Bennies break the spell

Published on isbi School News dated Friday 3rd of July 2015

St Benedict’s School finally got their hands on the Middlesex 20/20 Cup when their 1st XI beat Isleworth and Syon School by 7 wickets, with 17 balls to spare, on Monday 29th June. The match was played at Merchant Taylors’ School, in Northwood. Bennies restricted their opponents to 138 for 5, with Ben Chippendale taking 2 wickets for 26 runs and Stefan Tsang bowling exceptionally well to only concede 13 runs in his allotted 4 overs, taking 1 wicket. Tom Wells, who had rescheduled his planned holiday in Greece to play in the match, also put in a sterling bowling performance. Opener Jamie Spanswick got Bennies off to a cracking start with a quick-fire 34 and then Captain Louie Millman contributed a match winning 67. He was named Man of the Match, though it was wicket-keeper Freddie Greenwood who hit the winning four to take Benedict’s to a total of 142 for 3. Louie Millman said: “It was a great victory against a strong Isleworth and Syon outfit, made all the sweeter having been runners up for three years. It was a proud moment for me, in my last year, and for the school, a just reward for its investment in the sport.” St Benedict’s had been in eight Middlesex Cup finals in different age-groups and had never won before. That spell has now been broken and it’s a fitting send off for Head of Cricket Johan Thisanayagam, who has done so much to develop cricket at the school in recent years. After five years at St Benedict’s Thisanayagam is leaving to become Director of Sport at the Cedars School, Croydon.