The second XI took the short trip to Clayesmore for the first of a double header against the school, to take on Clayesmore’s first XI. Arriving with acres of time, the boys set about preparing for the encounter on what looked like an interesting wicket. With preparations duly complete, Jamie G won the toss and elected to play to the team's strengths by inserting the hosts.

Ben D, a very handy addition to the team, bustled in to open the bowling, with Oz P at the other end providing zip and pace off the surface. Ben struck first, having the highly regarded Clayesmore opener plum in front for not many.

Then followed a stand of 55 as the Clayesmore opener and number three dug in with a mixture of watchful batting and aggressive stroke play as anything short was plundered ruthlessly. Al P nearly took catch of the season, diving to his left, his bravery saving four certain runs. Will W toiled away with his seamers but couldn’t find the outside edge on what was a slightly inconsistent track.

Freddie B replaced Oz and troubled the batters with his pace and bounce, moving the ball off the seam effectively and was unlucky not to hit the edge of the bat. The introduction of the five-wicket hero from the week put the brakes in the Clayesmore partnership, Hugo B immediately accounting for the aggressive number three, bowling him with a beautifully flighted yorker. Hugo struck again a few overs later, trapping the Clayesmore skipper plum in front then getting the obdurate Clayesmore opener caught by Harry S, diving forward to claim a superb catch, just after drinks. Hugo got his fourth, a neat caught and bowled and then Harry S added to his superb fielding display by running out the Clayesmore number 7 with a direct hit from backward point. Arthur D and Harry S came into the attack, along with an over from Al P, but a late flurry of boundaries put a dent in the wicket taking progress and Clayesmore ended on 178-9, Sherborne perhaps thinking that was 10-15 runs more than they should have got.

Opening the batting after the break, Jasper R and Jamie D looked to try and blunt the aggressive Clayesmore attack. Clayesmore were clearly up for the challenge and, judging by the volume of the fielders supporting their bowlers, were keen to get stuck into the Sherborne batting. Unfortunately, Jasper R got a good one in the second over and the Clayesmore captain took a good catch at first slip. Ali RT joined his captain and the pair set about containing and blunting the attack, before starting to push on with the run rate. Jamie G rode his luck a bit and Mr Conway will be making sure that extra fielding practice is required for his Clayesmore XI, as they dropped some real clangers! However, their luck turned with the dismissal of Jamie for a hard fought 36. The adage goes that one brings two, and so it played out with Ali RT holing out in the next over for a hard hit 46. Unfortunately, three quick wickets followed and left Sherborne at 99-6 having been 88-1! With two new batters at the crease, the run rate soared and despite the excellent innings of Al P, ending on 31* and Ben D 25*, putting on 58 for the 6th wicket, Sherborne landed 21 runs short.

A slightly frustrating result for the team against a decent Clayesmore 1st XI. The fact they were playing up a level and ran the team close is very positive. Perhaps with a few runs saved in the first innings with less short bowling, and some more disciplined batting the result could have been reversed. However, it was a good game of cricket and, once the Clayesmore fielders had had their sugar rush from tea absorbed into their bodies, played in a nice spirit.