Our U14/U15 Cricket Development Squad enjoyed the annual tour to the United Arab Emirates, experiencing a taste of culture and heritage in the desert country.
The team of 15 Third and Fourth Year pupils took part in the ARCH Cricket Tournament (ARabian CHallenge), which began in 2006 to help schools develop their U15 players and is now an important part of Hampton cricket’s pre-season training. The young cricketers took part in group matches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in tough, humid conditions, beating The Skinners School by 22 runs with narrow losses to Gillespie Academy and Epsom College. The team progressed to the third and fourth place play-off thanks to a superior run rate compared to the other teams in their group. It was a thrilling final match against Bradfield College, with Hampton emerging victors by four wickets and finishing a creditible third place in the tournament.
As well as all the competitive cricket on offer, the boys enjoyed a taste of Arabian culture as they experienced the thrill of dune surfing on a desert safari in Dubai, as well as visiting the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, one of the largest in the World.
Mr Rohit Trivedi, one of the Hampton coaches who accompanied the boys, was delighted with their approach to the tour:
The U15 development squad enjoyed an excellent tour, learning more about playing longer games (40 overs) in very tough conditions. The tournament was extremely competitive and the team finished as the best school in the competition. We hope that the boys can take this pre-season form and success into the Summer Term games and cup competitions they will be involved in.
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