The papers are calling England’s recent victory over New Zealand in the T20 World Cup as Joss Buttler’s greatest triumph as captain of the national team so far. It was a win they needed badly in order to keep their semi-final dreams alive and they did it with courage and confidence, much to the relief of the fans and no doubt to Jos Buttler as well, who has big shoes to fill as skipper.
On the night he made his 100th T20 appearance for England, Buttler also overtook his predecessor, Eoin Morgan, as the country’s highest run scorer in this format after smashing 73 runs off 47 balls and quite rightly was named “player of the match”.
The reason for being so excited about this is not just simply because we are big cricket fans but that Jos Buttler was a pupil at Kings College Taunton where we designed and installed their indoor Sports Performance & Cricket Centre. While he did not get to benefit from the facilities when he was there and so we cannot claim any part in his success (although we might try), he did open them and for that we are exceptionally proud!
Kings College is an independent day and boarding school in Somerset. Cricket has always been at the forefront of its culture and traditions and it is hailed as a Centre of Cricketing Excellence. Their commitment to the sport has also rewarded them with a place in the top 100 cricket playing schools as selected by The Cricketer Magazine.
Phil Lewis, Director of Sport explains, “We opened the doors to our brand new cricket centre, which boasts three lanes, long run-ups and a state of the art training facility for our cricketers. On top of this, the centre is also used for our sports performance and conditioning programme as well as various other activities such as fencing, dance, aerobics and pilates.”
While the weather may be perfect for cricket in Australia right now for the World Cup, we have storm Claudio causing chaos and certainly putting a stop to any outdoor cricket training that might be planned for the off-season. The indoor facilities at Kings College in Taunton ensure that any future Jos Buttlers they are nurturing can continue to train and progress regardless of the weather outside or the reduced daylight hours. In a few years time when the next ex-Kings College pupil puts in a similar legendary performance for England on the big stage then we will not be holding back from taking some of the credit!
