Merchant Taylors' Cricketers Review the Julian Hill Cricket Centre
We hear from MTS Cricketers from across the year groups as they give their thoughts on the new Julian Hill Cricket Centre after their first training session in the new facilities.
The reviews below were written by Aadit, Agastya, Tom, Milan & Rishi, all avid cricketers and members of their respective year groups A teams.
Aadit (Lower Sixth): “The Julian Hill Cricket Centre is an extraordinary facility. It is fascinating to bowl and bat on these realistic spin and pace tracks in the cricket centre. They are so realistic to playing outside! As a left arm leg spinner, I have attended the spin bowling group and senior cricket sessions to date. Due to the scheduling and facilities, I now have more opportunity to train and access to coaching feedback.”
Agastya (Divisions): “Referred to as my ‘second home’ by my teammates, the Julian Hill Cricket Centre is nothing short of brilliant. Boasting an impressive five nets, there is a variety of pitches for players to train on to get prepared for cricket season. Personally, it was great to see the whole squad being able to work on so many different skills with each other and with the help of the new and improved bowling machines the school’s acquired.”
Tom (Upper Sixth): “The new indoor cricket centre has revolutionised the wicket-keeping experience. The realistic bounce demands a lower stance, better preparing keepers for outdoor pitches. Diverse nets enable practicing against varied bowling styles and surfaces, enhancing adaptability. Additionally, the extended astro fielding area on Thursday lunchtimes for keeping practice provides an excellent surface for refining outdoor ground fielding skills.”
Milan (Fourths): “I have really enjoyed the Year 9 group session in the new Julian Hill Centre this week. It enables me to learn a lot, have fun, and enjoy playing cricket with my peers in the best facilities ever! The session time consists of is 1hr and 30mins which allows us to take part in many competitive, fun, and useful drills. It’s been a wonderful experience.”
Rishi (Thirds): “It was a long wait but it has been definitely worth it. The 1-to-1 session with Mr. McGowan was a great opportunity for me to develop my batting skills. We pulled the netting back and trained across two net lanes nets. The surface was one of the slow, spinning wickets which we previously didn’t have and presented a new challenge. It was great to bat next to the Middlesex academy players during the session too, which gives me huge inspiration.”
If you are interested in knowing a little more about the new centre and the benefits it will bring our boys and the local community, please enjoy the Head Master’s latest fundraising campaign update video:
https://youtu.be/ry2NkYj4sTA?si=LauodYsBFyq3CvOK.”