Last weekend, our newly formed junior cricket team, composed of pupils from Years 7 and 8, travelled to La Rochelle to take part in the 9th edition of the Tournoi de Cricket Inter-Collèges. It is the first time that the BSP has entered a team, and we were up against teams from Collège de l’Atlantique d’Aytré and Ecole Internationale de Vendée.
Departure for the team was on Sunday afternoon, and the trip started with a small blip, when the train was held at Paris Montparnasse station for over two hours. Thank goodness for air-conditioning in modern trains!
However, the delay worked in our favour, as once we arrived in La Rochelle, the team dropped their bags at the hotel and we made our way around the Vieux Port to an Italian restaurant where the boys enjoyed some delicious pizza and pasta. Following the meal, it was off to the town beach to enjoy some beach cricket and swimming under a glorious sunset.
Tournament day on Monday started with the news that, due to the high temperatures, the matches were to be moved indoors to the sports hall of the University of La Rochelle. Playing full indoor rules, the BSP started their campaign with a hard-fought win over Collège de l’Atlantique d’Aytré, outscoring their opponents by 26 runs.
After a rest, it was the turn of Ecole Internationale de Vendée to face our quick bowlers, hard-hitting batters and slick fielders. In just 16 overs, the BSP team built a score of 123 runs. With points being lost for losing wickets, Ecole Internationale de Vendée found it hard to cope with the pace and accuracy of the BSP bowlers and, although they managed to score runs, they found themselves being bowled, caught and run out at regular intervals, meaning that by the end of the match, the BSP team were victorious by over 100 runs.
The two victories meant that the BSP team got to lift and take home the tournament trophy.
Congratulations to all the boys who were on the trip for their efforts throughout the whole weekend, and for bringing home the winning trophy in their first tournament.
