Cricket

Introduction

We have a long and proud tradition of success in cricket, winning the Ulster Schools’ Cup a record 10 times in the 32-year history of the competition. An excellent example of the Cricket Club’s success is the 2017 season when a total of 6 trophies were won. The 1st XI won the Ulster Schools’ Cup, with the 2^nd XI, Under 14 XI and Under 12 XI all winning their respective competitions. The school also won the overall McCullough Cup League title, a competition which involves all school cricket teams, from the Under 12 XI right through to the 1st XI. This trophy was retained in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019.

Overview

Cricket is played during the summer term at RBAI, with competitive fixtures taking place every Saturday morning. Additionally, Cup fixtures for all age groups will take place during the school week.

School cricketers practise on their designated games day, with coaching sessions being run by the master in charge of their team. The school also utilises the expertise of the Instonians Cricket Club professional, who provides expert coaching to all school cricketers, in order to enhance their cricketing development.

The opportunity to start playing cricket at RBAI starts even before pupils enter Year 8. Once P7 pupils have got offered a place at RBAI, they are invited to a cricket summer camp, usually held in August, at our playing fields at Osborne Park. Not only does this camp help develop boys as cricketers, it also gives pupils a chance to get to know each other before they start their school career at RBAI.

The school has ten Cricket teams, ranging from the Under 12 XI through to the 1^st XI

Facilities

The School has three cricket pitches, located at our playing fields at Osborne, Cranmore and Bladon. The cricket square at Osborne contains both grass wickets and an artificial, with two other artificial wickets at Cranmore and Bladon. The School also has both indoor and outdoor nets and an electronic scoreboard at our Osborne Park venue.

The school is very proud that our pitch at Osborne Park was chosen and used as one of the venues for the ICC World Cup Qualifying tournament in 2005 and continues to maintain a Band 1 rating from the Northern Cricket Union. This means the grounds are considered suitable to host Premier League Cricket in Northern Ireland

CRICKET FIXTURES

CRICKET RESULTS

RBAI CRICKET CLUB STAFF