Springfield cricketers pass their test with flying colours

​​The sporting summer of 2016 may seem to be dominated by the Euros and Rio Olympic Games but the young cricketers of Springfield Primary School in Sunbury have done their bit to fly the flag for cricket after reaching the grand finals of the Surrey Kwik Cricket tournament.

Under the guidance of teacher David Baker, the Year Six children – many of whom were new to the eight-player format, and some of whom were new to the game altogether – came through the Spelthorne and Runnymede regional competition to take part in the county finals, featuring 30 schools, held at Epsom College.

“The team did the whole school immensely proud,” said Mr Baker. “Teams were allowed to have squads of 10 players, but we only had eight, and some of the other schools our team were playing against had won their regional competitions, so they faced a big challenge, but they rose to it brilliantly.

“When they first came together, our squad had differing levels of ability – some had hardly even tried bowling overarm, for example – but through working really hard and being willing to learn, they made great progress which paid off when they got through to the finals, where they ended up coming second in their second group.”

The cricket team’s success is another feather in the sporting cap for Springfield, a member of the Surrey-based GLF Schools multi-academy trust, whose girls’ football team recently won the Spelthorne Football League Cup for the second season running.

“Considering how far they’ve come how quickly, for the team to have done so well is remarkable but thoroughly deserved,” said Mr Baker. “They should all take great pride in what they’ve done – I certainly do.”