Dan Atkinson 5/23/22 Dan Atkinson 5/23/22

A Catch up with Josh Little

We caught up with Josh Little, our 1st XI captain and spoke to him about the start to the college season and how he feels things are going.

How was cricket week?

The two games in cricket week for the first team were both successful outings, winning comfortably against two strong sides in Leeds Beckett University and Sedbergh school. These fixtures allowed us to kick start our season in the positive way we want to play our cricket.

What were you most pleased with?

The way the first years have come into the team and have made an impact in key moments with bat and ball has pleased me the most over the first few weeks of the season.

Did you take any of the games as deep as you wanted to?

Taking games as deep as possible was a goal of my mine at the start of the season which i feel we have achieved so far, especially in a tight game with Myerscough Preston where chasing on a tough wicket needed us to take calculated risks at the right times which ultimately allowed us to get over the line and reach the North West final which we will play in a few weeks time.

What are the plans for the T20 cup?

In the T20 cup our next objective is to win the North West final which we failed to progress through last year in a tight game against Sedbergh School.

Any stand out performances?

In the first few weeks of the season, performances with the bat from C. Hodge, Massey and Stock have stood out with match winning innings. Also, the opening bowling attack of Hunter and A. Hodge have made a good partnership and picked up vital wickets up front with Johnson following up with some match winning spells

What are you looking forward to this season?

The t20 North West final is one game that we as a team are looking forward to playing in with hopes of progressing through that round and representing the college in the regional rounds.

Any team or individual targets?

For the rest of the season, we as a team are looking to continue our winning run while also progressing in both the t20 and one day competitions.

Dan Atkinson 5/6/22 Dan Atkinson 5/6/22

Ben Gibbon - First Class debut

We were incredibly pleased to see former student, Ben Gibbon make his first class debut yesterday in Worcestershire County Cricket Clubs County Championship fixture against Durham at New Road.

Durham’s squad includes newly appointed England captain Ben Stokes which should be a good test.

Gibbon opened the bowling for Worcestershire, finishing the day with figures of 17 overs, 4 maidens, 1 for 50. He was the most economical of the bowling group.

Ben’s wicket yesterday was that of Durham overseas and current South African test batsman Keegan Peterson - not a bad way to open your account!

Ben earnt his first professional contract earlier this winter and was selected yesterday on the back of several excellent performances in the 2nd XI

From Worcestershire’s Website…

Ben Gibbon has been drafted into the Worcestershire squad for tomorrow’s home LV=Insurance County Championship encounter against Durham, with Head Coach Alex Gidman admitting he has been “knocking on the door since the season started.”

The left-arm pace bowler is in contention to make his senior debut for Worcestershire as part of a 12 strong squad announced today.

He has produced some impressive performances during pre-season and for the Seconds after signing his first professional contract at the end of last season following a successful trial.

He’s adapted well, trained hard in the winter and has been knocking on the door since the season started.

“We are really pleased with how he is coming along.

“He is a bit of an old school cricketer, a no-fuss approach, just runs in, understands his job, and tries to do it to the best of his ability, which is all you can ask for.

“We are really pleased with how far he has come so quickly. We are picking him because he deserves his chance, and we are getting to that stage, already albeit relatively early in the season, where we’ve picked up an injury or two.

“He thoroughly deserves his place in the squad, and we are really looking forward to him going about his business if he gets his opportunity.”

Ben studied with us between 2016 and 2018 and was part of our first group that toured Potchefstroom in South Africa for a Pre Season tour. After Ben left us he had spells playing for Cheshire’s Minor County Side and Lancashire’s 2nd Xi before being picked up by Worcestershire over the winter.

We’d like to wish ben and Worcestershire County Cricket Club the very best of luck for this season and beyond!

If you are considering studying with us from September onwards you can apply via the following link….

https://admissionsonline.myerscough.ac.uk/mycourses.aspx?course=22SPTFEPS164

Dan Atkinson 3/11/22 Dan Atkinson 3/11/22

Sam Bright Selected for Wales

A huge congratulations to First Year Student Sam bright, who has been selected for Wales U18’s squad recently.

Sam is a right arm off spinner and middle order batter who plays his club cricket for Colwyn bay CC In the Liverpool Competition.

as part of the new ECB County Partnership Agreement, Glamorgan Cricket will be running and managing the summer age group programme. The team will still be known as Wales but will operate as a section of Glamorgan's expanded pathway, while Cricket Wales will manage and run the regional and winter training programmes.

Wales’ Under 18’s programme will see them play a mixture of three day, One day and T20 cricket against some of the very best teams in the country, such as, Somerset, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire.

They kick off their campaign with a T20 block, and fixtures against Somerset first up in April with fixtures all the way through to April.

We would like to wish Sam the best of luck in representing Wales this Summer!

Dan Atkinson 2/23/22 Dan Atkinson 2/23/22

Girls Applicant Event

We have put together some plans to introduce a Girls team at Myerscough College, Manchester from next September 2022.

We have a good number of girls who have already applied to join our course from September 2022 and we are planning on putting together an offer which combines a high performance cricket programme with education provision and a solid Pastoral Support package.

We believe that this would be one of the first of its kind in the country - unique as it is also free to access.

This would allow girls between 16 and 18 (School Leavers) to gain a qualification worth three A levels as well as cricket coaching, some winter indoor fixtures and a Summer fixture list.

Myerscough's cricket and education programme is award winning with consistently high grades for students, outstanding teaching and some of the leading retention and success figures in the area.

The cricket programme has also been recognised for the fourth year running as one of the Top 100 cricket Schools in the country by The Cricketer magazine.

We have a Girls only information evening coming up on Tuesday 22nd March between 6.30 and 7.30pm, we'll be holding this in the Library at Emirates Old Trafford.

We'll be presenting on

Our overview of training for the year
Our plans for our new indoor and outdoor fixture programme
Our female range of playing and training kits.
The academic content of the programme
Meet the staff
Q&A with current female students

All of our recent female leavers have seen success and this has ranged from receiving sporting scholarships at good universities to setting up their own businesses and signing professional contracts. We are able to support all ambitions whether it be progressing to Higher Education, travel, work or apprenticeships.

There is a link below to book a place at our event, where you can come along with parents and find out more about this exciting offer.

Book your place here

Please get in touch directly, if you have any questions at all

datkinson@myerscough.ac.uk

Dan Atkinson 2/3/22 Dan Atkinson 2/3/22

Why Myerscough Cricket?

We are often asked - Why Myerscough College Cricket?

We strongly believe that students should make informed choices about life after School. This often leads to a difficult choice and lots of questions about which college is best to continue their studies at.

Our study programme, based at Emirates Old Trafford is unique.

There are only a very small handful of colleges in the country where students have the opportunity to study at an International test venue. Students are based at the home of Lancashire county cricket club for 100% of their studies. The course is also completely free to access as it is government funded.

Finishing our course will give you a qualification equivalent to three A levels and allow exactly the same access to university as a more traditional ‘A Level’ route - You will gain plenty of hands on experience whilst you are with us, there are no exams to sit and many of our modules have a practical element to them.

Our academic results have spoken for themselves over the past few years, as a Centre, we have excellent academic outcomes and a great record of supporting all students with our excellent teaching, coaching and pastoral staff. You will study a variety of modules over the course - these can range from Sports Injuries and Sports Massage to Applied Coaching Skills and the opportunity to undertake a research project in the second year of study.

‘Myerscough college has not only amazing cricket facilities but also a rather outstanding teaching staff, which offer their hand to help as much as the student needs.

The staff not only specialise in education but also in cricket, during the net practices they are always available to those who need help. Not only do they help you with your studies and cricket they help the students to become independent.’

Our cricket programme has also gained a great reputation over the last couple of years - We are now regularly included in The Cricketer Good Schools Guide. We have been included in the Top 100 schools for the past four years now. We are one of only a small number of non fee paying schools which is testament to the strength of our programme. We will play between 40 and 50 fixtures per season against some of the very best cricket Schools in the country.

Our first XI enter the National Schools T20 cup - We were beaten in the North West Final last season. Our first year students will also enter the National Under 17’s cup, we have progressed to regional stages in the past few years.

We have a particularly impressive and diverse fixture list where we will play One day, two day, T20 and timed cricket every year - and a combination of white ball, red ball and pink ball cricket.

We have created a High Performance Cricket Environment which will both challenge and support our students in equal measure. They will have the opportunity to train for a minimum of four hours per week in each of our Winter, Spring and Summer terms. Each term has a different focus in order to prepare our students for their extensive summer fixture programme.

We have a leading pastoral support programme available to our students, which they can access any time that they are in college. This programme is led by a dedicated progress coach, who is also our Learning Support. This is a comprehensive programme of support for each and every student which will include regular one to ones and progress reviews, weekly course tutorials which will address a wide variety of contemporary issues and personal development opportunities. We also have qualified Counselling and support services available such as dedicated UCAS support programmes.

We take huge pride in our ability to create a supportive environment and build very strong, lasting and meaningful relationships with our students.

Speaking of UCAS and universities, around 75% of our students will go on to Higher education at University. They will study a wide variety of subjects at some of the countries best Universities. Others will travel, undertake apprenticeships or enter the world of work after finishing their study programme with us.

Students who choose to study with us will have the perfect opportunity to combine their studies with a high Performance cricket programme in highly supportive environment.

I have enjoyed my time so far at Myerscough. There is a good balance between the practical and theory on the course. The teachers are very approachable and are understanding of the problems that may occur over our time here.

The work for the most part is interesting, and of course the cricket is amazing. The coaches understand each players skill level, where they want to go and what they want to achieve. They have exceptional knowledge and know what they were talking about.

Dan Atkinson 1/28/22 Dan Atkinson 1/28/22

Josh Little - 1st XI Captain

We are pleased to announce Josh Little as our First Xi Captain for this coming season.

Josh will lead our First Team across all formats this year - We have a full summer of cricket planned, and, as in other years, we will play fixtures against some of the best schools in the country in various formats.

We have 2 day, 1 day, pink and white ball games planned as well as entering the National Schools T20 competition.

We are also planning a midlands tour later on in the Summer.

Josh is a wicketkeeper/ batsman who plays his club Cricket for Horwich RMI cricket club. He is currently involved with the Lancashire pathway system.

Josh had a good summer with us in his first year last season, scoring 440 runs, averaging 55 with four 50’s. He top scored with 95* against Yorkshire College. He finished the season with 10 catches and 3 stumpings after sharing the gloves through the season.

Josh is particularly looking forward to leading the group, competing against some great schools and seeing how far we can go in our various competitions.

We’d like to wish to wish Josh and the 1st XI squad the best of luck for this summer!

Dan Atkinson 1/20/22 Dan Atkinson 1/20/22

A catch up with Charlotte

“Push yourself and don’t be afraid to try new skills”

As well as catching up with Former Student Hannah Jones, we thought it would be good to see how current First Year student Charlotte Neal has settled into college life, and how she has found the first term and a half studying, training at playing with us.

Charlotte is a talented top order batter and wicketkeeper who is currently involved with Cheshire and part of their emerging players programme. She represented Cheshire Under 18 Girls last year.

We asked Charlotte a couple of questions….

How have you found the course so far?

I have found the course interesting to write about in assignments and learn about, I also think the course is perfect for me because it's all about sport.

How have you found it, with being a female on the course?

I have found it okay because I feel welcomed by everyone and don’t have any worries about it. I find it challenging sometimes when training, but I already feel like I'm improving by it.

How has training been?

I really enjoy training because the sessions are always filled with drills that will improve my skills and I like how they are laid out and how they coach us.

What about the games that you played in September?

I found the games helpful because it helped me get closer to the boys and be able to push myself to become more confident in matches

What advice would you have for a female thinking of joining the course?

Push yourself and don’t be afraid to try new skills

What are you most looking forward to in the future, course wise?

I'm looking forward to playing more matches with the boys and I'm looking forward to seeing how much I improve in the season.

Thank you to Charlotte for sharing her experiences - If you are a female cricketer, in Year 11 and interested in studying, training and playing with us - then please either get in touch or you can apply via the link below…

https://admissionsonline.myerscough.ac.uk/mycourses.aspx?course=22SPTFEPS164

Dan Atkinson 1/20/22 Dan Atkinson 1/20/22

Hannah Jones - A busy Summer…

“Just go for it, if you love the game you will build up friendships around the game and learn from their experiences.”

— Hannah Jones

Last year we caught up with Former student, Hannah Jones.

Hannah studied with us between 2015 and 2017 and was the first female player to represent Myerscough’s First XI. Since she has left, she has gone on to start her professional playing career at an exciting time for Women’s cricket.

We caught up with her during last Pre Season following lockdown to see how she was adjusting to playing professional cricket and how she found her time studying at Myerscough.

How have you been spending lockdown?

During lockdown, I have been very careful with contacts outside of my bubble. I have been training within the bubble of Old Trafford and I have been keeping my fitness up by running and walking a lot. We completed a challenge at Didsbury CC raising money for Francis House and Didsbury women’s cricket club of walking 5 million steps in 50 day which was split into virtual teams and we completed it well.

Tell me a little bit about your cricket since you finished the course at Myerscough?

Since I finished, I have played for both Didsbury men and women’s team at weekends and continued to play for Lancashire. I was lucky last season to be asked to play for North West Thunder and I gained a lot from this experience. When this finished, I was overwhelmed when I was offered by North West Thunder coaches a full-time contract and then a Manchester Originals contract.

How did you find college in general being a woman in a male dominated environment?

At the beginning, it was nerve racking and overwhelming, but the other students and staff made me feel like I was an equal and we all got on really well; it was useful knowing someone on the course as well.

You played a fair bit of cricket for college, Tell me about college cricket from your point of view?

The games were an ideal time to put the classroom information into a game situation. The experience of the other colleges and how they were taught in the different surroundings. The team spirit was increased with the games and we were able to go back and learn from the games.

What’s your best memory of your time at Myerscough?

Being accepted as one of the team and my hattrick at Denstone College being picked up in celebration by one of the team.

Going on tour to Somerset and gaining from the experience of the tour seeing new places and playing in the team.

What advice would you give female students wanting to join the course?

Just go for it, if you love the game you will build up friendships around the game and learn from their experiences. Don’t worry about being the only female as learning the game is more important and even if you are not confident the course builds up your confidence.

What are your hopes for this upcoming summer and cricket season?

To play cricket. For the games we play for North west thunder and Manchester Originals having spectators so my family and friends can come and watch in the ground instead of watching the stream on their phones.

Hoping that the games we are going to play for Manchester Originals go on with the international players there and learning from them.

Since we last caught up with Hannah, she has spent a season representing North West Thunder and Manchester Originals as well as making her debut for England A, against the Touring New Zealanders where she picked up two wickets in a One Day International.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/new-zealand-women-tour-of-england-2021-1260090/england-a-women-vs-new-zealand-women-tour-match-1274504/full-scorecard

Hannah also picked up her maiden five wicket haul at the back end of the Rachel Heyhoe Flint trophy last Summer with figures of 5/33 against The Stars at Beckenham.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/rachael-heyhoe-flint-trophy-2021-1252263/south-east-stars-vs-thunder-1252289/full-scorecard

Hannah also made her debut in the Inaugral Hundred competition this summer taking some key wickets and helping Manchester Originals to their first win in the competition

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/the-hundred-women-s-competition-2021-1252659/manchester-originals-women-vs-southern-brave-women-19th-match-1252718/match-report

Thanks so much to Hannah for her time and best of luck again for the coming season.

Dan Atkinson 1/10/22 Dan Atkinson 1/10/22

Advice Sessions this Half term…

If you are currently in Year 11 and are interested in studying with us from September 2022, then we would like to invite you to find out a little bit more about our course!

Did you know?
We are consistently ranked as one of the Top 100 cricket Schools in the country?
We have some of the best academic results in greater Manchester?
We have a dedicated learning support advisor and progress coach?

We are incredibly proud of our programme that we run at Emirates old Trafford - We are one of only a small number of colleges that are run out of International Test Venues and the only one in the North West.

We play a competitive fixture list of over 40 fixtures per year. We play against Schools, colleges Universities and county sides and run 4 teams per year so there really is an opportunity for everyone to represent the college at cricket.

If you are interested, why not come along to one of our Advice Sessions, either face to face or online and find out more about our academic provision, cricket provision and training programmes.

January (18th) 2022 (7-8pm) - This will be online - Please get in touch for the ZOOM code.

Monday (21st) February 2022- 5-7.30pm This will also be online

Monday 21st March - face to face (if possible) 5-7.30pm - Held at Emirates Old Trafford

Monday 25th April - face to face (if possible) 5-7.30pm - Held at Emirates Old Trafford

If you have any questions at all, please do ask and we will try our best to help you!

datkinson@myerscough.ac.uk

Dan Atkinson 11/24/21 Dan Atkinson 11/24/21

The Cricketer Schools Guide 2022

we are delighted to have been included in The Cricketer Schools Guide 2022.

We are also incredibly proud that this is the third consecutive year that we have been included in the prestigious guide.

We are currently only one of a small number of non fee paying schools currently included this year and are very proud of our course, the coaching and the fixture list that we are able to offer our students - we are particularly pleased to be able to do all of this whilst combining this with an education for those that attend college with us. This not only enables them to improve as cricketers and people whilst they study with us but also gain valuable UCAS points, should they wish to go on to higher Education.

The cricketer magazine issued their press release earlier today.

The Cricketer has published its Schools Guide 2022, featuring the top 100 senior, the top 50 prep/junior and the top 20 all-girls schools in a bumper 156-page supplement. It follows an exhaustive process which saw a huge number of schools submit entries to be included in the guide. All entries were judged against an extensive set of criteria, which included a compelling commitment to cricket in the curriculum, facilities, fixture programmes and coaching. Also taken into account was how schools kept the game alive during the pandemic, and how they look to ensure cricket remains a central part of school life.

The Cricketer gathered entries and compiled the leading lists, working alongside former England star Lydia Greenway and her coaching initiative Cricket For Girls to select the top 20 all-girls schools. The Cricketer magazine editor Huw Turbervill said: “It has been incredibly heartening to see schools cricket making such a comeback after a very different 2020. Of course, not all schools’ programmes have been the same due to varying restrictions, facilities, and many other understandable reasons but what has been consistent across the spectrum is that the dedication to the game in schools has, not only remained unaffected, but increased. “As a parent myself, I would like to place on record my thanks to all the teachers, coaches and volunteers who have worked so hard, in the most difficult of circumstances, to ensure the next generation are given opportunities to grow within, and love the game, that we cherish so deeply.

“Congratulations to all of the schools included and we look forward to hearing about all of your future successes.” The 156-page guide is bumper-packed with the December issue of The Cricketer (available on the newsstand from November 26). As well as appearing in print alongside the world’s No.1 cricket magazine, the guide will also be made available on The Cricketer website from Wednesday December 15. The Cricketer has continued to celebrate the school game throughout the year, from online articles back in January right through to covering several matches in print. Producing all this content, and a 156-page printed publication requires great resource and investment on our part, and with that in mind we are enormously grateful to our friends at Durant Cricket, who have continued to support all of this coverage, and subsequently the schools game in general.

Cristian Durant, managing director of Durant Cricket, commented: “Durant Cricket are one of the country’s leading suppliers of cricket ground equipment to cricket clubs, professional counties and schools across the country. We have enjoyed a long and distinguished relationship with The Cricketer and are proud to support the magazine’s fantastic coverage of school cricket. We wish you the best of luck for a cricket-filled 2022 season.”

Dan Atkinson 11/19/21 Dan Atkinson 11/19/21

Summer Fixtures and Tour

We are pleased to be putting the finishing touches to our annual Summer Fixture Programme.

Over the past few years, we have developed a fixture list that we are incredibly proud of - It features a challenging set of opposition for our first XI whilst remaining competitive and inclusive for our 2nd and 3rd teams.

We will play our Cricket week in the first week back after the easter break, and have some strong University opposition lined up. Last year featured Leeds Beckett University, University of Liverpool and Manchester Metropolitan University.

We have maintained our fixtures and relationships with schools that we have enjoyed playing over the past few years. Again, we will look forward to the challenge of travelling to Sedbergh School, Shrewsbury School and Denstone College before half term.

During this block, we will also play a timed game against the MCC - this is a traditional game and one of the only timed games that we play. The MCC will bat first and will allow our students to experience a different form of cricket.

After half term we will now see our traditional fixtures being played against Cheadle Hulme School and Myerscough College Preston in a Two Day game.

Our students enjoy challenging themselves in national Competition as well - with two tournaments that we have fared well in, in recent years. Our first Year students will compete in the National Under 17’s Cup, in 2019 we were beaten in the National Quarter Final by eventual winners, Bromsgrove. 2020 saw no competition because of the Pandemic and 2021 saw us beaten in the last 16, nationally, by Sedbergh School. Eton College the eventual winners last year.

We will also compete in the National T20 compeition which provides a great challenge to our 1st XI - we were involved in arguably the game of the season last year (See link below!)

https://myerscougholdtrafford.play-cricket.com/website/results/4929103

In previous years, we have been lucky enough to travel to Potchefstroom, outside Johannesburg in South Africa for a Pre Season tour. For obvious reasons, this will not be possible this year.

We are however planning on offering a short tour at the end of the Summer term, where we have planned to play some great schools - details will be sent out to students and parents before Christmas and students can decide whether they would like to tour.

Full details of our Cricket Week, our Season’s fixtures and details of tour and opposition will be published as soon as they are confirmed.

We are really looking forward to the Summer already!

Dan Atkinson 10/5/21 Dan Atkinson 10/5/21

My College Experience - Toby Phipps

“The decision to go to Myerscough was undoubtedly the correct one”

Toby left us last year after completing his two year programme, he is currently taking a gap year before starting his study at University next year.

Similar to other students in Toby’s cohort, his first year was affected by the Covid-19 outbreak. In his second year however, Toby played 11 games for the colleges first XI, bowling 102 overs and taking 24 wickets in the process. Toby finished second leading wicket taker for the season, he took 4 catches and was not required to bat for the college.

September 2019, the beginning of a two year experience that contained a virus, zoom lessons, super overs and many funny moments along the way. Who could have predicted all this on our first day as we awkwardly sat in the classroom, no one really saying anything? This, however would change extremely quickly, possibly much to Dan’s disappointment, as we got to know each other through lessons, cricket and fitness sessions, the infamous bleep test being a personal favourite of mine.

The curriculum covered a wide range of topics, from anatomy and physiology to event management, which culminated in a college wide cricket draft, a self proclaimed Myerscough’s answer to the Hundred. The mixture of assignments, some practical and some written, ensures no two are the same.

However, to be honest, the highlight of the two years was always going to be cricket. This all started in the indoor centre at Old Trafford, with Brett providing expert coaching that could improve anyone’s game, even if my batting was beyond a lost cause. The mixture of training sessions meant not only technique was worked on, but also allowed us to improve how we thought about the game. We were also lucky enough to have the opportunity to see the Lancashire players’ sessions, allowing us to see how professionals train.

This year we were able to play a full fixture list, playing our home games at fortress Ashton on Mersey. The away fixtures took us to schools such as Sedbergh, where the college won for the first time ever. We also played in a variety of tournaments and formats, allowing us to improve all aspects of our game. This included a run to the semi-final of the North West t20 competition. This semi-final was probably the best game I have ever been involved in, with a high scoring game culminating in a tense super over, which we unfortunately came out on the losing side.

Our time at Myerscough came to end with a two day game at Merchant Taylors School played in excellent spirit, encapsulating our time at the college fittingly.

Overall, the decision to go to Myerscough was undoubtedly the correct one, having given me the opportunity to go on to university and most importantly making friends for life.

Finally, I hope my record of never batting for college remains unbroken.

Dan Atkinson 10/1/21 Dan Atkinson 10/1/21

My College Experience - James Coombes

“Myerscough isn’t just great for the cricket and the high standard of work – it’s the people you meet along the way”

James left us last year and is now studying Global Sports Management at The University of Birmingham. He has been kind enough to share his college experiences with us as well as some advice for students who are thinking about studying with us in the future.

James’ first year was affected heavily by the COVID-19 outbreak meaning that no cricket could be played throughout his first summer, he then came back from injury to play in his final summer with us. He averaged 24 with the bat with 5 victims behind the stumps.

So, Myerscough – where to begin. My two years at Myerscough were hands down the best two years of my life. Thinking back to September 2019 embarking on a new start in a new environment was rather daunting. However, the transition from that awkward first day feeling to becoming part of the Myerscough family was seamless. Nevertheless, the reason anyone goes to Myerscough is for the cricket, right? The cricket and training at Myerscough gives you a very professional feel in state-of-the-art facilities, one minute your training hard in the hall and then the next minute Jimmy Anderson comes in and starts bowling in the adjacent lane. No other place in the world gets you that close to the top level without actually being at the top level.

The training itself started with our winter fitness program, everyone’s favourite time of year… There’s nothing like walking down to training at 10am to be told we are doing a 30-minute run followed by a strength and conditioning session. As much as everyone hates doing fitness work (especially Ben Walkden) the benefits from it are unrivalled. Each session is tailored to help us as cricketers not just as people who like watching and playing the sport which may be the sort of thing you have come from during time in a school environment. These sessions really put you in good stead to be ready for the start of cricket training around the time of the new year. Most of the cricket sessions are led by Brett. Brett’s insight and coaching is invaluable to anyone who is serious about wanting to get better as a cricketer. However, steer clear of talking about football as some of his opinions are rather unique!

Moving onto the studying, from Leanne, Andy, Dan and even the legend himself Adam McGladdery lessons are made to be interesting and most of all enjoyable. Alongside the studies, work experience is a big part of the Myerscough culture. Take all the opportunities you can when it comes to work experience. Not only does it look good on your CV but some of the work you can get involved in with establishments such as the Lancashire cricket foundation is extremely rewarding. My best advice to someone who may be starting at Myerscough would simply be get the work done as soon as you can, because as soon as it’s done the more cricket you get to play. From over night stays to potential overseas tours, you really do not want to be that person who must sit out to finish off their essay.

Lastly, Myerscough isn’t just great for the cricket and the high standard of work – it’s the people you meet along the way. Our year was disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak meaning we were set to studying online, this was made easy with the man himself Josh Knowles keeping us on our toes through the boring times of not being able to leave the house. Even though we weren’t all together on campus the good times didn’t come to an end. To sum it all up, I don’t have a bad word to say about Myerscough Manchester. My two years at college were unbelievable but not only this, they also give you a clear pathway to university setting you up for adult life. So, if you do get the choice to come to Myerscough then take it, it will be the best decision you make when leaving school. And who would want to pass up the opportunity to play at fortress AOM?

‘Up the Sco x’

Dan Atkinson 6/29/21 Dan Atkinson 6/29/21

Our Under 17’s Cup Campaign

We’ve had a really good Under 17’s Cup campaign this year - with plenty of learning along the way!

The Under 17’s cup is a national Competition, played across the Summer Term and is a straight knock out format.

Our first round draw was against King’s School, Macclesfield - who unfortunately had to withdraw before we were able to play.

We were the drawn against Manchester Grammar School in the second round - we played that at Ashton on Mersey and fielding first, restricted MGS to 148-8 from their 25 overs. a good effort with the ball on a fast scoring ground. We were able to reach that target for the loss of five wickets, led from the front by a fine innings of 88* from Nathan Walker.

Round three also saw us drawn at home, this time against Myerscough (Preston) - They won the toss and elected to bat. they finished 127 all out with the wickets shared around on a tough wicket to bat on. We reached their score for the loss of five wickets, a middle order half century from Max Fisher steadying us up a little bit.

That meant we progressed onto the Last sixteen of the National Competition, and played Sedbergh School, We travelled up with two teams, the under 17’s fixture was the main fixture on the same ground that has hosted county cricket for the last couple of years - a lovely place to play cricket!

Batting first, we scored 149-8 from our 30 overs, which felt a little short of a good score.

We bowled well but were eventually defeated by some good batting on a flat pitch, with Sedbergh reaching our score for the loss of five wickets.

A shame to be beaten by Sedbergh in both our cup competitions this year - but plenty of learning this year for our first year group as they step up and lead our cricket programme next year!

Dan Atkinson 6/29/21 Dan Atkinson 6/29/21

Our T20 cup run this year…

We are very proud of our group this year in terms of the cricket they have played. We have enjoyed a great cup run in both competitions that we enter.

Firstly we Enter the National Schools T20, where we initially play in the North west Group.

The first phases of the T20 cup are played at a single venue with two games on the same day. Our opening day this year was at Cheadle Hulme School where we played the hosts in the first game - Max Fisher top scoring with 121* from 60 balls as we set an imposing 226-2 from our 20 overs.

Bowling well, we restricted the hosts winning by 92 runs.

The second game of that day was against Myerscough (Preston) - in fine form again with the bat, led by Dan stock who finished 93* from 66 balls, we posted 190-6 which proved too many for the Preston side, who finished 70 short.

We moved onto Round 2 to be hosted by Manchester Grammar School, where we were drawn in the first round against Merchant taylor’s, Crosby.

Picking up where we left off in the previous round - and with two new openers available in walkden and Young, we batted first and set what was, at the time a record partnership of 194 in their opening stand. This proved too much for Merchants and we progressed to the final game of the day to play Manchester grammar School.

Batting first, we found runs harder to come by, finishing with a total of 134 from our allocated overs. We bowled particularly well and restricted MGS to 123 meaning that we won by 11 runs.

That meant that we had progressed to the North west Final for the first time in our history. Drawn at home against Sedbergh School - we were also drawn to host.

What followed was one of the best games of T20 cricket that you are ever likely to see!

We won the toss and elected to field first - after some big hitting, good running and some errors in the field, we we left to chase 207 from our 20 overs in order to progress to the North final against Worksop College to be played later that afternoon.

Unbelievably, and thanks to a fine display of hitting from Dan Newton, brilliantly set up by an outstanding innings from Josh Little and Supported by Max Fisher, we found ourselves with a tied game, also reaching 207 from our allotted overs.

A super over followed - we batted first and scored 11, which was probably a boundary short in the end as Sedbergh took 5 balls to pass our target.

An outstanding T20 campaign from our group, with plenty of brilliant individual performances and a great platform to build on for next year.

This is the First time we can say that we are North West Finalists!

Dan Atkinson 5/11/21 Dan Atkinson 5/11/21

A catch up with Ben Walkden

As we are now a couple of weeks into the College Season, we thought it would be good to catch up with 1st XI Captain, Ben Walkden.

we played a successful cricket week where we challenged our students against strong university opposition, several midweek fixtures, our traditional fixture against the MCC as well as a good start to our cup competitions.

cup wise, we have progressed onto the third round of the U17’s cup - with a conceded game in round one and a home victory against Manchester Grammar School in the following round.

We have progressed well in the National T20 cup, with two victories in Round One and a further two victories in round 2.

we have also progressed in the 2nd XI, 15 over competition - with some enjoyable cricket on show there as well.

We await confirmation of opponents and dates in the next rounds of these competitions.

Ben had the following to say about our start to the season…

‘First of all, I’m delighted with the start to the season and the wins we have got along the way. We have had some tests in our way early on and we have shown our strengths to get past that.

A game that sticks out noticeably was at Manchester Grammar. It was one of the first positions where we had to defend a low total and we handled it perfectly. We have stamped our authority so far this season and I’m looking forward to the remainder.

There has been some fantastic individuals performances this season they have showed some great quality. Looking around the squad we have a lot of talent and players improving each game. There’s a fantastic buzz around the group at the minute.

We know we will be coming up against a strong Denstone side tomorrow. However we feel confident we can get the result we want and continue this great form.

Personally and as a team we can get very caught up in trying to score too quick. We must learn as a side the best way to place different formats and win in a better way.

I think many have impressed me so far but I think in a short amount of time it would be Max Fisher. He’s scored runs consistently playing a particular way and he knows his strengths to get on top of bowlers. He’s a focal point in the side and the younger players look up to the runs he’s scored so far.

There has already been some outstanding highlights between Max and Dan stock aswell as the partnership at Merchants last week. It’s great to see and we will only improve each week we play.’

Dan Atkinson 4/7/21 Dan Atkinson 4/7/21

Walkden looks ahead to the start of the season…

With the start of the season, and in particular Cricket Week fast approaching, we caught up with Elected First Eleven Captain Ben Walkden and he shared his thoughts about the upcoming week.

with no college cricket for over eighteen months, bar a couple of fixtures back in September last year - we will face a tough test next week against some high quality opposition.

Leeds Beckett University and University of Liverpool particularly, regularly feature at the top of of the BUCS Championships, competing at the highest level in ‘North A’

Manchester Metropolitan University will provide strong opposition and although we have never played them before, competed last time out in ‘North 2A’ - so will provide a great fixture for us, no doubt.

It will be great to reinvigorate an old rivalry, on the Thursday, against Myerscough College Preston - a fixture which has seen some great games throughout recent years and should be a good curtain raiser for our Two day fixture later on in the Summer, which is something starting this year and which we hope will continue in the future.

First of all, I can’t wait to get going next week. It will be great to get back on the cricket field again after a long time away with some new faces around the camp. I feel excited to lead the boys out next week and hopefully start the summer in a strong manner.

Next week will be tough for all of us, we have some great fixtures and we look forward to having some great battles with. We have pre seasoned as a squad well enough to get positive results next week.

With the team at my disposal, we have many strengths across the board that can cause damage to the opposition. We will make sure we are up for the challenge come the 12th.

Next week will be great to get back into the swing of things, but the season is glorious to look forward to. We have plenty of fixtures across the summer we are definitely not short of cricket, and with the players we have to choose from we will hopefully be very strong.

Squads for these games will be published over the next few days, and details of fixtures can be found on Play Cricket - we will be hoping to live score the games each day.

We will be kicking off the season against Leeds Beckett on Monday 12th April - at Ashton on mersey, starting at 11.30am and will be 45 overs per side.

All of our fixtures will be played in accordance with government guidance and following all of our COVID protocols.

Dan Atkinson 3/23/21 Dan Atkinson 3/23/21

Former students Selected for Lancashire

Two former students have been included in Lancashire’s Pre Season warm up game against Essex at Chelmsford today.

Lancashire have selected a squad to travel to play Essex in friendlies this week and have included Opening Batsman Owais Shah and Left arm spinner Jack Morley, both of which are former Myerscough Students.

Owais studied with us 2017 - 2019 and Jack studied with us 2018 -2020.

Owais represented Scotland A whilst studying with us as well as Lancashire’s Second Xi on multiple occasions.

Jack made his first class debut last year for Lancashire against Derbyshire in the Bob Willis Trophy, whilst still studying with us, finishing the game with figures of 5-71.

Jack also played multiple times for Lancashire’s Second XI whilst studying with us.

Best of luck to both Jack and Owais for the next couple of days and for the rest of the season.

Dan Atkinson 3/23/21 Dan Atkinson 3/23/21

Pre Season Plans…

We are pleased to announce our provisional plans for this years Pre Season.

It has been a long time coming and we are really looking forward to getting back out on the pitch and playing some cricket.

We have ramped up our practice in the last couple of weeks and we will be ready to go after Easter with a week of Pre Season games against good standard opposition which should provide a good test for our squads.

As long as the COVID restrictions continue as planned - we will host five fixtures in the week beginning 12th April, which is also our first week back after the Easter holidays.

We are excited to welcome Leeds Beckett University First and second XI as well as The University of Liverpool and Manchester Metropolitan University later in the week as well as a fixture against Myerscough College (Preston)

We are also incredibly thankful for the ongoing support of IGE Consulting who have continued their support of our cricket programme with their shirt sponsorship for the third year. Their website can be found here https://igeconsulting.co.uk/

We will be publishing start times and formats in due course.

Dan Atkinson 3/8/21 Dan Atkinson 3/8/21

International Women’s Day - Hannah Jones

Today is International Women’s Day and we have taken the opportunity to catch up with Former Student, Hannah Jones.

Hannah studied with us between 2015 and 2017 and has since gone on to start her professional cricket career. Hannah was the first female to represent the College’s first Xi and the the first student ever to take a hat trick for college.

Whilst studying with us Hannah also represented Lancashire Women’s Team and is currently contracted to North West Thunder and Manchester Originals in this summers The Hundred Competition.