2013 – 2014
MEN’S CRICKET
Officers: Captain Luca Bertoli-Mitchell; Secretary James Colenutt
The 1st XI’s first round Cuppers exit and struggle in the first division of the league may appear to indicate a poor season. However, this does not provide a true picture. In the first place, almost half of its matches were cancelled due to rain, among these being the all-day games against the Lemmings and Hetairoi, which were a particular misfortune to have to miss. Secondly, despite various impressive bowling and fielding performances, the College lacked the consistency with the bat to win matches regularly. Players often missed opportunities to punish weak bowling sides by throwing their wickets away early on in an innings. In this sense, frustratingly, the batsmen’s Achilles’ heel was more their eagerness to score quickly than any lack of technique or skill. That said, David Crummey, Jack Straker and Bertram O’Brien scored runs regularly, and their contributions were complemented by those from Andrew Murphy and Luca Bertoli-Mitchell.
The team had an impressive set of bowlers. The pace and aggression of James Colenutt invariably anchored the opening bowling partnership, which tended to work alongside either the impressive variation of Muhammad Ali’s off-spin, or O’Brien’s teasing out-swing. The quality of the College’s bowling continued after the opening spells were finished, with first and second change bowlers sticking to tight lines and lengths, and often picking up important wickets. Among these bowlers Thomas Perkins, Andrew Silley and Bertoli-Mitchell were noteworthy performers, with all of them breaking a long partnership at a certain point over the course of the season. When not representing the University, Fraser Allardice and Hamish Tester were also very valuable bowlers and brought useful experience to the side, both in the pavilion and in the field. The depth of the Queen’s bowling attack differentiated the side from almost all teams in the inter-college league, but unfortunately the lack of batsmen prevented Queen’s capitalising on this advantage.
The other positive feature of this season is that the 1st XI managed to field a team for every match this year, thanks largely to Colenutt’s dedicated support as vice-captain, which will hopefully set a precedent for future sides and ensure that opposition teams are not let down by the College. On this subject, the Queen’s match against the Crocodiles, the seventies generation of Old Members, was a great success, with the Summer Eights atmosphere adding to the sunny weather and elegant cricket played by both sides. The Old Members batted first, posting a total that the College failed to reach in the amount of time available, the match ending in a draw. Successfully fielding teams will also serve to safeguard the College against conceding unnecessary points in the league. This season, because of the extra points gained by fielding a side for every match, it looks likely that Queen’s will retain its place in the first division of 1st XI college cricket. With the arrival of some capable freshers and a continued dedication to fielding teams, Queen’s 1st XI should look to remain in the top tier of college cricket next year.
The 2nd XI had an enjoyable season, although the amount of cricket it played was seriously hindered by both the weather and opposition teams failing to field sides. The two matches consisted of an impressive win against Balliol, with wickets for Michael Pandya and runs for O’Brien, and a defeat against a strong Wycliffe Hall side, with runs for Charles Hicks and wickets shared amongst the bowlers. There was a lot of committed involvement from members of the College which is not reflected in the number of matches played, but rather by the number of matches that people were willing to play, highlighting that the 2nd XI continues to succeed in providing an emphasis on involvement in, and enjoyment of, cricket.
WOMEN’S CRICKET
Officer: Captain Tasha Levine
The 2014 season was highly successful for women’s cricket at Queen’s, with the team winning Cuppers in style. The College started the tournament with a convincing win over Keble, posting 75/4, compared to the opposition’s 53/2. In the semi-final, Queen’s walked over Pembroke, who were unable to field a team. The final was a tightly-fought contest against Balliol that saw Queen’s win by just seven runs (103/4 vs. 96/3) in a contest in which Philippa McCue was the highest scorer and also took two wickets. The game went to the last over, at the start of which the well-trained Balliol team needed fourteen runs to win. They were stopped by the strength of Queen’s teamwork in the field and a body-block from Victoria James that prevented a boundary.