Head of cricket, Dan Kerry, believes by styling schedules to versions pupils would prefer to play, they are more likely to participate and want to be there
When Haberdashers' Boys' head of cricket Dan Kerry came to put the school's cricket calendar together for the 2022 summer, there was only one place he could go.
Due to the multiple distractions school offers, not least the pressure of exams, and the time-consuming nature of cricket means maximising pupil's time is of the utmost importance.
"You're asking for work and commitment at an incredibly busy time of the year," he said. "There is a lot of external noise, whether it be pressure from teachers and parents over exams.
"If you're asking students to give up huge volumes of time to train and play, you're asking for a lot so you want them to want to be there.
"If you style the schedule to versions, they'd like to play I believe they're more likely to turn up and want to be here."
Kerry, who joined in 2009, consulted players over how they would like the schedule to look. And there was an enlightening outcome.
"What has come out of those discussions and been implemented this year at the top of the school in the 1st XI is the students love T20 cricket and want to play more of that," he added.
"But they also want to play more of the old-fashioned declaration style red-ball cricket, and less of the stuff in the middle.
A dash for the crease [supplied]
"The amount of cricket of 40-50 overs has almost completely disappeared and been replaced with mid-week T20 cricket, while Saturday has been declaration cricket, 110 overs in the day, lunch and tea and no fielding restrictions.
"We had a really successful two-day game against Merchant Taylors' School. They absolutely loved it. The mental change, the decision-making challenge, the way the game ebbs and flows and how you have to concentrate on the way the game is going.
"That is pretty much what the students were asking for. We spoke to other schools, and they were pretty keen.
"By creating a bit more structure to it and reflecting what the students wanted, we've built a fixture card this year that has been really exciting. Lots of T20 cricket in the week, lots of red-ball cricket at the weekend."
Though Haberdashers' have added the likes of Bedford and Abingdon to their fixture list, the calendar of opponents looks like previous summers. It has been a case of convincing others in the Hertfordshire area that multi-day and T20 cricket is a worthwhile direction to go in.
"We have a duty as custodians of the school game to try and put something in place that facilitates that love and passion for the game in all its formats"
Indeed, their priorities are like that of the professional domestic game which has moved the 50-over competition behind the more visible Hundred competitions.
And with an exciting, new-look men's Test team and a white-ball side continuing to break records, it is natural that would filter down.
"It is hugely influential," Kerry admits. "They are role models, and they are key to driving change and enthusiasm. The excitement around Test and T20 cricket does filter through to those watching on TV.
"We have a duty as custodians of the school game to try and put something in place that facilitates that love and passion for the game in all its formats. Not everyone can whack sixes and bowl slower balls. There is no reason why we couldn't emulate that in the school environment."
Among the 44 sides across the senior and junior schools and the 500-odd pupils engaging with cricket each summer, are players coming over from the adjacent girls' school.
Though there is no dedicated team, girls are appearing in the boys' teams at Under-12, Under-13 and Under-14 levels, with great success.
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