Cricket: National and regional success on the field

QE’s U13 cricket XI qualified for this year’s national David English/Bunbury Cup as last season’s Middlesex champions – the first time a QE team has achieved this feat.

The team had a bye in round 1, then achieved an emphatic win in the next round over Hertfordshire champions, St Albans. In the third round, Surrey Champions Whitgift proved too strong, setting a formidable target which the QE boys could not match.

At a regional level, the U14 XI cruised to an easy victory in the Gubby Allen Challenge match – an annual game between the Middlesex Champions and the Inner London Schools champions.

Hopes are high for similar success in these national and regional contests next year, since both the U12 & U13 XI have reached the final of the Middlesex Cup for the second consecutive year, following convincing wins over Highgate in the semi-finals. The U14 XI face Enfield Grammar in their semi-final.

  • A group of Year 10 boys from QE umpired this year’s Eric Shearly Memorial Cup as part of their Sports’ Leadership course. Named after the former QE pupil and teacher, the Cup is Barnet’s biggest primary school cricket competition, attracting entries from 23 local schools. “The day was a great success and the leaders were a real credit to the School,” said PE teacher Nick Bird, who organised the event jointly with Old Elizabethan Paul Barnfather.