Joshua Wells, Jake Foley and
Rehan Hassan were invited to Lords to be presented with a special commemorative
plaque by the MCC on the 4th Day of the England v West Indies Test Match. They
had achieved this honour by either scoring a 100 or taking 5 wickets in the
school game against the MCC the previous season. Wells scored a hundred for the
1st XI and Foley took 5 wickets, while Hassan took 5 wickets and scored 100 for
Brentwood before commencing his schooling at Felsted in September 2011.
Unfortunately, due to the weather none of the current XI were able to emulate
or repeat the achievement this season.
The day was an amazing one
from start to finish for the trio and made even more memorable by Mr Gallian
knowing a few influential individuals at the Home of Cricket. Mr Knightley and Mr
Allen, who are members of the club along with Mr Gallian, escorted the boys to
the Media Centre prior to lunch where they had the opportunity to speak with
Ian Ward, Michael Holding, David Gower, Nick Knight (OF), Michael Vaughan,
Simon Hughes, Derek Pringle (OF) and Nasser Hussain. They also saw Ian Botham,
Vivian Richards, Michael Atherton and David Lloyd hard at work. The boys were
certainly in heaven and to meet so many greats of the game in a short period of
time was certainly a privilege for all. Michael Vaughan, who spent some time talking
to the boys, was very intrigued on how Mr Gallian and his Geography lessons
were coming along - although he did note that he was well travelled and in
touch with the local culture around the globe!
This unique opportunity,
before the main award ceremony on the pitch, will live long in the boys memory.
To step on the hallowed turf, however, and receive their plaque was a well
deserved and proud moment for the boys and their families, who had also been
allocated tickets for the day and dined for breakfast, dinner and tea, along
with the trio. Felsted were the only school to have 2 boys (3 if we count
Hassan as our own now) getting awards and to see them on the pitch sporting the
Felsted 1st XI blazer was a proud moment for the supporting staff. The boys
arrived in the Long Room at 12.30pm and as the players left for lunch the boys
marched onto the ground.
During this time Mr Gallian had
worked his magic on the Pavilion manager and had arranged for the boys to have
a tour of the pavilion. After the boys had enjoyed a substantial lunch in the
Thomas Lord Suite, they were treated to the tour and a fantastic view of the
game from all levels of the historic building. As tea approached the boys were
ushered away for their talk on the MCC and the leavers (Wells) left with forms
to complete.
The day was completed by
watching England close on 10-2, needing another 181 to win after a superb day
for the West Indies; but it was an even better one for Felsted cricket.
Congratulations to the boys who I know were very grateful and humbled by the
day. I also thank them for their excellent behaviour in representing the school
during the day. One member, who sat next to the boys at lunch, stated 'They are
passionate about the game and were a pleasure to sit with and they are a credit
to you'.
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