TEAM spirit has been labelled as the key ingredient behind the success of Warwick School’s Under-15s after they progressed to the national final of a schools T20 competition for the first time in their history.
Warwick had never before reached beyond the regional semi-finals in the ESCA T20 competition, but this year they were crowned Midland Champions.
The 13-strong team beat hosts Shrewsbury School in the semi-final to set up a regional final against Trent College, a match that was reduced to 16 overs due to impending rain.
Warwick bowled their opponents all out for 65 runs following an impressive bowling and fielding display before going on to win the final by finishing on 66 for 3.
They will now go on to represent the region at the National Finals Day to be played at Arundel Castle on September 4, where the top four schools in the country will compete to become national champions.
“All of the players have worked very hard to get where they are and everyone at the school is really proud of them,” said coach and head of junior sport at Warwick School Tom Hancock.
“The team have performed exceptionally well this season, gelling brilliantly as a team and proving very difficult to beat in this short format of the game.
“They have achieved well beyond our initial expectation and that’s as a result of hard work.
“We don’t have any standout individuals but what we do have is a really good quality team. We have a mixture of great batters, bowlers and fielders so we don’t rely on one or two individuals.”
It has been quite a journey for Warwick who have beaten no fewer than seven teams along the way to make it to the National Finals.
In the Warwickshire rounds they beat Princethorpe College, Bablake School and Arden School to win the County Final.
A victory over John Masefield High School set up a quarter-final game against Staffordshire-based Queen Mary’s Grammar School, which Warwick comfortably won by three wickets and 70 runs to progress into the Regional Finals Day in Shrewsbury.
Asked if Warwick can go all the way at Finals Day in September, coach Hancock added: “If we have a good day we have every chance.
“We look forward to meeting the North Region champions, Bolton School, at the National Semi-finals in September.
“I’m confident that if our team bowl and bat to the best of our ability will have every chance of causing an upset.”
