Cricket preparations for the season start in earnest in January with sessions on a weekly basis for different age groups in the LGS sports hall. The school work closely with Tom Flowers Cricket Coaching to provide expert coaching throughout the school. Tom (qualified Level 4 ECB Coach) and members of his qualified team assist with games sessions during the summer term, as well as pre-season, to ensure boys are fully prepared for the challenges that lie ahead. A number of boys are involved in their respective County teams and the Grammar School wholeheartedly supports this involvement during the term and over the summer. The school run teams at all levels on Saturdays during the summer with many of the age groups involved with the County Cups run by Team Leicestershire Sport. The current U13 will be contesting the National Bunbury Cup in April due to their winning the County Cup in 2019 and the U15’s are also due to play their County Cup final in April.
Fixtures
The 1st XI has a full fixture list which includes high profile games against the MCC and the Loughburians, which is keenly contested for the Sam Yaxley Trophy (Old Loughburian 1997-2004) The side also play a traditional 2-day game versus Manchester Grammar School, which has been running for over 20 years, which was decided on the last ball last year!
The exciting news moving forward is the completion of a 6 lane artificial net complex at school which will provide the means to support coaching on a more regular basis for the coming season and beyond. It is hoped that pupils across the Loughborough Schools Foundation will be able to make use of these high quality facilities so that all cricketers are developed and encouraged from an early age.
India Tour
The Senior Cricket team undertook an enjoyable tour to India in July 2019 and plans are being put in place for the next Senior tour in 2022. This was the first time the school had visited India, where cricket is the number one sport and it proved to be an exhilarating experience for all involved. The Tour party spent a week in the city of Chennai and its surroundings areas on the South East coast playing 4 matches in hot and humid conditions but also experiencing everything the country has to offer from Tours of the Old City, spending time undertaking conservation work in the Sadhana Forest and a guided Heritage Walk in Puducherry, and old French colonial town. The party then flew up to the ‘Golden Triangle’ in the north of the country where time was spent in Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. The boys experienced a guided city tour of Delhi along with a traditional dance show but it goes without saying that the visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra at sunrise was the highlight of the trip! There were also visits to the Red Fort in Agra, Amer Fort in Jaipur and the famous Chand Baori Stepwell in Abhhaneri village in Rajasthan. The Stepwell was built over a thousand years ago and is one of the largest stepwells in the world. The boys found the cricket challenging but acquitted themselves well on the dry and dusty pitches and will take away many memories with them from the 2-week tour.
