Monmouth School for Boys’ cricket team have recently been on a tour of Sri Lanka.
The trip was the school’s first to the country since 1985, when a squad including former Glamorgan and England opener Steve James toured the island. The squad was drawn from last year’s U13 and U14 squads and achieved three wins in six matches.
The tour began in the city of Kandy where Monmouth lost by 92 runs to St Anne’s College, Kurunegala. The second match in the city saw the Welsh school narrowly lose to St Anthony’s College. Despite Oskar Rice claiming 3-15, Josh Middlecote hitting 126 and Michael Burger making 63 runs, the team lost by five runs.
Two T20 victories against Colombo International School at the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium put the disappointment of the previous matches behind them. An unbeaten 114 from Michael Burger steered Monmouth to 189-2 before Sam Swingwood took 3-6 to clinch a 118-run win. The latter combined with Charlie Weldon to score 42 and 35 runs respectively and earn an eight-wicket success in the second match. The day ended with a masterclass by former Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Romesh Kaluwitharana.
A 31-run loss on the south coast of the island against St Thomas’ College, Matara was followed by a two-wicket victory over Rahula College in the final game of the tour, with Michael Burger, Harry Friend and Josh Middlecote taking Monmouth beyond the 174-run target.