the<br />
cricketing world: three current members of the 1 st XI – Alex Hearne (Dragon, J Social),<br />
Nick Gubbins (Elstree, H Social) and Wilf Marriott (Farleigh, G Social) - were selected for<br />
the England Under 15 side, Jamie Dalrymple (Ashfold, H Social) captained the England<br />
Lions against Australia and Andrew Strauss (Caldicott, B Social) led England to the<br />
Ashes. Strauss scored important runs, of course, but when the analysts ran their rule over<br />
England’s victory they chose to focus on the question of leadership. Michael Henderson<br />
reminded his Telegraph readers of the quiet authority of the England captain in rescuing<br />
his side from the hiatus of Kevin Pietersen’s resignation and in weathering some piercing<br />
criticism after the Headingley rout. “One could say”, he wrote, “that the Ashes were won on<br />
the playing fields of <strong>Radley</strong>.”<br />
The only sadness in all this euphoria<br />
was that just ten days before Australia<br />
succumbed, so too did one of the pillars<br />
of <strong>Radley</strong> cricket for nearly 60 years. Bert<br />
Robinson, once of Northamptonshire and<br />
cricket professional at <strong>Radley</strong> 1949-2008,<br />
a dear man and a coach who influenced<br />
so many from Dexter onwards, died<br />
peacefully at the age of 92 before he could<br />
see his most recent star in his finest hour.<br />
Many dream of winning the Ashes but<br />
few are chosen, and I can write in all<br />
honesty that, while we are proud to the n th<br />
degree of our internationals, we take equal<br />
delight in seeing all 19 of our school XIs<br />
strut their Saturday stuff in the summer<br />
term against our traditional foes. Good<br />
cricket on good surfaces for all our boys<br />
is overwhelmingly our goal, and I am<br />
hugely fortunate in having colleagues,<br />
lovers of the game, who will coach and<br />
cajole these teams. This summer term 30<br />
members of Common Room looked after<br />
these 19 sides, led in expertise by our<br />
outstanding professional Andy Wagner,<br />
now in his 25 th year here. 119 matches<br />
were won of 176 played, and in addition,<br />
a dozen 6 th formers turned out for the<br />
<strong>Radley</strong> Village sides in the Oxfordshire<br />
League. I can’t promise match cricket all of<br />
the time for all the boys, but I can try.<br />
Our fixture card is very strong – Eton,<br />
Tonbridge and Harrow are always<br />
powerful opponents – but we have set<br />
ourselves the target of playing the sharpest<br />
cricket on the best pitches on our circuit,<br />
and Adam King’s squares from Bigside to<br />
Death Row are exceptional. Increasingly,<br />
school matches are played as limited overs<br />
games (50 or 55 overs per side for the 1 st<br />
and 2 nd XIs, 30-35 overs per side for other<br />
teams), and this has quickened the pulse of<br />
every player. There is nowhere to hide in a<br />
game where the safety of a draw no longer<br />
exists, but we have found that traditional<br />
batting and bowling skills are still the key.<br />
The 1 st XI has the toughest fixture list<br />
of all, and the step up from Colts 1 is<br />
considerable as many school 1 st XIs are<br />
bolstered by 6 th form sports scholars.<br />
None of the <strong>Radley</strong> sports clubs have a<br />
recruitment programme, and we enjoy<br />
coaching schoolboy cricketers and giving<br />
them the chance to play and succeed in<br />
the top side. Our approach throughout<br />
the club reflects this. In matches all the<br />
decision making is left to the captains and<br />
players, and it has been a joy to see recent<br />
captains such as Henry Mills (Harrodian, E<br />
Social), George Coles (Woodcote House, G<br />
Social), Jos North (Ludgrove, B Social) and<br />
Hector Freyne (Summer Fields, J Social)<br />
learn to think so clearly under pressure.<br />
To improve the technique of our 1 st XI<br />
hopefuls we have, on Sunday mornings<br />
over the last two winters, introduced an<br />
Academy squad for our best 18-20 boys<br />
from the Remove to 6.2, to develop their<br />
skills and understanding of the game. Last<br />
year we welcomed guest coaches such as<br />
Toby Radford (Middlesex 1 st team coach),<br />
and this winter’s programme began with<br />
the Hampshire spin bowling coach, Raj<br />
Maru.<br />
Right: Philip Hollis Photography<br />
Front cover: Andrew Strauss - Getty Imiages<br />
Some of our current high fliers may play<br />
for England and win the Ashes – I hope<br />
they do – but above all we will keep<br />
offering the best cricket to all Radleians.<br />
Running our sides is not about the talent<br />
we could buy in but about what we can<br />
do for those who choose to come here; as<br />
John Claughton always said, “You dance<br />
with the girl what brung you”.<br />
John Beasley<br />
Head of Cricket<br />
2 THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER<br />
THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER 3<br />
THE RADLEIAN NEWSLETTER 3