Monmouth named in prestigious schools’ cricket guide

November 21, 2019

The cricket provision at Monmouth School for Boys is among the best in the country.

Monmouth has been named in The Cricketer Schools Guide 2020, which features the top 100 senior schools in the UK.

A record number of schools submitted entries and Monmouth is the only Welsh school listed in the prestigious 124-page cricket supplement.?

All entries were judged against an extensive set of criteria, with the chosen schools having outstanding facilities, fixture programmes and coaching.

“We are absolutely delighted to be named in the top 100 schools for cricket in the country,” said Director of Sport at Monmouth School for Boys, Mr Andrew Jones.

“We have been building a strong relationship with Glamorgan and have close links with all the local cricket clubs in the area.

“We are very excited about our partnership with Glamorgan, who played two second eleven matches at the school in the summer for the first time for 23 years.

“We have experienced coaches, including former Glamorgan and England opening batsman, Steve James, and are working to develop girls cricket at our sister school, Monmouth School for Girls.

“As a school, we will continue to work closely with Cricket Wales in playing their junior teams as well as hosting matches for them.”

Sixth Form students Harry and Sam have been catching the eye with promising performances for the Glamorgan Academy and Gloucestershire, respectively.

Harry, an opening batsman, scored 2,018 runs, including five centuries, in 2018 and played for Wales Minor Counties last season.

Sam, who bowls leg spin, is part of Gloucestershire’s Emerging Players’ Programme.

Sam was able to help some of the countries, including England, prepare for their 2019 World Cup matches in Bristol and spent valuable time being coached by Afghanistan leg-spinner, Rashid Khan.

At Monmouth School for Girls, Sophia will be training under the England Women’s Academy coaches this winter.

Sophia is a left arm spinner and has been selected for the England Spin Bowling Group based at Loughborough.

Sophia also plays girls’ cricket for Wales Under-15s and under-17s.

The Cricketer magazine editor Simon Hughes said: “Our Schools Guide is, as ever, a fantastic publication that celebrates schools cricket and gives deserved praise to all those teachers and coaches who put in the hard work to develop our future club, county and international cricketers.

“Schools cricket has certainly benefited from this incredible year for the sport.

“Congratulations to all of the schools included and I look forward to hearing about all of your future successes.”

Mr Jones added: “Following on from a very successful 2018 Sri Lanka tour, we are planning a tour to the Caribbean in 2021.

“At present Barbados is the destination. The tour will include two separate squads and consist of five games per squad as well as touring the island.”