Grosvenor In View Magazine 2025

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The season opener was a now traditional, away fixture to Methodist College and an opportunity to blow away the winter cobwebs. Grosvenor won the toss and invited Methody to bat on a glorious sunny morning. With the spin attack of Grosvenor maintaining an element of control both teams would have been happy at the halfway point in the innings. However, it was the introduction to the crease of Methody’s all-rounder that changed the game, and his swashbuckling style of batting made it very difficult for the Grosvenor bowlers to set a field as he scored a quick fire 40 and nudge Methody up to a challenging score of 149 for 6 wickets, despite an excellent spell of 4-38 by Thomas Barr on debut. Grosvenor with a new look opening partnership in Josh Corbett and Ben Ewart got off to a steady start with Josh, in particular, putting the Methody seamers under pressure by flicking his third ball over square leg for 6. After the loss of Ben, the scoring rate started to slow and for a five over period only 8 runs were scored putting Grosvenor firmly on the back foot. There was a fine display of ball striking towards the end of the innings by Alex Fielding whose 35 not out got Grosvenor to a score of respectability at 115 for 7 as Methody ran out winners by 35 runs. Next up, again under blue skies and sunshine, was a visit to Strangford Road, Downpatrick, home of Irish Cricket down through the years. A ‘McCullough Cup’ fixture versus Down High was the test but there were positive memories of last year, when it was a game that produced a last ball victory. Grosvenor won the toss and bowled first with dew on the ground. Down High ran well between the wickets putting the Grosvenor fielders under significant pressure and had it not been for wickets falling at regular intervals, Down High may well have put together a match winning total. They fell away however on the loss of their middle order and a total of 101 for 9 was never going to be enough. Reuben Hall (3), Josh Corbett (2) and William Marsh (2) were all among the wickets. The Down High captain opened the bowling down the hill and with the slight breeze at his back but Josh Corbett relishing his new role, again struck a lofted 6 in the first over of Grosvenor’s reply and the tone was set. Ben Ewart (10) and Josh (33) added 57 for the first wicket before a mini collapse which threatened to derail the chase but a captain’s innings by James Shields (26*) ably assisted by the experienced Reuben Hall (10*) allowed Grosvenor to canter home for victory by 6 wickets and with two overs to spare. Next up was our Schools’ Cup fixture at home to Sullivan. Having lost the toss, Grosvenor were asked to bat first and the damp conditions definitely played a part as the ball failed to run smoothly to the boundary. As was becoming the norm however, Grosvenor batsmen were getting themselves in but not kicking on to make sizeable contributions which would affect the outcome of the game. Alex Fielding did play a beautiful cameo with

a couple of blistering boundaries but a score of 97 for 6 in 20 overs was unlikely to be enough. Sullivan made the perfect start in their eyes with a swift partnership of 46 as their two openers gave a lesson in running between the wickets and then having the ability to dispatch the bad ball. This broke the back of the chase and although Grosvenor took three wickets towards the end, it was a tough morning against a good team. It was good to have Finn Cross back in the line up and bringing some experience to a young side. The following Saturday gave Grosvenor a chance to improve their performance against Sullivan again, this time in the McCullough Cup. Batting first, Sullivan Upper scored 140 for 5, a sizeable total but one on a small ground and quick outfield that was within grasp. The highlight of the innings was the Grosvenor fielding with three outstanding run outs, most notably one from Finn Cross whose throw to the keeper went like a tracer bullet right over the top of the stumps. In reply, Grosvenor put in their best batting performance of the summer, albeit still lacking a big individual score. Having someone to finish 50 not out was required and although James Shields led the way with 22 and Finn Cross with 21, Grosvenor finished just short on 132 for 8. A revealing statistic from the scorecard showed that 6 of the dismissals were clen bowled, something of a trend was evident. It was a disappointing finish but hopefully, lessons have been learnt as to how to manage a run chase and ultimately the skills required to get over the line by putting the opposition under more pressure. It had been a few weeks since Grosvenor had tasted victory and there was a determination that the fixture away at Bangor Grammar was one that had to be taken. That said, it started poorly with the trend continuing where the top order has their stumps rearranged by the opposition bowling attack and with top scores of 26 by Callum Wilson and 19 by Reuben Hall it was always going to be hard to surpass the 100 mark. With a score of 96, the message at the interval was firmly delivered to the Grosvenor team and to be fair they responded in excellent fashion. Finn Cross set the tone with a magnificent opening spell of four overs which included the wicket of Bangor’s best player, neatly caught by captain James Shields. Grosvenor continued to put Bangor under pressure with the accuracy of their bowling and continued to take wickets at key times. Alex Fielding, Josh Corbett, and Ben Ewart all took three wickets each with the adage that straight and full is often a successful game plan! Onto the quarter final of the Schools’ Plate on a damp Saturday morning with rain in the air. Grosvenor won the toss and elected to bowl. Ballyclare High School have a strong team with players who have played several games at the top level in senior club cricket. That said, Grosvenor’s plan of opening with two spinners in Corbett and Fielding proved decisive as not only did they control the run rate, but they took crucial wickets. Given the

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