Thursday 2nd April

U15 V Vieux Fort CC (10am start)


B team V Babonneau Secondary Modern school (10am start)

The last match of the tour for the B Team was played at a stunning ground in the community of Batala. The following report was written by Oliver Richer.

Perse won the toss and decided to bat on a slow wicket. The team was flat and needed a big score to defend. The start was not what we hoped for, as Paul Leary and Asel Abeygunasekara went cheaply. Oliver richer and Alex Bush steadied the innings with a quick partnership of 40. After the partnership ended the team collapsed to 123 all out.

Hugo Batley and Micheal McCann opened the bowling, Batley bowled beautifully for his 1 for 19, however two dropped catches in the first over started a trend that came back to haunt us throughout. Will Thwaites and Alex Bush bowled very well mid innings but it wasn't enough as Babonneau passed our score in the 24th over.

Perse 123 all out (After 25 overs of allocated 30)
Babonneau 126 for 5

In the evening at 8.30pm the Perse Cricket Quiz took place for pupils and supporting parents (The Perse Barmy Army). After a long two hours Bill Heathcote's team (the Jurassic) won.

Wednesday 1st April; April Fool's Day!

Match day for B team.

B team V ICS at Gros Islet (10am)

In the evening we had a barbeque dinner with limbo dancing at Bay Gardens Inn.

Tuesday 31st March - Adventure Day!

Tuesday is Island tour and Cruise day - as in the itinerary we will visiting the Pitons before travelling to the sulphur springs and extinct volcano.










Report of the day (James Freeman) :

Today we went on an excursion to the south of the island on a boat. After a leisurely start, we arrived at the harbour and cruised down the island to a town called Soufriere. The bay at Soufriere was overlooked by Gros and Petit Piton. These are two volcanic plugs that rise to around 750m and form a UNESCO World Heritage site.

After landing in Soufriere, we went to Diamond Falls which were very cold but quite a lot of fun (see picture). We then took a short bus journey to the drive in volcano (the only one in the world!) to see the sulpher springs. The landscape was inspiring even when the smell was not!

After that, we got back on the boat in order to go home. We stopped for a few hours to swim and snorkel at the beach. There were people in canoes selling huge shells which some of us bought.

On the final leg of the journey the wind picked up, creating massive waves which our boat was going straight in to. Everyone loved it but they also got very wet.

Monday 30th March

Both teams played in different venues.

B Team V Dennery

B Team travelled to Dennery to play their opening match. Having seen the U15's beat the Dennery team yesterday, they felt they had a chance against a reasonably strong oppostion. The follow match report was written by David Hawes and Tom Hartree.

Despite weather conditions interrupting our warm up the match remained on and we won the toss and elected to field first. We started off really well controlling the batsmen's run rate and Will Phelps took 3 wickets in his first spell of 4 overs. Tom Myers, having come on a first change, though slightly expensive on runs, took 2 well needed wickets. During the innings spinners struggled due to the Dennery players being very adept against spin. However, our medium pacers controlled the run rate well, bolwing consistently in the right laces. special mention should go to Will Thwaites who took two wickets for 3 runs of 3 overs. Hugo Batley bowled amazingly taking 2 for 0 off 3 overs. At the end of their innings the scored 114 all out.

Our batting started well with Will Phelps and Asel Abeygunasekara scoring well. however, the middle order had a minor collapse, but Ben Lomas and Will Thwaites guided us home with quick running between the wickets and Will Thwaites scored a 4 to win the match. for his efforts with bat and ball Will phelps was awarded the man of the Match award.

Dennery 114 all out (30 over match)
Perse B 117 for 8 off 29.3 overs.


U15 V ICS

This Match was played at the Mindloo Phillip Park which was the former national cricket stadium. This was the second match for the U15s and the team remained unchanged after their success yesterday.

The match report was written by Tom Sherwin:
After a slight delay becasue of rain the Perse won the toss and decided to bat. This was an ambitious decision as the wicket was very soft and would play difficultly. This proved to be the case as openers Bill Heathcote and Will wright found the pitch very challenging. Coupled with some fairly good bowling and the pitch The Perse did well not to lose too many early wickets. Heathcote was the first to fall, playing without confidence to a ball that rose and took the splice of the bat and looping to the bowler. Tom Sherwin then hit 3 well executed boundaries and raced to 18 from 13 deliveries before getting out. Having recieved some luck early on in the innings in the form of a dropped catch, Will Wright batted superbly. With a mixture of manipulating the bowlers for singles and some excellent timing for boundaries he made a very good 66. This was made easier for Will by Perse's ability to support him during the middle overs. Henry Baker made another assured innings and looked to be heading for another big score. However, he was run out in a rather infortunate manner. Max Obank and Josh Gray made 30 between them and there was some good hitting from Jono Butler and Tim Wade. All these contributions got Perse to an impressive score of 186.

With ICS's coach and captain striding out to the middle to chase Perse's score, The Perse knew they would have to bowl well. By this point the pitch had dried out and the batting seemed to be the best discipline to be carrying out. Amit Gupta and Jono butler bowled brilliantly; both succeding in claiming wichets at crucial times and limiting the scoring. After their opening spells Perse might have been forgiven for thinking that they had won the game... they hadn't. The crowd was then treated to some stunning batting from ICS number 5 as he dispatched balls that were on a good length. At drinks the mood had changed and Perse were worried. However, Heathcote bowled with hostility and hit the number 5 on the hand causing him to retire hurt. He did come back, but Tim Wade removed the flustered batsman and Perse had won the game. Amit Gupta took 3 wickets and Josh Gray took 2 as Perse bowled ICS all out for 104. It had been a much harder game than their first and Perse had raised their game considerably which was good to see. After the game there was a nice touch as Perse stayed out on the field and bowled at some of the ICS team's younger players. Michael McCann, who ended the game with his 2nd wicket of the tour cleared them all up, but it was nice to see strength in depth from such a promising club.

Match Report from Roland Cox:

The Perse School Under-14 cricketers out of the United Kingdom began their three-match tour here with an exciting victory in a nail-biting 30-overs-a-side match against Dennery at the Dennery Cricket Ground yesterday.

When Perse School were eight wickets down and 18 short of their target, the Dennery Under-14 boys began celebrating prematurely thinking they had the match in the bag. However, Benjamin Lomas with 21 not out and William Thwaites 8 not out whittled the deficit down before Thwaites shattered the local side dreams by striking Flavius for four with just one delivery left.

Earlier in the innings William Phelps (19) and Asel Abeygunasekara (20) made valuable contributions.
For Dennery, Venus Joseph captured 3 for 19, while Asher Flavius and C. Emile picked up two wickets each.

When Dennery batted first, Dale John (27) and Asher Flavius (20) were the best performers with the bat, as the wickets were shared by William Phelps 3 for 17, Hugo Batley 2 for 0, William Thwaites 2 for 7, Thomas Myers 2 for 17 and Benjamin Lomas 1 for 19.

Final Scores:

Dennery Under-14s 114 all out in 28.1 overs
Perse School Under-14s 117 for 8 in 29.5 overs.

Meanwhile at the Mindoo Phillip Park, the Perse School Under-15s registered their second win in as many matches when they defeated the Institute of Cricket Studies by 82 runs.

Batting first, the visitors totaled 186 for 9 from their allotted 35 overs. William Wright top scored with 66, while Timothy Wade (24 not out), Jonathan Butler (23), Thomas Sherwin (18), Joshua Gray (18) and Henry Baker (14) were the main contributors.

When the Institute of Cricket Studies replied they were dismissed for 104 in 26.4 overs. Gabriel (32), Breen Walker (26) and Nahim Augustin (18) were by far the best batsmen.

For Perse School, Amit Gupta picked up 3 for 23, Timothy Wade 2 for 23, Joshua Gray 2 for 25, while Jonathan Butler and Alexander Bush had one wicket each.

Sunday 29th March: U15 V Dennery

The whole touring squad left early Sunday morning to Dennery where the U15 team played their opening match of the tour. Whilst the U14 squad or 'B Team' had a two hour training session and then watched the remainder of the match. Below is a report written by Rolland Cox, the official international scorer at the St Lucian Stadium (Beausejour). The result of this match was announced on the St Lucian radio station...everybody now knows who we are!!

PERSE SCHOOL OPENS TOUR WITH A CONVINCING VICTORY OVER DENNERY.

The visiting Perse School out of the United Kingdom began their 10-day tour of Saint Lucia with a convincing victory as their Under-15 cricket team defeated their Dennery counterparts by 79 runs at the Dennery Cricket Ground yesterday.

After a lively start by Wright who made 34 in an opening stand of 47 within seven overs, Perse School middle order plummeted to 81 for 6 in the 20th over as Venus Joseph’s demolition act brought him 4 for 27 from his 7 overs.

A seventh-wicket stand of 32 between Baker and Wade who made 16, revived the innings before Butler enlivened the latter stages of the innings with 37 not out from 24 balls as he added 71 in more than a run-a-ball for the 8th wicket with Baker who held the innings together with a patient but valuable knock of 51 from 93 balls.

The Dennery lads began their reply reasonably well before Richer, with 3 for 23, and Gray, with 3 for 8, precipitated a collapse that saw the home team lose their last eight wickets for 39 runs.

Florent, who opened the innings, top scored with 28, while captain Venus Joseph (16) and Aloysious Frederick (15) were the only other batsmen to reach double figures.

Final Scores: Perse School Under-15s 184 for 8 in 35 overs
Dennery Under-15s 105 all out in 29 overs.

Saturday 28th March - Training Day

We got up at about 7.30am and had an amazing breakfast at the hotel. There is fresh fruit, full english buffet, pastries, cereals - basically anything you could think of. We feasted in preparation for a long day.

We left the hotel at about 9.30am to travel to the cricket ground at Monchy. It was our first sight of a local cricket pitch and it was very different to pitches we see back home. The outfield was very dry and a bit bumpy and we had to choose our spots around the stones and boulders.. and the goat tethered on the outfield. The wicket is raised in the middle and it will be interesting to see it develop for when we play there on Wednesday.

Fielding drills were excellent and the boys worked very hard with numerous water breaks. We finished at about 12pm to return to the hotel and find some lunch.

The afternoon was spent in the pool and in the sea with games of frisbee, rugby and consolidating our catching practice from earlier. It is quite hot, but a little overcast and the humidity is high. The surrounding are idyllic and we are all very happy!

We Have Arrived!

We arrived in St Lucia at about 2.30pm yesterday and reached the hotel by about 5.30pm. The flight went smoothly and safely, delivering all students...and staff! The weather is a settling 29 C with a cooling sea breeze. The teams will be announced after training today.

The boys are really happy with their rooms, most of them are sharing in three's with boys from their own year group.The plan today is to go to Monchy Town cricket ground to prepare for our first fixture. In true WI style the Intinerary has changed in regards to the matches for the U14 and U15. Keep watching the 'Blog' for the updates.

Matches

Sunday 29th
10am U15 V Dennery (Dennery is the town there is only one cricket ground)

U14 will train in the morning and then come over to support the closing part of the U15 match. Thier match has been moved to another day. Confirmation to follow.

Monday 30th
10am U15 V ICS @ Mindoo Phillip Park (The old international stadium)
10am U14 V Dennery (same as above)

Pre-Tour Training

The boys have been working hard in the cricket nets leading up to our departure. Friday 13th will be a lucky day, as the tour party recieve their tour bags and kit.

News update
We have been upgraded to a 4 star hotel still situated in Rodney Bay but on the beach, called The St Lucian Hotel. Bay Gardens Hotel have also offered us a free meal with limbo dancing as an apology for having to move us.