Merchant Taylors’ School made it 1-1 in their compelling ongoing cricket rivalry with Harrow School on Tuesday 18 June when they beat their North London challengers by four wickets in the 2024 Schools' Cricket Association of Middlesex U14 Boys' County Cup Final. The victory would have brought great satisfaction to MTS, who, the previous week, had lost to Harrow School in the U15 T20 Boys' Final.
MTS won the toss and invited Harrow to bat on the 1st XI pitch at Harrow School. The home side made an aggressive start but MTS were able to keep their opponents in check by taking regular wickets, and at the half way stage of their 40 over innings Harrow had reached 85/4. With the game in the balance George Bamford and Ronan Smith batted with intelligence, adding 90 runs for the fifth wicket. Both batters fell, Bamford for an impressive 77 in consecutive overs and Harrow only managed to add six runs in the final two and a half overs of their innings. Each of MTS’ bowlers contributed but it was Roshan Lakhani and Kian Jobanpura who finished with the best figures.
Harrow claimed an early wicket in MTS’ response but the visitors nerves were calmed by a controlled 50-run partnership between Aditya Shingala and Levin Chakravorty. And it was Shingala that held MTS’s innings together with a match-winning 90. Shingala was given excellent support by Rishi Mehta, who scored a run-a-ball 34 in a 69-run partnership with the opener. With the game all but one both Mehta and Shingala lost their wickets to set up a nervous finale but MTS’ eased home to a four-wicket win with seven balls to spare.
As a consequence of this victory Merchant Taylors’ School go through to represent Middlesex in the U15 National schools' competition next summer.
Congratulations to MTS, hard lines Harrow and good luck to MTS in the National competition in 2025 – we hope you go the whole way.
