Our 1st XI Darlot cricket side managed to defend its premiership after a gruelling season, which ended prematurely thanks to COVID-19.
Starting back in September 2019, the team – led by Colours recipients Matthew Sculthorpe (Captain) and James Vercoe (Vice-Captain) – played some positive cricket in Term 4, winning five of six matches to sit on top of the ladder with Scotch and Trinity at the halfway mark.
The traditional two-day Darlot format started in February with a hard-fought draw against Scotch, which saw Hale fight tooth and nail for the final wicket in the last hour of play but fell short. From there, the team had a brilliant comeback against Aquinas after defending a small first innings total of 88 runs. It set the scene for a rare outright victory against Wesley in the next round with the batting and bowling clicking in the same fixture. This outright victory propelled Hale to the joint lead in the competition with Trinity.
March 13 saw what turned out to be the final fixture of the season at Mt Claremont against Christ Church Grammar. The first century of the season to wicket-keeper Noah Bloch propelled the team to an 8-wicket victory.
Due to the uneven number of games played between Trinity and Hale, and with the final round fixture between the two ladder leaders cancelled, the PSA made the decision that both schools would share the Darlot Cup. It became the school’s 29th premiership since 1905.
