Bishop Luffa hosted the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in their annual match at a sun bathed Chichester Priory Park on Thursday 16th June.
The Bishop Luffa team was built from students from Year 9 through to students who left us back in 2015 who proudly came back to represent the school that they still reminisce so vividly about. Bishop Luffa fielded first with Andrew Crookham and Henry Grant opening the bowling on a flat wicket, followed by Jonathon Maynard with well controlled off spin, partnered with Sam Price with a barrage of back of length bowling into a dry and bouncy pitch. Henry Grant took an early wicket for Luffa in his first over getting the team off to a positive start for what was a scorching day in the field. Arran Goode (9Story) elegantly kept behind the stumps, taking the ball brilliantly off some wayward bowling as the heat became too much at times for the bowlers.
Teddy Phillippo was fielding with great spirit at point, saving many runs for the team and this energy transcended throughout the team all day. After drinks it was the turn of the current Bishop Luffa students to bowl with Jonah Hutchings (10Otter) bowling 17 dot balls in his 4 over spell whilst at the other end Ollie Willson (9Sherborne) began to find outswing and seam movement that no one else could find. Ollie was bounding in full of energy from the park end of Priory Park finishing with figures of 4 overs, 1 maiden, 1 wicket for 10 runs in his spell which he was rightly awarded the MCC spirit of cricket award for outstanding performance at the end of the match.
After lunch that was provided by Turners Pie shop and drinks by Fenwick’s, Bishop Luffa went into bat chasing down 232 runs. Great resilience was shown by the young and promising batting line up from Luffa with notable performances from Joe Fuller hitting 26 from 26 balls and Arran Goode nonchalantly guiding the ball through the backward point region.
In the end Bishop Luffa came up short and were all out for 127 runs but this match is not about the result, the aim of this match was to give Bishop Luffa students the opportunity to experience cricket in all its fullness. Including the traditions of the game, meeting cricketers that have played at the elite level with the aim of inspiring the next generation of cricketers to continue taking part in cricket.
Thank you to the MCC for playing in the match, umpires, Turner’s Pies, Fenwick’s and MCC captain Jeremey Goode for all his help arranging this fixture and for Bishop Luffa to go to Lords in 2023 . We look forward to next years match again.
Mr Godfray, Team Leader of PE