Before I go through this years highlights I want to start by saying a very big thank you to our cricket program community, without the support of parents, school administration and staff we would not have one of the most successful specialist programs in the state.  We had a few innovations this year which we intend to make even better next year which included live streaming our First XI games, incorporating our lion logo as our official cricket program logo (the Belridge Lions), our Zing flashing stumps and the inclusion of our Netball program into our awards night to highlight their achievements and successful program in its own right.

Kim Hughes State Champions Again!!!

Once again we won the WACA’s premier school cricket competition the Kim Hughes Shield making it back-to-back wins.  What an amazing effort by these students all term and the final was to be dominated by our Captain, Cooper Connolly, who scored a double century in the game leading the team to victory.  We will be aiming for the three-peat in 2022 and here is hoping we have another successful campaign.

Year 7 Cricket Camp 

In Week 3 our Year 7 cricket students set off on their annual cricket camp for 3 full-on days of indoor cricket competing against schools in Western Australia.  We left early on a Wednesday morning and started straight away at Bouncers Indoor Sports Centre in Joondalup.  The competition involves 3 full days of competition with finals and play-offs.

For some students this would have been been their first experience with a different format of cricket and an opportunity to improve and enhance their cricket skills all year round.  We ended the first day with our two teams winning a couple of games but improving every time we stepped on the court.  After that we headed off to our accommodation at Ern Halliday to settle in and get ready for our first team dinner.  Little did the students know that we had a very special guest surprise for them to join us for laser tag and then dinner which was organised by Mrs Howat.  We got to laser tag and then a few moments later our special guest and Australian Cricketing star Jhye Richardson walked in!  To say the students were excited was an understatement, he generously gave up his time and had lots of fun with our students, as well as answering many of their questions.

Both teams over the three days had a great time and more importantly improved their cricket skills, unfortunately we couldn’t back up last year’s performance and come away with the trophy, but the students never gave up and did their best.

Year 8 Cricket Camp Narrogin

One of the favourite camps among our students is in the small country town of Narrogin and once again the students had an amazing time filled with many great memories on and off the field.  We came very close to having another student get on the 100 Club trophy with Samuel Dickerson missing out just scoring 98 on Day 1 of cricket.  Patrick Oulton was close to a 5 wicket haul, just missing out with 4 wickets on Day 2.  Overall all students achieved success in some way on the field. Off the field they definitely bonded and had a great time.

Year 9 Cricket Camp Rockingham/Mandurah

Our Year 9 camp was also filled with plenty of highlights on and off the field and was dominated by the King twins. Nate King scored his first ever 50 which he went on to turn into his first ever 100 while Riley played good all-around cricket with consistent runs and wickets for the 3 days. We also had a 2^nd hundred for the camp with Lincoln Fieldhouse hitting a blistering 114 n.o. off 83 balls. Off the cricket field the students had a fantastic time making new friends from all other schools involved and would quite often been seen playing pool, mini golf (some students at 4am… Ryan Andrews…), hanging out or playing more cricket with their new friends.

Presentation Night 2021

On Friday the 10^th of December we held our annual cricket presentation night. Once again after amazing feedback from our parents and students we were back at the home of cricket, The WACA, to give the awards night the glitz and glamour it deserves.  This year we decided to join forces with our fantastic Netball program to host their awards night and to merge our successful programs as a sporting school community.  Students and parents were provided with a night deserving of their stature and achievements.

And what a fabulous night it turned out to be!  Students honoured the occasion by dressing smart and in their school tops and the venue provided for the perfect backdrop to hold the new look awards night.  Over 300 parents and students attended the evening, with guest speakers from our WACA representative Mrs Fiona Cummings (Participation and Diversity Manager) as well as Warriors and Fury Players Bryce Jackson and Sheldyn Cooper.  Jess Anstiss from the West Coast Fever also assisted in presenting our Netball Academy awards.  Our MC, Mr Scott Amy, did an amazing job running the evening and our Principal Mrs Sharon Lyon opened the evening with a fantastic speech singing the praises of all, but in particular to the parents and our community.  Raffle prizes were won and it wasn’t just award winners that walked away with something.

We look forward to continuing our new tradition and continue to making it even better in 2022.  Thank you to all involved for making it such a special event and we look forward to doing it again next year.

Scott Ogilvie
Specialist Cricket Program Coordinator

Congratulations to all Award Winners for 2021