Day 9

Today saw the squad take on Isolations Cavaliers in our 3^rd fixture of the tour – with the match generously sponsored by Fuelled by Design (see link on the left). The word from Keemar, our tour rep, was that these would be one of the stronger opponents of the tour, so following losses of 167 runs and 6 wickets in our respective opening games, that wasn’t what we wanted to hear.

Another good breakfast was served up at the apartment restaurant before our 10:30am pick up and journey to the ground, located in the parish of St Andrew, to the north-east of the island. Prior to leaving the lads all completed a sweepstake for the US Masters Golf tournament by randomly selecting two players from the top 32 in the field. Dan Marsh defied the laws of probability to overcome a 1 in 66 chance of selecting both Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott halfway through the draw!!

On arrival the opposition were having a few throw-downs and it was evident we were going to be coming up against some serious cricketers. The distinctive blue and yellow training kit of the Barbados cricket team was a bit of a giveaway that a number of their players were part of the underage set-up of the national team.

The wicket looked another good one, resembling the previous two tracks we’d seen, and when our skipper Josh Woodward won the toss he had no hesitation in opting to bat first and set a total that our bowlers could try to defend. 

With the first overs of our previous two innings being disastrous affairs the boys were quick to applaud our openers Simon Hulse and Henry Axon for safely negotiating the first 6 deliveries. A bit of application was the order from coach Castle and our team goal was to bat our full allocation of 35 overs, so the openers patiently began to build their innings whilst looking to put away any loose deliveries. These were largely few and far between so with the score 0/57 off 16 it was time to push on and see if the scoring rate could be lifted. Henry Axon had a few pieces of fortune – possibly an omen from his grandfather Brian, who joined the touring squad for the day whilst on holiday on the island – being dropped on at least 3 occasions. Simon Hulse eventually lost his wicket with the introduction of spin for a well compiled 35, which started something of collapse with the next 3 wickets falling for 19 runs in the space of 4.2 overs. With our big hitters Woodward, Marsh and Taggart back in the pavilion, it was left to Henry and Cameron Emanuel-Burns to stop the flow of wickets but also push the score beyond 100 in the hope of setting a score in the region of 160-175, even though 200+ was probably a realistic par score on a good wicket with a fast enough outfield. Henry finally succumbed after 4 dropped catches and an lbw decision that was reversed by the opposition captain, even though with Henry attempting an audacious reverse-sweep, some may say the shot warranted the decision!! His 51 was the highest score of the tour so far and a great moment for Henry and his grandfather to witness.

The tail-end of our innings featured some cameos from Mills, Norris and Seal who pushed the score beyond 150 with Dan Seal and Willem Bygrave both finishing with their wickets intact. We finished on 9/155 off our 35 overs, a good effort to bat our full allocation, but probably 50 short of what we should have scored.

Another delicious lunch was served with the top 20 goals of the month capturing the attentions of both teams on the TV in the background!!

Another HGS supporter showed up after the interval with Mr Allon and his wife popping in to cheer the lads on whilst enjoying their Easter vacation on the island. The visit seemed to inspire the guys with some very good bowling and excellent support in the field deserving more reward. A dubious not-out decision was a bit of disappointment following a significant noise off the bowling of Emanuel-Burns, which could have just opened up an end, seemed to be the catalyst for some big blows to follow. Unfortunately, despite some tidy bowling and good support in the field, the score had raced away to 0/100 off 14 and the game was quickly slipping away from us. The introduction of Jesse Mills bowling some seam-up bagged us 3 wickets in his 3 over spell, with a sharp juggled return catch and a very good catch by Dan Marsh over his shoulder from a lofted off drive. At 3/129 off 17 overs the boys were clinging on to the hope that the remaining batters might just be bunnies to knock over, however this was certainly not the case with their number 5 continuing to play some delightful strokes off all of our bowlers – who to be fair to them didn’t do a lot wrong throughout their innings. The end result was another loss, this time to the tune of 7 wickets, but it was clear we had come up against a very good side, with the words from Keemar a few hours earlier certainly ringing true.

After the game most of the group were content to cool off by the pool, however Jesse Mills and Elliot Tyler took the opportunity to walk down to the local ground and join in with the club practice session that was in full swing. The lads were over the moon with the chance to bowl to some players who had played some league cricket in England and were even asked to come back tomorrow, indicating how well they must have done!!

WALLY OF THE DAY: The saying “from chocolates to build sweets” is indicative of the tour that Dan Marsh is currently having, with our Folkestone cricketer currently sporting the less than flattering statistic of having taken more wickets than balls he’s faced so far this trip!!!

Day 8

A quick head count this morning relieved a few staff concerns; it appeared that everyone had survived the ‘Come Dine with Me’ experiences from last night. This is more than can be said about the state of several of the kitchens, which are slowly beginning to resemble a small war zone! Obviously washing up may need to be added to the strict assessment criteria.

A morning of culture was the order of the day as the group headed out to Harrison’s Cave, a big visitor attraction on the Island. Located in the parish of St Thomas the cave is a huge underground collection of stalactites, stalagmites and underground waterfalls set in the limestone bedrock that makes up most of the Island. Having mastered the long glass elevator down to the cave entrance the boys watched a short film about the geographical features and make up of Barbados (Miss Chapman and Mr Russell would be most impressed). They then jumped aboard the trams destined to take us deep underground. The 45 minute ride was broken up with several stops to allow for photo opportunities. It was also just enough time to get some more cricketing words of wisdom from another local expert – in this case the tram driver.  At 150 feet below ground level he proceeded to give us a full wicket report on the track at Isolations Cavaliers, our next opponents.

The rest of the afternoon was spent by the pool or in some cases preparing gourmet meals for day 2 of ‘Come Dine with Me’.  Mr Castle escorted the 4 chefs to the supermarket to collect provisions – a simple task for most, but apparently not necessarily so for 16 & 17 year old cricketers who have not cooked a meal before and certainly not had to shop for the contents in a local Bajan supermarket. Expecting to find the contents of Sainsbury’s in Park Farm, some of the group were a little challenged when the shelves didn’t quite contain all their required ingredients!! Josh Woodward turned what should have been a 10 minute trip into a shopping marathon as he struggled when unable to locate poppadums, naan bread and a tin of chopped tomatoes! Meanwhile Ben Norris was in turmoil having forgotten his phone and his only lifeline to instructions for making strawberry mousse.

Back at base camp things went from bad to worse for poor Ben when he was caught seeking advice and a whisk from the local chef in the restaurant next to the apartments. Similarly Josh was found sneaking back down to the shops (obviously he had forgotten something despite his marathon stint earlier in the day!).

Resident ‘Come Dine with Me’ adjudicator Mr Rowe had set a 7.00 meal time as part of the strict marking criteria for today’s competition. Our amateur cooks all busied themselves ahead of the judging panel’s visit. Table cloths appeared from nowhere (although the beds were looking rather bare), freshly picked flowers were eagerly placed on immaculately laid tables and some even went to great lengths electing suitable play lists to impress the judges (Mr Castle & Mr Rowe). Paddy Cox produced an excellent 3 courses featuring soup, fajitas and cake desert, whilst Jack Fackley impressed his room with steak and chips and a salad garnish! The winner though was budding master chef Ben Norris who created a protein focussed, steak with poached eggs on a homemade salsa verde. This was followed with a fresh strawberry mousse made with whipping cream and strawberry protein shake?? Ben had strangely made a romantic theme for his evening with a selection of soppy love songs as a musical playlist and even prepared face masks of his roommates girlfriends so they would feel at home….all very strange…the staff left the boys to their own devices after a very quick visit!! Special mention to captain Josh Woodward who made a valiant attempt cooking his first ever meal. The curry was a hit with his 3 roommates, although he didn’t quite get his measurements right with the rice, which they will now be eating for the remainder of the tour.

WALLY OF THE DAY:

Josh Woodward – who may need a little help before he goes to Uni in September!!

Day 7

A surprise 6.30am wakeup call greeted the touring squad this morning as Mr Castle and Mr Rowe decided that some early morning fitness work would remind the boys of the need to meet evening curfews! Our would-be Karaoke stars found the rising a little more challenging than most as we headed down to the beach. Following a few stern words from Mr Castle the boys undertook some interval training and shuttle runs across the sand….it soon became apparent that a rock and roll, late night lifestyle certainly doesn’t mix well with 6.30am shuttle runs!! With the point clearly made most of the boys returned to apartment refreshed and ready for the day, whilst a certain few crept back to bed feeling less than chipper!

With no game today most planned a day of relaxation and revision around the pool. Mr Rowe took the opportunity to escort our budding master chefs down to the supermarket in preparation of day 1 of our "Come Dine With Me" challenge.

The afternoon saw us return to the beach to resume our team challenges in a series of Barbados Beach Olympic events.  First up was the coconut shot, with Rookie Wren showing his explosive power in the process of seeing off some strong opponents in Simon Hulse, Elliot Tyler and Cameron Emanuel-Burns. Next up the Aussie beach lifeguard challenge saw Willem Bygrave pip Dan Marsh in collecting the cricket stump and in the coconut shy throwing challenge Henry Axon’s trusty left arm led him to victory. The beach volleyball keepy up competition was highly entertaining pitting the prized footballing skills of Messer’s Seal, Hulse, Mackay and Fakley together, much to the amusement of the on looking crowd. Lucky we’re on a cricket tour as the football skills on show certainly wouldn't worry any locals. After 3 attempts each the best score was 4 (courtesy of a couple of chins and a flaying elbow!).  In the ‘golden keepy up’ sudden death playoff Simon Hulse snatched  victory with an uncoordinated 5 that ended up with him covered in sand and requiring a lengthy dip in the sea! The final event saw each team compete in an ‘iron man’ beach relay. It ended up more plasticine man than iron man, as our finely tuned athletes struggled with the 100m run and 50m sea swim.  Jacob ‘the fish’ Mackay led his team to victory as others ‘floundered’ to keep up.

With 3 hungry mouths to feed, the master chefs got down to the business of preparing their dinners for their rooms. The first to don the aprons were Ronan Taggart, Elliot Tyler, Daniel Seal and Harry Wren, each with the dual goal of sufficiently feeding their roommates as well as trying to earn points for the room challenge competition.

Competition was fierce with spies attempting to glean any bit of intelligence about other room’s meals and make last minute decisions about décor, lighting and music to set the mood for their “guests”. Fajitas were a popular choice for the inaugural evening, with both Taggart and Tyler opting for the Mexican favourite.

Elliot’s meal was complemented nicely by salsa and corn chips as well as salad and it was served on time – something that not all our chefs could accomplish. Ronan’s Mexican dish was served with chips and he also provided a dessert of Neapolitan ice-cream and chocolate brownies – much to the delight of his roommates. Rookie Wren rose to the challenge with the youngster knocking up steak and chips, earning him rave reviews from his roommate Willem Bygrave.

After much deliberation by Mr Paul “Gregg Wallace” Castle and Mr Steven “John Torode” Rowe the winner, and standout performer, had to be Daniel Seal, who provided a full 3-course meal of beef wraps, followed by grilled chicken and egg fried rice and finished with ice-cream, all completed on-time and accompanied by background music and candles. The second installment occurs tomorrow night with the lads already discussing their menu choices and asking advice of the staff to get an advantage over the competition!

WALLY OF THE DAY: During the Barbados Beach Olympics, Jack Fakley demonstrated his sublime footballing skills by advancing through to the next round of the keepy-up competition with an accidental combination of deft touches from his right foot, left foot, chin, chest and elbow!!

Day 6

Our regular pre-match breakfast meeting saw us set up game plans, discuss match tactics and more importantly hand over the Wally of the Day attire to yesterday’s deserving  victor Danny Tomlinson. A cool breeze and low cloud promised a slightly cooler day with the threat of the odd shower.

Today’s opponents were Lester Vaughan School, regular tormentors of Harvey cricket teams from previous tours. Words of warning given by our drivers, about their strengths did nothing to help our team’s fragile confidence as we arrived to see another flat, baked, mud track.

A small victory was taken as Josh Woodward won the toss and elected to bat. He pumped the air on his way back from the middle keen to celebrate any minor win. Meanwhile the staff were contemplating which beach to go to should the Harvey boys get skittled out cheaply and the game finish early!

Our opponents emerged from the changing rooms, and the bowlers immediately started marking out their run ups – the standard 25 metre sprints suggested that another day of ducking and weaving some traditional Caribbean ‘chin music’ was on the cards. Hopes were raised a little when two 12 year olds joined the fielding team.  One walked straight up to Ronan and jokingly told him that although he was only 12 he was going to knock his off stump out of the ground before scoring a fifty by hitting the ball into the road. He then proceeded to walk up to the umpiring Mr Castle, and cheekily say -“morning Dickie Bird, that guy battings gonna be out first ball”. He wasn’t far from being right as another dramatic first over threatened to spoil all our best laid plans. Having safely seen off the first ball of the innings (an immediate improvement from game1!), Simon Hulse saw the top of his off stump get clipped the very next ball, breaking the bail in the process! Luckily Mr Castle had already called no ball and our first runs were on the board as the ball had ricocheted to the boundary for a thoroughly deserved 5 runs! Ball three of our innings was equally action packed. Simon Hulse pushed a classy forward defensive shot into the covers and stood admiring the quality technique displayed.  Ronan set off for a single despite no call from Simon and the result was two of our best batsman stranded at one end and a simple run out for our hosts. All that could be heard was derisive laughter from the outfield and a chirpy 12 year shouting “see Dickie Bird I told ye!”

Josh Woodward joined Ronan and the pair started making amends against a somewhat erratic bowling attack, who helped by bowling plenty of extras. Ronan unfortunately played on having scored a good 21, which brought Harry Wren to the crease. Again Harry looked at ease against the fast bowlers despite his young age, hitting some delightful boundaries in a quickfire 17. At 79-2 off 12 overs we were in a very good position. Unfortunately, in true English style, a couple of average spinners came on and a batting collapse soon followed. We eventually limped to 151 all out, with 9 of our 35 overs still to bat (top scorer was extras, 49).

Simon Hulse bowled a tidy spell at the start of their innings, but on a quick outfield and playing with the traditional big left handed openers our opponents were never in real trouble scoring runs freely on their way to a 6 wicket victory. Willem Bygrave eventually broke the opening partnership and Harry Wren took a good catch off Jesse Mills to gain some pride for the Brits. Skipper Josh Woodward was the pick of our bowlers taking 2-14.  If only we could have batted our full allowance of overs and added another 50 or so runs we may have been able to put some more pressure on our hosts. The highlight of our fielding display was a diving stop on the boundary by Simon Hulse. Such was his eagerness to stop the ball that he carried on with his dive and fell down a bank and out of sight.Whilst the fielders waited for Simon to re appear and throw the ball in, the batsman ran 5, little did we know that Simon had gone down a 10 meter slope and couldn’t get up!

Licking our wounds we headed back to apartments for a well-earned dip in the pool. Sunday nights in Holetown are famous for the Karaoke that takes place down one of its narrow streets. Most of our party ventured down to watch the spectacle as locals and tourists alike entertain the crowds with average to very poor renditions of anything from Bob Marley to Madonna! Despite much encouragement from the staff it took most of the evening to get anyone to sing. Eventually Ben ‘Buble’ Norris stepped up and put his name on the lengthy waiting list. Having warmed himself up by doing push ups on the pavement and then spending a good 20 minutes listening to his selected song on his mobile phone in eager anticipation, Ben and few backing singers (Woodward, Wren, Mackay,  Bygrave & Tomlinson) finally stormed the stage. ‘Take that’ it wasn’t, in fact it was more ‘noise zone’ than ‘Boyzone’, however our would be rock stars enjoyed their moment of glory headlining in front a raucous crowd of ageing tourists and local down and outs!

Unfortunately the Rock Star lifestyle went to the boy’s heads somewhat, with the 6 aforementioned individuals missing their curfew by more than a “Bajan time” allowance!! A nice surprise might await the group in the morning!!!

WALLY OF THE DAY:

Karaoke King Ben ‘Buble’ Norris – who was convinced to sing by a young female local, on the promise of the pair performing a duet. Surprisingly (to Ben but definitely not to the rest of us) on the stroke of performance time, Ben’s Kylie Minogue was nowhere to be found, leaving our Jason Donovan to fly solo!!!

Day 5

An early 8.20am start for the troops today, as we met for our Island jeep safari. Inevitably and in classic teenage fashion, some rocked up a bit bleary eyed having awoken only 10 minutes previously. On the way to the jeeps the boys were asked to select 2 horses out a hat for our Grand National Sweepstake….how ironic after yesterday’s florist confessions that Danny should pick out ‘Rose of the moon’ (it turned out to be an early faller!).

Our two tour guides Mervin and Charles were quick to get on the road giving a running commentary on everything from the history of Barbados, the local wildlife, the difference between mangos and breadfruit and of course the homes of the rich and famous. This was interspersed with the boys being thrown around the 4 x 4’s in some off road action across the sugar cane fields and mountain terrain. Various stops were made to allow the boys a chance to stretch their legs, have a drink and take a few pictures.

This included the world famous Bathsheba beach, picturesque for its palm tree lined shore and rolling waves. Unfortunately someone mentioned ‘free wifi’ and all attention reverted to mobile devices for an update on football scores and facetime!

Another highlight was the buffet lunch taken at a local spa resort. Parents will be pleased to know that boys took full advantage of the ample food on offer devouring the barbecue chicken, flying fish and beef stew on offer. Firsts, seconds and even thirds were readily received.

Our journey home took us past a couple of cricket matches – the sight of more pale white touring Brits taking a pounding from the locals encouraged our lads. We even stopped to watch a few balls of an under 12 game, whooping and hollering the sight of a rare boundary. Despite pleas of ‘can we play them ?’ we moved off reminding the lads that upsetting the local bowlers on view wouldn’t be too wise, as their big brothers would be out to face us tomorrow.

Back at Travellers Palms for late afternoon and evening the lads reverted to ‘chill out’ mode relaxing by the pool, playing test match cricket and doing a spot of revision. 

The Grand National sweepstake was won by Elliot Tyler who luckily selected the winner Pineau De Re, whilst the team challenge was won by Woodies Warriors whose combined selections were the most successful.

On the cooking front Simon ‘stir fry’ Hulse has received rave reviews for his culinary skills, rumour has it he’s opening up a stall at Oistins next Friday. Elsewhere the lads have been braving new culinary exploits extending beyond 9p noodles to steak and fruit strudel (obviously both must have been on special offer in the supermarket!). Unfortunately, following this evenings room inspections, it appears that culinary skills don’t seem to extend to washing up and general cleanliness… apparently ‘boys will be boys’. A notable exception to this was Danny Tomlinson, who was keen to show us his ‘domesticated corner’ of the room, pointing out proudly his neatly folded pile of clean clothes alongside his organised mound of dirty washing. Similarly the boys in Cameroon’s room who were eager to show us their washing up rota on the wall…..obviously it must start tomorrow!

WALLY OF THE DAY: As a result of Danny Tomlinson's romance advice on the bus ride back from Oistins the previous evening, plus his well organised laundry "piles" he has won the coveted title of Wally of the Day.

Day 4

Friday was a rest day with the boys nursing their wounded pride following yesterday’s heavy defeat. Some were actually resting bruised limbs following their endeavours in the field. Paddy Cox has suffered the first injury on tour – a grazed knee, whilst Henry reported to Doctor Castle concerned about a blood blister on his toe. ‘Man up’ pills were administered as the boys took to some serious recuperation by the pool.

Several took the opportunity to get out their revision guides, whilst Rookie Wren returned to the makeshift D61 classroom on Mr Castle’s balcony to resume Btec catch club. The afternoon saw many of the squad venture down to the beach, whilst the real hardhitters stayed by the pool for a serious game of test match cricket. Keen to impress coach Rowe, Jacob Mackay and Willem Bygrave were out to claim a place in Sundays starting eleven having not contributed yesterday. Defensive capabilities were tested to the full against a tweaking wet tennis ball, coupled with some outstanding fielding into the pool made it very challenging for the batsmen. Mr Rowe couldn’t resist the temptation and joined in showing the lads how it’s done down under.

A very pleasant evening was spent in Oistins fish market on the southern tip of the Island. Oistins comes to life every Friday with live music, entertainers, market stalls and lots of food stands selling everything from barbecued pigtails to dolphin! Many of our party took the opportunity to sample some of the local fresh fish whilst others stayed safe with some good old Caribbean fried chicken. With the group travelling aboard two minibuses the staff decided to journey back on the self-proclaimed ‘banter bus’, where they were quickly entertained by Danny Tomlinson’s advice on romance and the expense of regular visits to florists in Shepway!

WALLY OF THE DAY: Eliot Tyler for running down the track and attempting an audacious shot on the first ball he faced in Barbados (surprisingly he was out for a golden duck!). Also for befriending the resident cat.

Day 3

There was a mix of excitement and apprehension in the air over breakfast this morning with the lads preparing for their first game on tour against Combermere School - which boasts previous students such as Sir Frank Worrell, Chris Jordan and Rihanna!!

The teamsheet was pinned up after breakfast revealing the names of the starting XI and the responsibilities of the resting squad members.

To the surprise of Mr Castle and Mr Rowe the entire squad was ready and assembled in the car park on time for the 10:45 pick up before heading off on the 30 minute drive to the school. The match sponsors for today's game were Sylvia Taggart and BigJigs Toys who we thank for their support.

On arrival the outfield was being mowed, pitch rolled and boundary rope set out making the ground look a pretty attractive one. The lads were keen to inspect the pitch - possibly in the hope of seeing a green seamer or something similar to UK conditions!! What confronted them couldn't have been more different with a flat and hard wicket staring back almost screaming "bat first, please"!!

Unfortunately our captain for the game Josh Woodward lost the toss - possibly not helped by the lack of a visible head or tail on the coin!! Our bowling suffered from a bit of a wayward start, with the Combermere batsman picking up anything short and playing some very nice shots straight down the ground to the fuller pitched deliveries. They also ran very well between wickets with lots of quick singles frustrating our attempts to build pressure. The opening bowlers of Axon and Emanuel-Burns failed to break the opening partnership despite some good deliveries and with the score at 0/48 off 6 the ball was thrown to Dan Marsh. What an impact he had with his first delivery - a juicy, long-hop that the opening batsman flat-batted straight to Henry Axon, who held it for the first wicket of the tour. Marshy then continued to take wickets at regular intervals despite runs still being scored freely. At the end of his spell Marshy was sporting figures of 4/28 off 5 overs with the opposition on 4/101 off 15 overs.

Spin was then introduced with Danny Tomlinson getting some good purchase off the surface and creating a stumping in his first over, assisted by some sharp deflecting work from wicketkeeper Seal. The Combermere batsmen continued to bat well down the order and started to up the scoring rate, despite some steady bowling from Woodward, Cox, Mills and Tyler no-one was able to break a strong 6th wicket partnership. Eventually the return of the openers saw Axon pick up the much needed breakthrough with a good outfield catch taken by Rookie Wren, however by this stage most of the damage had been done and the hosts were sitting pretty on 6/241 off 31 overs. Another wicket for Marsh bagging his 5-for and dismissing Combermere's #3 for a well compiled 94, and a wicket in the final over for Cam saw the innings end on a sizable total of 7/267 off 35 overs. Much work would be needed with the bat if the tour was to start on a winning note.

A superb lunch of chicken or beef curry and rice & peas lifted the mood slightly and then the Harvey openers took to the middle to chase down the score. Marshy was unfortunately not able to re-create his bowling effort with his off-stump cartwheeling behind him from the first legitimate delivery faced on tour!!! 267 was starting to look more like 2067. As wickets began to fall regularly there was some resistance from skipper Woodward (29) and Cam (19), however the asking rate was increasing beyond 10 an over and with a couple of very dubious stumpings of Mills and Emanuel-Burns the task was looking well and truly beyond us at 5/68 off 16. Rookie Wren played a couple of very nice straight drives giving in indication to the rest of the team that runs can be scored but the key is to bat for long enough to give yourself an opportunity of scoring big towards the end of the innings. After 25.5 overs the boys were all out for 100, a 168 run loss to start the tour. Hopefully some lessons have been learned and the squad can improve the little things to make a better fist of our next game in a couple of days time.

Returning to the apartment the lads were keen to get into the pool and cool down before a team quiz, including a topical Barbados round. The room of Axon, Hulse, Tomlinson & Norris came out victors, giving their team a points boost in the Barbados Tour challenge. A few more hours in the pool followed before the lads retired to their rooms for some sleep and treatment for the numerous grass burns and gravel rash obtained from diving around on the baked outfield.

The scorecard is below and keep an eye on twitter for live updates.