Historic 'Stump' game symbolises Ludgrove commitment to cricket

School has high standard for cricket colours

The most important element of Ludgrove School's programme is their "strong culture of cricket." This ensures that cricket is played at the school throughout the year and harnesses a love for the game among their students. 

The culture can be symbolised in a game played by everyone in the school as the master in charge of cricket, Gabriel French, explained: "We have a game called 'Stump' and it's a traditional game that's been played throughout centuries.

"We have an officially appointed keeper of stumps, so one of the boys has made that his job and every morning he makes sure that the game is going on. Everybody in the school plays it and on a good day, we will probably have 60 kids playing. 

"It's played with the cut-down bat and a tennis ball and means throughout the year they play cricket and it is very much seen as the pinnacle."

French also has a very high standard for cricket colours at Ludgrove which motivates students to strive for excellence on the field. 

The result is that Ludgrove consistently punch above their weight in fixtures by beating schools with more pupils.

He added: "It's a wheel that's in motion, it runs and runs and the boys come here and even if they are not cricketers, they know that they want to play cricket because this is the pinnacle.

"It also means that it's not dependent on me pushing them to be at a practice session, they will do it because it's part of the culture."

Ludgove see lots of their students go to fellow all-boys schools but cricket also plays a significant part in the decision-making. 

Radley, for example, offers a sports scholarship and the two schools have built a strong relationship from a cricketing perspective in the last few years. Two out of the last three 1st XI captains at Radley have been Old Lugrovians. 

The school is one of only a handful of full-boarding boys' prep schools left in the country so they understand how important their role is in shaping their students' future. 

"One of the things that makes Ludgrove incredibly special is the sense of community," French said. "All schools are communities but because we play such a vital role, as a full boarding school, in the way these kids grow and develop we've managed to get incredible buy-in from parents who are trusting us with their children from a very young age."