St Lawrence College currently fields nine 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 Sutton Valence, Eltham College, 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 two day 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.
Always in the last week of June we have our prestigious and annual Cricket Week which is often the highlight of the boys and girls seasons. The boys 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 county youth cricketers at every age and currently have one pupil who is in the Kent CCC Academy. We have now had three pupils in the last four years who have been accepted into the Kent CCC Academy. We are also lucky to have a great coaching team which includes ex Kent CCC, Gloucester CCC and England Cricketer, Geraint Jones MBE.
SLC Cricket Academy
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.
Five St Lawrence College boys and five girl’s represented Kent in the 2022 cricket season.
With more current and ex professional cricketers being linked to the academy in the future, the St Lawrence Cricket Academy is set to continue to go from success to success.
