Tom Poynton (S’06) had a whirlwind introduction to Australian Cricket on Saturday, being whisked straight from the airport to his first game – and even put in a man of the match performance!
Tom, who plays for Derbyshire County Cricket Club, has been sponsored by their Committee Member Chris Grant to attend the prestigious Darren Lehmann Cricket Academy in Adelaide, which has previously played host to the likes of England internationals Monty Panesar and Samit Patel.
While at the academy, Tom (seen here playing for the School’s Twenty20 side in 2007) will work on his wicket keeping and batting under the direction of Lehmann himself, and former Australian wicketkeeper Graham Manou. He will also turn out for club side the Jets, where Manou is Captain.
Inspired by watching England’s dominant Ashes victory in Sydney, Tom flew in to Adelaide where he was met by the Jets’ coach Shaun Seigert, who drove him straight to their Twenty20 Game against Glenelg. Introduced to his new team mates as his side took to the field, he was soon in the thick of the action, being involved in a decent stumping, before scoring a stylish 32 to earn himself the man of the match award, and his team’s victory.
After a promising start to his first class career with Derbyshire, where he is joined by fellow Old Reptonians Paul Borrington (S’04) and Ross Whitely (N’05) Tom will be hoping this Australian adventure helps propel him to the next level, and we wish all three of them well.
Posted on
Thu, January 13, 2011
by Repton School