New outdoor cricket nets have been installed
A huge thank you to the Friends of Winchester House and our amazing parent community for making our new outdoor cricket nets possible. We now have 6 nets positioned on the netball courts, between the hockey and rugby pitches which significantly increases cricket training potential. Housians will be using the nets this term as part of the Beyond programme.
The fundraising target was met at Housefest, our family festival, and thanks to the magic and extreme organisation of Chris Callow, the nets were up by the time we returned to school. The new nets have enabled us to extend our cricket season and have also provided a wonderful outdoor learning environment.
A brilliant way to celebrate 150 years of cricket at Winchester House and 10 years of girls’ cricket. An incredible new asset for all Housians.
History of cricket at Winchester House school
150 years of cricket
- 1875 – Cricket first played at Winchester House from the very earliest days of the school. A tradition born alongside the school itself.
- 1988 – “You could tell what term it was by the sport being discussed in the staff common room.”
- 1989 – A girl plays for the 2nd XI as first change bowler — a quiet, pioneering moment that predates the girls programme by nearly three decades.
- 1990 – Chris Wilson hits six sixes in single over for the 1st term – so remarkable it was recorded in the Cricketer magazine. A WHS legend was made
- 1995 – James Wilson (Captain, 1st X1) scores 310 runs gains other schools. A record for a boy still with a year to go. Tom Dillon scores 179 runs at Colts age, another record.
- 1997 – The 1st XI goes the entire season unbeaten. A golden summer in the WHS record books.
- 2000’s – Matches begin a slow transition away from declaration cricket — the traditional format — towards the modern T20 style that now dominates the game.
- 2008 – Chris Wilson — the WHS six-sixes legend — returns as Master i/c Cricket. He coaches Ben Duckett: 12 innings, 990 runs, average 141.4, highest score 204*. Four centuries. The 1st XI goes unbeaten.
10 years of girls cricket
- 2016 – Girls cricket formally introduced by Sarvi Razarvi (Head of Girls Games, Welsh Indoor Cricket Team). The first match — at St Hugh’s on 7th May — is abandoned due to rain! The second, 11th June, is a WHS U11 victory.
- 2017 – Momentum builds for girls cricket: two U11 and two U13 teams take the field in a single block fixture. The programme is growing.
- 2018 – Cricket and rounders run side by side in hybrid fixtures for girls. Clara Wakeford and Lily Fagan play for the Boys 1st XI; Sasha Wakeford plays for the Colts A Team.
- 2019 – Rounders is retired for good. Cricket takes over completely. Lulu Leetham becomes the first ever Captain of Girls Cricket at Winchester House
- 2022 – First girls hard ball game — pairs vs Beachborough, 8th June. WHS win 315 to 261. Players of the match: Victoria Lee (fielder), Cecelia Butters (batter), Lucinda Heygate (bowler). Junior A’s win at Stowe the following week.
- 2025 – Maggie Johnson becomes the first girl to score a century for WHS (1st XI). Scarlett Stoop scores the first girls’ half century at junior level at the Stowe Festival. A bespoke girls’ kit is introduced.
If you can help fill in any gaps in our cricket history, please let us know – alumni@winchester-house.org