"Right values and positive culture" key to Marlborough College cricket triumph

Appreciation for groundstaff and caterers "contributing" to success

Marlborough College’s 1st XI had one of their best seasons in years, winning the 2023 John Harvey Cup.

But to master in charge Mike Bush and professional Mark Alleyne, there is a bigger game at play.

“We’re trying to instil the right values and a positive culture, and I genuinely think it was a contributing factor in the boys’ 1st XI’s success this year,” said Bush. “Things such as tidying up the changing rooms, saying ‘thank you’ to the groundstaff and caterers. I’m not saying everything is perfect – we’re dealing with teenagers – but they are privileged to access the quality of cricket they do, and this helps keep them grounded.”

^{Marlborough won the 2023 John Harvey Cup}

Twitter users might also have noticed the school actively promoting pupils’ performances in club and representative cricket.

Bush said: “It’s something we’re always trying to encourage: the school season is only half the cricket season, and we hope our boys and girls will go on to have a full life in cricket after school.”

Alleyne has his finger on both the amateur and professional parts of the game – he coaches white-ball cricket at both Glamorgan and Welsh Fire – and hopes one Marlburian will soon be figuring for the county he himself captained with such distinction.

^{Marlborough boys' 1st XI}

“Max Dunne has just gone into the upper sixth and has been on the Gloucestershire academy for a few years,” said Alleyne. “He’s doing really well and if he carries on it won’t be long until we start seeing him in 1st XI county cricket.”

Marlborough have played Rugby at cricket since 1855, with the fixture held at Lord’s until 1972. A two-day game is still played, and the girls’ teams have faced each other since 2018.

Girls’ cricket has taken giant strides in a short space of time.

“We very much enjoy the challenge,” said Alleyne. “We’re always making sure we don’t have any empty fields. It’s quite vibrant.”

“The evolution has been rapid,” said Bush. “Our plans don’t stand still for long.

“We started out with our first girls’ match against Bradfield with the girls wearing standard PE kit. Now the girls have their own kit and they joined the boys on a tour of South Africa, which was a landmark moment for the school.

“We are finding that younger girls have been coached more extensively from a young age, so to think where we’ll be in five years’ time is really exciting.”