Taylorian 2020

101 U13B The U13Bs had a mixed season, with some convincing performances with bat and ball on the one hand but some tough opposition on the other. The boys progressed well with the bat, looking more comfortable at the crease as the season drew on. Rishi Jain, Harry Williamson, and Kyle Wagjiani have all displayed excellent skill and potential as top-order batsmen. Another real highlight in the batting was Mueez Lodhi’s gritty 42 against Bedford. The team has benefited from a promising bowling unit in Kian Patel, Roshen Gnanakuru, Rhydan Ahamed, and Rohan Shah. Anthony Poole also deserves a special mention for some breath-taking catches in the field. Mr R I M Alexander Squad: R. Ahamed, M. Ault, M. Garvey, R. Gnanakuru, M. A. Jaffer Kassamali, R. Jain, J. Kay, A. Mistry, K. Patel, S. Patel, D. Rana, H. Sanderson, R. Shah, K. Wagjiani, H. Williamson. U13C The U13Cs’ second half of the season saw some impressive individual performances, but frustratingly these did not coincide into a victorious team performance. Weir and Hazan were the pick of the bowlers, and an outstanding 50no with eight boundaries from opener Opoku against Bedford was a true highlight. Mr P D Harrison Squad: M. Akinola, E. Arslan, M. Ault, A. Bettridge, J. Hazan, G. Jeevananthan, H. S. Kendall, A. Mistry, D. Opoku, K. Wagjiani, L. Weir, A. Gnanamurali, E. Idayefugbara. U12A The U12A team had a very promising start to their cricketing careers at MTS. There were standout performances such as an opening match 56* and a hat-trick from captain Aaditya Bhandarkar, and two gritty 30-odds from all-rounder Tommy Embleton late on. However, the ‘spin kings’ stole the show; Krishan Lakhani and Jacob Rose took wickets for fun this summer. Throughout the term, the boys trained with great enthusiasm and intensity. This was possibly most personified by James Beeby’s personal attempts at setting up drills and warm-ups, and Ubayd Baig’s gritty determination to open the batting and try his hand at keeping wicket. The boys always played their games in the right spirit and won games against strong opposition. The standards for their approach to cricket have been set, and I am confident that many of these boys will go far! They have been a delight to coach this summer. Mr S G I Starost Squad: K. Attar-Zadeh, A. Bhandarkar, U. Baig, J. Beeby, T. Embleton, K. James, K. Lakhani, M. Pattni, N. Patel, A. Poole, J. Rose, K. Shah, O. Shaikh, S. Siyyid. U12B The U12B team improved greatly in all aspects of their cricket this year. Bowlers have become more consistent, now regularly bowling line and length and reducing the number of extras given away. Batsmen have developed the range of shots they can play, as well as improving the timing with which they can play these shots, and all the boys have improved in their fielding technique. Fielding is most probably the area which has seen the most dramatic improvement from the start of the year, with very few catching opportunities being put down and even two run outs being created in the last game, with two incredibly impressive direct hits. Overall, the results have not gone the boys’ way, but in amongst the defeats there have still been a number of brilliant individual and team performances which will help to propel the boys on in future years. Mr B J Simpson Squad: K. Attar-Zadeh, M. Caronti, J. Cutt, K. James, G. Killigrew, J. Ives, L. McCormick, N. Patel, N. Rao, S. Sethi, O. Shaikh, S. Siyyid, N. Williams, K. Weiler, C. Zakharia, S. Zaveri. U12C The U12Cs showed their progress and gained momentum over the latter half of the season, leading to two solid wins against the Beacon School and Magdalen College School. They have continued to show a strong team spirit and haven’t once failed to represent Merchant Taylors’ and themselves admirably. Star performances have come fromKush Vora, an intimidating force as a batsman and a bowler, Rufus Naismith, who has made some great takes as wicket keeper, and Krish Thakrar, who has demonstrated consistently calm and mature leadership. All players have shown gusto in training sessions and enthusiasm on the pitch, which sets a positive trajectory into their U13 year ahead.  Miss N M Innes Squad: K. Elvey, R. Goh, A. Hari-Narain, R. Jassani, Y. Khan, D. Lurie, R. Naismith, C. Schraut, H. Shah, B. Singh Gola, V. Thakkar, K. Thakrar, O. Thomas, M. Thuraisingham, K. Vora. Cricketers training with the Sri Lanka team