Long gone have the days of old when the headmaster would teach young boys cricket in a field on a cold spring afternoon, bats made from left over timber and the only box in use was a community one handed down through several generations. Not anymore, dare I say that professionalism and commitment has taken hold of the game and attitudes seem to have changed altogether. School games usually consist of 40 over matches against opposing sides in Kent with the added bonus of the yearly Kent Cup to contend for, but still we would only play on average 8 games a year. Nearly all the games would be of an extremely competitive nature; mainly those matches against sides from the deepest and darkest Kent countryside that nobody knew existed (well, apart from Hearnie who probably tries to get fixtures with them so he doesn't have to travel far!) You would often come across sides that only practice cricket all year round so its no surprise that victories are very hard to come by! Training is pretty scarce I hate to say, much of the schools time being taken up by other commitments especially to rugby, but this doesn't dampen the spirits of the teams who work their hardest to gain all they can from these sessions. There is little specialist training in developing cricket in schools, with the occasional yearly visit of Dartford 3rds coach- I'm not counting the two lessons that were taken by Min Patel, Kent cricketer and former DGS pupil who cried off back to Kent soon after with a knee injury (sound familiar David?!) Training usually involves a weekly net session on a Monday evening. It is surprising however at the kind of talent that flourishes from school cricket. I now play alongside kids who may be a couple of years younger than me who play for first XI league cricket sides up to south England level (not to say I'm a little jealous!) I can't really comment on the changes of school cricket over the years but the fitness levels of many players I know is great, they place many hours of practice either in the gym to get fit or perfecting their skills. It seems easy for many of them to run 3s often throughout an innings (sod that for a laugh) I'm sure that some of our players at PPCC would testify that running 3s aged 13/14 was almost impossible due to the equipment they used, batting with their dads SS Jumbo and running in steel toe-capped boots that were sold off cheap by WW2 diving veterans!
My cricketing life, contrary to opinion, began when I was drafted in as a late substitute for one of the regular players in 1995 during my first year of secondary school; it was commonplace at Dartford Grammar School to pick the team from the already established rugby squad! That was when I fell in love with the sport, just before I joined the big guns at Prospect Park. I didn't rejoin the squad until late in the season of 1997 when yet again I was understudy to a regular first team player. I made an immediate impact by taking 2 wickets in my first bowling spell against Langley Park, much to the surprise of the captain who was hesitating at whether or not to even play me! Ever since that day I have been a regular in the side, which has allowed me to 'BLOSSOM' into the player that I am today (no comments please lads!) If I were to choose a highlight from my cricketing life at school it would be a difficult decision. For my personal success it would be when I took 5 for 5 against Bexley Grammar in the Kent Cup 3rd round in 2000, which included 4 in 4 balls of the same over (not to blow my own trumpet!) For overall team success it would have to be our victory against the MCC XI at Hesketh Park in 2000. Traditionally the MCC would bat first and declare on 250+ to make the game last. However the script had changed once the side consisting of Surrey, Kent and Middlesex league players was dismissed for 140, which we made for the loss of one wicket! I hope that this has given you an interesting insight into school cricket and that it would have jogged a few memories for some of our players back to their childhoods. Days of batting for the school side alongside WG Grace! For me it has been a long lasting experience, it has given me opportunities that I would not have had elsewhere. I am glad to have been part of it and I am sure that it is a time in my life that I will never forget.