Captain Ollie’s century sees Tonbridge 1st XI home against the MCC

Tonbridge’s 1st XI prevailed for the third year in a row in the annual match against the MCC.

The contest, on Thursday 11 May, saw the MCC fielding an impressive line-up which featured a number of ex-first-class cricketers and also Old Tonbridgians. Kent player Marcus O’Riordan was among their ranks as was Alex Moen, a current member of School staff and former captain of both Cambridge University and Tonbridge.

According to tradition the MCC batted first, going along at a speedy rate of nearly 5 an over and compiling an impressive 254 runs from 56 overs before making the declaration.

The Tonbridge reply was made even more challenging by a long rain interval, which meant that the School had only 40 overs or so to chase down the MCC total.

However, captain and opener Ollie Sykes (HS5) made short work of the task, scoring a blistering 157 from just 117 balls. He was ably supported by Jake Hazari-Webb (OH4), who made an unbeaten 68 from 82 balls.

Tonbridge beat the MCC by 7 wickets with overs to spare in a fine match, played in a great spirit, which demonstrated the depth of talent in the School squad.