Catch up: Day One

London, Day Two! 

Morning:

Today we woke up fresh and ready to play. We started off the day with an absolutely lovely breakfast at a cafe in Fulham. The brown sauce was utilized copiously on our full English breakfasts. After, we boarded the bus to Eton College. 

Afternoon:

As always, we warmed up for two hours in order to familiarize ourselves with the local conditions. To our delight, the field was completely flat with not a clover in sight. The match was set for two o'clock. We took the field first and settled in for our 25-over match. We got off to a strong start. Daniel Van Beveren opened the bowling for Haverford. However, Eton began to pick up their run rate and to our dismay there were two dropped catches.  Not one to be afraid, Big Bad Malcolm Thompson stepped up to bowl. He took two wickets in a row, both coming from catches off of short-pitched deliveries. Hats were quivering in hands waiting to be thrown onto the pitch, but alas there was no hat trick. 

A third wicket came soon after when captain Andrew Cornell used his signature Andrew Spin™️ ball to bowl out a strong batsman. Not to be outdone by his co-captain, Nathaniel Rolfe got a wicket when the batsman pulled the ball directly to Zachary Cho (who has spent the last 9 months training in London.) Haverford's fielding restricted Eton to 163 for four in the 25 overs. Our batting was finished quickly as Eton was able to secure all 10 wickets. Rolfe had a good showing with 32 runs, with half coming from boundaries. Like a caveman with a club, Rolfe whacked four balls that made it to the boundary line. Kaito Nakatani also showed up, with 23 runs scored. The batting finished off with the dynamic duo, Paige Powell and Alissa Valentine. Stupendous blocks from Alissa astounded the Eton boys. 

Eton ended up wining by 70 runs. With five hours to spare, we decided to watch Eton's first team play Bradfield College in a T20 match. 

Evening: 

Our host at Eton College, Dom, gave us a quick tour of the grounds. We saw possibly the oldest classroom in the world (first used in the 1440s) and the college's old library and main chapel. 

After, we walked along the high street in Eton. Some of us crossed the river to Windsor to head to Nando's. The rest of us went to a pub for fish and chips with mushy peas, which were questionably not appreciated by the majority of the group. Next, it was back on the bus to head back to our hotel for restful night in. 

Coming up:
A day off from cricket - the team will enjoy a guided tour of London and possibly some afternoon tea.  Cheerio until tomorrow chaps!