Cricket

Cricket

St Lawrence College currently fields eight boys’ teams and seven girls’ teams. All pupils are given the opportunity to play cricket and to represent the school.

In the junior age groups, pupils are coached in the basic skills of batting, bowling and fielding. There is an emphasis on executing simple skills well and on learning how to read and understand the game. Agility, balance, co-ordination and speed are seen as fundamental attributes to be developed.

As pupils move up the school they develop their knowledge and understanding of the game, coaching sessions become more demanding, and they have a wider experience of playing matches. Pupils have the opportunity to undertake indoor training in the Sports Hall nets and use of the bowling machines all year round. Within the very established cricket set-up, we have a Cricket Academy, girls’ cricket training, twilight nets, a comprehensive winter training programme, a Junior Development Programme, a Sports Excellence Programme as well as the opportunity for one on ones with our coaches.

We have block fixtures against the likes of Tonbridge School, Sutton Valence School, King’s School Canterbury and Sevenoaks School. The senior team takes part in the National Schools Twenty 20 Competition as well as prestigious annual MCC match and the Band of Brothers. We often take part in pre-seasons where we play a variety of formats from 50 over matches to coloured kit T20’s.

Our girls’ cricket teams are just as strong as our boys’, with our U15 girls’ team reaching the Quarter Final of the National T20 Cup in 2018 and 2021, highlighting the level at which we play. Just recently our U15 girls finished 4th in the country in 2023 and we continue to make huge strides in girls cricket.

Always in the last week of term we have our prestigious and annual Cricket Week which is often the highlight of the boys and girls seasons. The 1st XI play three declaration matches, a coloured kit one day match and a coloured kit T20 to finish off the year. The girls 1st XI play three coloured kit T20’s and the week is a celebration of the efforts of our cricketers throughout the season and previous seasons. On the penultimate day we present awards and gifts in recognition of the pupil’s achievements during their time at the school.

We often have many county youth cricketers across the school and we have had three pupils in the last four years who have been accepted into the Kent CCC Academy. Our Head of Cricket Mr Geraint Jones (2005 England Ashes Winner) continues to build upon an already outstanding cricket programme in which we have been recognised as being in the Top 100 cricket schools in the country for four consecutive years.

SLC Cricket Academy

Director of Sport Mr Seth Simmons founded the St Lawrence College Cricket Academy in 2012 and it has developed a constant stream of young talent ever since. Talented cricketers from both the Junior and Senior School are selected to train on all aspects of the game. The academy is designed to push and create focus within the cricketing disciplines, and during the sessions each player continues to develop both physically and mentally.

State-of-the-art coaching aids, bowling machines and video analysis enable pupils to focus on individual and specific aspects of their game. Using online player feedback, the athletes are able to reflect upon their performances while working towards a series of set goals. The school’s fully-

equipped fitness room allows the players to improve their strength and conditioning which makes a huge difference throughout the cricket season.

Seven pupils represented Kent CCC and ten pupils represented Eastern Vikings in the 2023 cricket season.

With more current and ex professional cricketers being linked to our well established cricket programme, cricket is set to continue to go from success to success.

Top 100 Schools 2022

 

Sports Fixtures & Results 

Geraint Jones

Geraint Jones
Position:
Head of Cricket

Geraint joined St Lawrence College in September 2017 and is a teacher of Business Studies, Finance and Games. Post retirement from cricket he studied a BSc in Business and Sports Management from the University of Hertfordshire. He is Housemaster of Deacon, a day boys’ house for students in Year 9 to Year 13.

Having been a professional cricketer with Kent and Gloucestershire for a combined 16 years, Geraint made 85 appearances for England and 2 for his country of birth – Papua New Guinea. He brings a wealth of experience to our Cricket Programme drawing from over 500 combined first-class, list A and T20 matches. A highlight of his career was the involvement in the 2005 Ashes series and most noticeably for taking the winning catch in the second Test match of that series. He is an ECB level 3 coach and is currently the lead wicketkeeping coach for the Kent Girls Pathway. Throughout the year he assists with the coaching of the various Kent girls age group teams and EPP player program.

With a passion for coaching, he provides wonderful opportunities to our aspiring cricketers to learn from a vastly experienced cricketer that has reached the pinnacle of the sport.

“It is clear from the talent seen today that the coaches at the St Lawrence College Cricket Academy are doing a tremendous job. Having played professional sport I know the physical and mental demands needed as a performer, however more importantly there has to be the right coaches in place who maintain high expectations but also support each individual cricketer in their development.”

Alamgir Sheriyar (Kent CCC & England A)