Wesley hosts inaugural ‘Tri College Cricket Challenge’
Wesley College was proud to host Prince Alfred College (PAC) from Adelaide and Newington College from Sydney in the inaugural Tri College Cricket Challenge last week.
Wesley and Newington have a long cricketing history, having contested the Chaplain’s Trophy since the 1970s, while Wesley and PAC have competed for the Chester Bennett AFL Football Trophy for over a century. It was therefore inevitable that these great schools should come together for a three team, two-day fixture ahead of the upcoming cricket season.
‘Following our tour at Newington last year, Wesley was thrilled to welcome around 80 players, staff, parents and supporters to Melbourne to host the inaugural six-day event, starting a new tradition that we hope will continue for many years to come,’ said Wesley Head of Cricket, Paul Montgomery.
The series was fiercely contested, with all teams recording wins throughout the week and with just 30 minutes of play remaining on the final day, the result was still up for grabs. Wesley performed strongly, displaying consistent, disciplined cricket to force outright results in both of their games, but it was Newington College who ran out victorious, taking home the inaugural Tri College Shield by just over one percentage point.
‘It was a great experience for our boys and the perfect lead-in to the APS season, which recommences next week,’ said Paul. ‘I commend Year 12 batsman Will from the St Kilda Road Campus for his outstanding century against PAC. But most pleasing was the consistency displayed by the team, their evenness in the field and their commitment to the game plan. It’s this type of teamwork that will make us strong contenders for the rest of the season.’
A highlight of the week was the team dinner held at Learning in Residence (LiR), where staff and players from all three schools came together to hear from former Australian Cricketer and Wesley specialist coach, Damien Fleming. For Year 12 LiR boarder and Wesley Boys’ Firsts Captain Rex, it was a challenging but enjoyable week.
‘We learnt a lot along the way about consistency, energy and dot-ball pressure, especially when the match wasn’t going our way. But we also had a lot of fun!’ said Rex. ‘But the most memorable moment was our outright victory on the second last ball with one wicket in hand against PAC. It was a great way to finish the week.’
