Clayesmore goes batty for Somerset's Peter Trego

The Cricketer team test the latest blades at a lovely school in Dorset with the help of the Somerset ace

We should have known we were in cricket country when we entered a village called Compton Abbas. Presumably it was not named after Denis and Zaheer. Just two miles later however, and there it is, the lovely Clayesmore School.

Set in the bucolic Dorset countryside, the grounds are exquisite. It has an intimate feel, with only 480 pupils (60 per cent of whom are boarders).

This is where The Cricketer team have assembled to test out this year’s new batch of bats. And arriving at lunchtime is Somerset allrounder, cult hero, this magazine’s columnist and generally good egg, Peter Trego. Tin helmets on – but more of that later.

Founded in 1896 in Enfield by Alexander Devine, a Greek-Irish Mancunian, Clayesmore School has been on a journey. It started life in Middlesex in 1896, before moving to Pangbourne, then on to Winchester. Finally it settled in its present location, relocating to Dorset and acquiring Iwerne Manor, the main school building, in time for the summer term of 1933. It went co-ed in 1974.

Ex-pupils include John Stephenson, who played for Essex (1934–39) and Worcestershire (1947); and current Hampshire wicketkeeper Lewis McManus.

‘Prep to professional’ is the motto of the school, suggesting you can move seamlessly from the junior school – which is on site – to the professional game – and McManus is a prime example of that.

The school has five cricket pitches, and the 1st XI one has a lovely old wooden pavilion. It is going to be replaced by a new facility however. There will be a balcony overlooking the field and a room at the top for meetings. There will also be ample room for parents to sup drinks and eat sandwiches and cakes during cricket teas.

There are also eight artificial lanes of nets down behind the chapel, four of which are going to be renovated soon, and 12 grass nets.

The main pitch enjoys a beautiful setting under the gaze of Hambledon Hill and its iron-age fort. It is also near a scenic lake, which is being dredged to look even better.

There is a clear love of cricket here. The school has held a cricket week since 1957, the girls’ game is really taking off, and a short-haul tour to Europe is being planned for next year, the details of which are yet to be confirmed.

Our bat-testing line-up, which features Trego, The Cricketer editor Simon Hughes plus most of our staff, is joined by the school’s most promising cricketers, male and female. The session takes place in the main sports centre, with its excellent nets. It is an already impressive facility, with its large main arena, wonderful-looking swimming pool and pair of squash courts, but there is ongoing work converting office space into sports scholarship-specific areas, overseen by Chris Humpage, the school’s sporting events manager.

Former Yorkshire seam bowler Dan Conway is head of boys’ games. “Sport has grown a lot here over the last 10 years or so,” he says. “Sports scholarships have increased. We are going in a positive way. We have been so proud to have been in The Cricketer’s top 100 schools for the fourth year in a row.

“We play schools like Canford, Bryanston, Truro, Sherborne and King’s Bruton. Most of them are a lot larger than us, but we do compete. Many people say we punch above our weight, which is fantastic. To illustrate that, recent results have included the boys’ 1st XI beating MCC in the final over in 2016.

“We like the ‘prep to professional’ motto. Andrea Cheverton, the head of girls’ games, and I coach in the prep school, so we help youngsters develop from four to 18 – as Lewis McManus did.

“We are currently very strong in years 9 and 10, and we have some good years 12s as well, so we are sitting pretty for the next four years, and the prep school is looking strong as well. It goes in cycles, and we are lucky we have strong numbers coming up from there.

The prep school is on the main site, which makes it even easier for progression, so once the youngsters do come up they have a sense of familiarity, they are working on the same sort of schemes as us.

“To pick out a few players – we have Jacob Gordon, Toby Berry, Josh Parsons, Will Tripcony, and two year 9s, Edward Rimmer and Austin Andrews. They all look promising. It should be a good few years, and we are very much looking forward to using the new pavilion within the next two years as well.”

Conway had three years with Yorkshire CCC, then spent four years playing in Australia, and now he opens the bowling for Herefordshire.

He has vivid memories of bowling to Michael Vaughan at Headingley, when the England captain was recovering from knee trouble.

“That was such a fantastic experience for all the young bowlers. There was me, Tim Bresnan and Steve Paterson bowling at him. It was great to look up to somebody like Michael. We were used as cannon fodder maybe but it was a wonderful experience.

“There is also a video going around on YouTube of a Matthew Hoggard master class. It features me as a fresh-faced 17-year-old with a helmet on, facing a brand-new ball, in the indoor nets so it was quite quick, with him going through his different variations of swing. I grew up as an opening bat but it was still scary and the youngsters here have had a laugh about it.”

Conway hails from Middlesbrough. He learnt his cricket at Marton Cricket Club, and they played Middlesbrough CC, who were led by Ian Renshaw, father of Matt, who now plays for Australia.

Cheverton and Laura Thomas set up the new girls’ side in 2017.

“It is a really encouraging time for us at the moment,” says Cheverton. “Since last year we have developed the programme, and we are trying to get more girls involved in cricket – not just in games lessons, but actual matches. We are looking to get 1st XI and under-15 matches up and running and there is some interest from other local schools. We also want to integrate girls into the boys’ programmes.

We have also entered the T20 national school, and this is the second year of entering the Dorset indoor tournament. We are pleased with our overall progress. It is great that so many prep schools are moving away from rounders to cricket.

“We hosted the group stage T20, and welcomed St Swithun’s, Canford and Sherborne. England’s Katie George came down for the day (she plays in Dorset).

She chatted to the girls and played with them in the nets. England’s World Cup win went down a storm here. It certainly helped with cricket taking off. Bigger schools don’t put out as many teams as us – we punch above our weight in all sports.

“I will highlight a couple of girls [they were testing bats with us]. Tilly Townsend is in year 9 and on a sports scholarship. She has come from the prep school and plays in the boys’ under-13s, and they were county champions last year. Libby Andrews is in year 12. Her game has really taken off in the last two years. Both are seam-bowling allrounders who play for Dorset Girls.”

After the interviews, a return to the sports hall saw Mr Trego arrive. Looking lean and raring to go, he soon had the youngsters eating out of his hand. After we had tested all the new bats, Trego plucked his hefty slab of willow out of his kit bag, and let the pupils have a hit with it. To say they were enthused was an understatement.

He then demonstrated his skills. Facing Hughes – bowling off-breaks (rather well actually) – Trego tackled the session as if he was playing a T20 innings. He launched several booming drives that threatened to bring the roof down, and saw us all diving for cover with our arms over our heads. Then, to order, he delivered all his variations – leg-cutter, off-cutter, slower bouncer – before conducting some fielding drills with the youngsters. He is action man!

After all this action, it was time for refreshments.

To illustrate the idiosyncratic feel of the school, we went to lunch through a building called ‘The Underground’, which was decorated with posters from London’s Tube. The main school building was owned James Ismay family, brother to Joseph Bruce Ismay, who owned the Titanic (James Cameron’s blockbuster film depicted him as a coward for abandoning the ship while others perished – although descendants of Ismay have tried to clear his name in recent times).

In the building is a familiar place for fans of British sitcom: the chandelier room from the Only Fools and Horses episode, A Touch of Glass. The shattering conclusion to that classic episode was voted Best British Comedy Moment in 2000.

On this occasion it was being used for inoculation jabs, so I was reluctant to venture in, but I somehow plucked up the courage. The room is brighter now, but yes, there a pair of chandeliers were. Do not worry, pupils and teachers are quite safe… the Trotter family are no longer up in the loft, loosening the bolts. ‘Grandad!’

It is another quirky feature to a school with character and charm, one that seems to have cricket running through every pore.