Scots College first XI tour to remember

BY PENNY MILES

Very few teams, let alone schoolboys, will train at the Melbourne Cricket Ground nets in a lifetime, but this was an incidental bonus for the Scots College first XI during their summer tour of Australia.

The Scots boys were unsure if it was through good manners or good fortune that a tour guide took a liking to their party.

"We were lucky enough that our tour guide took us for 1½ 2hours around the MCG. Usually it's like half an hour," Josh Beaumont, 17, said.

"One of the managers asked if we could use the indoor nets. So we had our afternoon training there, which was a bit of a privilege."

The honours board and the vast changing rooms at the MCG also captured the boys' attention, according to Beaumont.

Another enduring memory was the sweltering temperatures during the 12-day tour last month when they played schoolboy teams in Melbourne and Adelaide.

"The first day we got to Melbourne it was 45 degrees celsius. Luckily we didn't have to play, but still it was ridiculous," captain Nick Wellwood said.

Scots' results were a mixed bag, winning three of six one-dayers and losing a Twenty20. They hope the experience against their more aggressive trans-Tasman counterparts will spur them towards the premier grade this season.

"Some teams really outclassed us but others we found to be more to our level. Other teams just really took it upon us," Beaumont said.

Beaumont is a boarding student at Scots as his parents have recently shifted back to Geelong. As an Australian, he said it was an unusual experience to tour his home country with a Kiwi team.

"It was good fun. I know how they play. They're very competitive and they always want to play. It was good to see us try the same thing."

Wellwood said the tour was part of a drive to improve the school's sports results.

He has noticed that cricket now has a higher profile than when he first started at the school.

"It's not just the cricket. The hockey team is going to Beijing at Easter and the first XV is going to Argentina next year."

Graeme Beaumont coached the first XI during the tour but has returned to Geelong. Tony Hutchins has moved up from taking the year 10 team last year.

- © Fairfax NZ News