Junior Cricket Festival

After weeks of blue sky and warm temperatures the sight of fresh snow falling on the eve of the tournament was an unusual and perhaps disconcerting welcome for the visiting players and certainly a worrying sight for the Lyceum staff who were attempting to prepare the playing fields for a jam packed weekend schedule. In the end the weather was kind to us and the snow eased off to allow an early start on Saturday morning. Preparations began at 07.00 and with the boundaries marked out and pitches rolled the preparations were completed for what would become a fantastic celebration of junior cricket. Thirteen teams participated in this year's event over three age groups: Under 11s, 13s & 15s. It was fantastic that for the first time ever the Lyceum team was able to field a full age appropriate team. We also had a weekend of firsts, with the first Russian, Bulgarian and Nepalese participants in the Lyceum team!

For the Saturday morning games there was still a lot of moisture around and this created testing conditions for all the players. Bowlers having to handle a wet and slippery ball and batsmen struggling with the extra pace due to the ball skidding off the wet surface. These subtle variations are just part of what makes cricket such an intriguing game. For the young Lyceum team we started off against the eventual winners of the competition - College du Leman CC - and they provided a stiff challenge for our cricketers. They bowled with pace and accuracy and their experience showed as they came out as comfortable winners. The experience our players gained from this game would however prove to be vital in our later games.

In the afternoon matches, the Lyceum came up against Geneva CC. Choosing to bowl first after winning another toss, the Lyceum players bowled with much more discipline and together with some good fielding we were able to restrict the Geneva team to 78 from their 18 overs. We batted purposefully, and with some aggressive running between the wickets and time spent at the crease we steadily accumulated runs and with a big finish took 14 runs from the 14th over to secure victory with plenty of balls to spare. The communication between the batsmen and shot selection was great which was really pleasing to see as it was something we had spoken about at length after the first game. While our batsmen worked together very well in partnership and all made valuable contributions, mention must be made of David who opened the batting and carried his bat to a fantastic 20 not out in only his second weekend of cricket.

After a well earned rest the players and their families returned early on Sunday in absolutely impeccable conditions. Discussion often turned to the spectacular surroundings and everyone was delighted to simply be able to spend the weekend playing cricket in such a unique and beautiful environment.

With the attention turning back to the cricket, the Lyceum team took on the experienced Zurich Crickets CC in the first game of the morning. Bowling first proved a challenge and again troubles with a slippery ball and attacking pressure from the batsmen led to too many 'wides' being conceded and Zurich built an imposing total. In reply, the Lyceum team seemed somewhat overwhelmed by the speed and aggression of the Zurich bowlers and struggled to really assert themselves, eventually being bowled out well short of the target. However it must be said, that spending time facing such bowling in match conditions is a fantastic opportunity and one that was incredibly beneficial to our team.

The Lyceum team at the presentation ceremony

As the younger grades were finishing up and some of teams were preparing for the long journey home the final games in the under 15 competition were being contested. The Lyceum came up against a Munich side sitting just ahead of them on the table, a win for either team would secure third place in the competition so there was a lot to play for. The Lyceum team chose to attack with the ball first and the Munich batsmen pushed their way a very competitive total of 93. Requiring a touch over 5 runs per over in the final match provided the perfect challenge for our young team, a good total but not one that was out of reach. Again we started solidly with our new opening partnership of David and Alessandro. The defence was staunch when it needed to be and bad balls were taken for runs. The bowling was tight and very few 'wides' were given away, making the Lyceum team work hard for every run. Throughout the innings a run rate of approximately 5 runs an over was maintained setting up what was sure to be a thrilling finale. David once again batted well and thanks to a couple of boundaries raced to 26 not out and therefore a compulsory retirement (in this tournament batsmen must retire once they score 25). With the pressure mounting a run every ball was required and some risky running ensued with the Lyceum team finishing an agonising 4 runs short, a thrilling end to the weekend. It would have been great to win the last game and claim 3rd place, but it was clear that the players had enjoyed the weekend and had obviously learnt a massive amount from the competitive and closely fought matches.

Overall the weekend was a huge success and despite the worry inducing weather on Friday night, Zuoz once again turned on spectacular conditions and the weekend was enjoyed by the thirteen teams and over one hundred young players, their supporters and their families. The feedback from the teams was overwhelmingly positive and this really is a unique and fantastic event in European Junior Cricket! 

The winning U15 Team - College du Leman CC