Francis Holland Cricket Club were invited to take part in an inter-school tournament held at the prestigious Lord’s Cricket Ground.  The tournament was made up of many of the top London girls’ schools and we were keen to make our mark. 

When we got to Lord’s, we were greeted with a vibrant crowd of different coloured school uniforms! Our team excitedly scattered to see if they could find people they might know from their old schools or other sporting fixtures, before being given a quick briefing from one of the instructors, taking us through the rules and regulations.

It was soon time for our first game and we found out we were playing Francis Holland, Sloane Square; our top (but friendly) rivals! We opted to field first. As it was our first game, we were all a bit nervous, and it showed a little.  Nevertheless it ended up as a draw and we were happy with that – not too bad for our first game. 

After celebrating, we were lucky enough to be taken on a tour around the grounds. What a treat! We got to go into the museum – a treasure trove of cricket history and we saw lots of shiny big and little trophies. We also were taken down to the pitch, something I’ve only ever seen on TV, and we got really close. Sadly we weren’t allowed to touch it! 

 It was time for our next game and this time we were playing Godolphin and Latymer.  We chose to bat first, which proved to be a good tactical move, and we won by a landslide! After our victory, we had a long wait but it was fun because we got to watch the other games and teams at play.  When it was finally time for our next game, we found out we were playing South Hampstead. We batted first again but sadly they proved too strong, and we lost this game. 

It was a super day and we absolutely loved the tournament. It  was so much fun and we definitely came away with some great new skills. After saying goodbye to friends from our old schools and the other teams, we headed back to school, vowing next time to win ALL our games! 

Mollie W, Thirds