Scotch College

UK cricket and tennis tour

On 20 June, twenty two students and three staff members left Melbourne Airprt for London to play cricket and tennis and tour Amsterdam and Hong Kong for three weeks.

It was the third overseas cricket and tennis tour that Mr Black had organized for Scotch students and by his own account the most enjoyable and satisfying.

The youngest tourist Mark Simpson (aged 14 years) scored the most runs at an average of 149.5. The most senior student Tim Wilson-Humphries took the most wickets at a rate of 10.3 runs per wicket. Murray Waterson received the tennis award for sportsmanship. The other members of the tour benefited greatly from the valuable experience of playing on wickets and courts overseas.

The tennis players beat all their school opponents in England and conceded defeat to only one team, the Cumberland tennis club.

In cricket, the players took a number of games to get adjusted to the new season and the environment. An exciting win in the rain was recorded against both Malvern College and Hampstead Cricket Club. They drew their games against Stowe, Dulwich College and the Royal Household, Windsor. Eastbourne College, Kings School, Worcester and Bristol Grammar proved to be too good on the day.

En route to the sporting venues, the tourists visited many places in England such as: Blenheim Palace, Oxford, Eton College, Battle, Bath, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Salisbury Cathedral and more. The tennis players had a day at Wimbledon and the tour troop were guided around Lords - some were amazed at the slant of the ground as viewed from the members pavilion. The tourists arrived during a great event in the culture of the UK; the World Cup Soccer. The tourists' interests were distracted from the red oval football ball to the thrill that the round soccer ball provided.

From the white cliffs of Dover the touring party traveled via Ostende, Belgium to Amsterdam. A night stop over in Hong Kong followed and the Scotch tourists returned home.

The boys were enriched by the experiences of playing sport and living with families and seeing the rights of countries in the Northern Hemisphere.

Congratulations must be extended to the boys for their efforts overseas and also Mr Black (Tour Manager) Mr Zannoni (Tennis Coach) and Mr Collins (Cricket Coach) for their role in planning, organizing and supervising the tour. Thanks must also be extended to the parents for their outstanding support.

Mr Julian Collins, Tour Cricket Coach