Three Oundle School cricketers, Tommy Simeons (14), Will de Capell Brooke (13) and Will Park (12) together with Laxton Junior School pupil, Thomas Kemp (11) have all been selected to captain their respective Northants County Cricket teams this season.
Thomas Kemp (U11 Captain), who, at just four years of age, started playing with the ‘Jelly Tots’ squad run by School cricket professional Merwe Genis, commented, “I hope one day to play professionally and in the meantime to continue to enjoy playing. My cricketing hero is Joe Root, because of the way he conducts himself; he’s not big and strong but he has incredible timing and when I was the newest and youngest player for Oundle Town U11’s he was the youngest and newest player for England.”
Thomas enjoys all sports and his highlight so far in his cricketing career is scoring fifty runs at Great Oakley and, of course, becoming cricket captain of his county age group.
Will Park (U12 Captain), who in addition to cricket enjoys hockey, rugby, football and chess, also began his career with the ‘Jelly Tots’ and scored 117 (not out) in his very first county cricket match. Will’s hero is Ashes-winning former England Captain, Alistair Cook, who made an appearance at a cricketing event at Oundle in 2015. Will hopes to follow in Alistair Cook’s footsteps playing cricket at an international level.
Will de Capell Brooke (U13 Captain) started playing cricket at the age of six and is aiming high, hoping to become a professional cricket player for Northants and then England. His cricketing hero is the South African, Quinton de Kock. Will is also a keen hockey, tennis and rugby player and recalls his finest cricketing moment as getting 116 (not out) in a cricket match against Kimbolton – a record he hopes to beat this season.
Tommy Simeons (U15 Captain), who started playing when he was seven also hopes to play professionally for Northamptonshire. Tommy also plays hockey at county level and is a School 1st team rugby player. His cricketing hero is Northants and England cricketer, Graeme Swann and his greatest achievement so far was scoring his first century whilst at his Prep School, Spratton Hall.
Master in Charge of Cricket at Oundle School, John Crawley (Cambridge University, Lancashire, Hampshire and fifty caps for England) commented, “It is great to see these boys being given the honour of captaining their county teams; it is a just reward for all their hard work. It also highlights the role of Oundle Town CC in their development as well as the School, with the two bodies working beautifully in partnership together. I can’t wait to see how all four progress in their cricketing careers at Oundle School and beyond – we will be doing our level best to help them achieve their dreams in their time here.
The Cricket Club at Oundle School believes that cricket should be a sport for all and that every boy or girl who wants to play should have the opportunity to enjoy this great game as part of a team in a competitive environment which reflects their ability. The programme at Oundle is differentiated to cater for all abilities, from the social cricketer to those who harbour a desire to play the game professionally.”
Cricket at Oundle
In 2015, the first phase of the Oundle School’s Sport MasterPlan saw the completion of the new J M Mills Cricket Pavilion, a state-of-the-art building for players and spectators to enjoy. Other facilities include: a 1st XI pitch with an immaculate new outfield; 8 superbly maintained grass pitches; a brand new, fully enclosed facility comprising ten all-weather Astroturf nets laid to provide different paces and levels of bounce and spin, three of which are purpose built for bowling machines and technical coaching; and ten newly-laid grass nets (ready for 2017). There are also ten further artificial nets.
The Club fields sixteen teams from U12 to 1st XI during the season with block fixtures against all the major cricket schools in our region, in addition to fixtures against schools further afield such as Eton and Shrewsbury. The Club also hosts a prestigious annual fixture against the MCC and hosts at least one international touring team per year. Tours with various age groups have visited the West Indies, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Australia. The 1st XI take part in the prestigious Silk Trophy at the end of the year, whilst the U15s enjoy competition in a festival involving St Peter’s, York, Trent College and Cheltenham College.
The Club has close links with Oundle Town CC and is proud of its link with the local community, with whom it shares many facilities. Oundle is an MCC Foundation coaching hub and has pioneered the success of this programme; it is also a Northamptonshire 2nd XI county ground.