Mark Stoneman rocks up to Dunottar School to test boutique bats

Former England opener and Bryony Smith put new gear through its paces at The Cricketer's bat testing day

It helps if your place of learning sits in an attractive part of the country. Dunottar School is rather blessed. In the pleasant town of Reigate, it lies near the scenic Mole Valley, with stunning Box Hill nearby.

"We hosted an Australian rugby team," a sports master told me, "and one of the parents said it was fantastic to finally be here in the flesh, as he has been cycling the route on his Peloton for years."

The cricket set-up is equally striking. There is an impressive cricket centre in the heart of the school, built with Surrey County Cricket Club’s help. It has four lanes of nets, and a strip for fielding practice. The energetic Jack Myers, who has also worked with the Surrey academy and the England Physical Disability squad, coordinates the activity. He was on Hampshire’s academy, and plays a high level of local club cricket, as well as running his own coaching company.

He assembled a crack unit of boys and girls to help The Cricketer team try out the latest boutique bats for our 2025 Club Cricket Guide. We also enlisted Mark Stoneman, the former England batter who played for Durham, Surrey and Middlesex, and Bryony Smith, of Surrey and England. It was a pleasure for all of us, adults and youngsters, to see the duo in the nets, admiring the consistency of their strokeplay.

^{Dunottar pupils learn from the pros}

Also hovering around were a trio of intrepid young reporters, Max, James and George, who compile the school newspaper, The Pelican (the symbol chosen by the school’s founder, Jessie Elliot-Pyle).

In the nets was Dunottar pupil Max Wallis, of Esher CC, who is about to go to Sri Lanka with Surrey Under-18s. You may have heard of his famous relatives. He says he likes lighter bats, so you can "get your hands through it", like Uncle Alec and grandfather Micky did.

Advaith Bali was also there. He is an attacking top-order batter who represents Reigate Priory 1st XI in the Surrey Premier League.

Next year Dunottar – named after the castle in Scotland – reaches its century. It is an independent day school for girls and boys aged 11 to 18, and has about 480 pupils. It was just girls who went there until 2014. It has about 150 cricket matches a season for both sexes, massively expanded in recent years, for 23 teams, who play at scenic local club grounds.

Opponents include Epsom College, St John’s Leatherhead, Kingston Grammar School, City of London Freemans, Caterham and Ardingly.

Dunottar pupils are encouraged "to exhibit the seven behaviours of 'warrior learners': aspiration, creativity, tenacity, independence, curiosity, collaboration and inclusivity, preparing them for the fast-paced and ever-changing world we live in." The message is accompanied by some nifty CGI on their website.

Stoneman had to be a warrior in his 11-Test career. That included opening in the 2017/18 Ashes, against Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. The Australia pace trio took 23, 22 and 21 wickets respectively in the series.

In a talk to the pupils, Stoneman said: "The series started well, and then gradually got worse on and off the field – 90,000 Aussies were there on Boxing Day. You have to try to control what you can, with all those external things going on, and not worry about the things you cannot. Pat Cummins is tall, fast and accurate, and can knock your head off he wants to."

Smith chose Katherine Sciver-Brunt as her toughest bowler to face. "She bowled some Jaffas at me. She's fiery on the pitch, and a teddy bear off it."

^{Bryony Smith answered Dunottar cricketers' questions}

The youngsters also enjoyed hearing Smith explain what it was like to make her England debut in India.

Mark Tottman is the headmaster of Dunottar. A big cricket fan, he said: "When we were a girls' only school, we played netball, lacrosse and rounders. Rounders is not a patch on cricket, so we replaced it. We also swapped lacrosse for football.

"It's wonderful that cricket is a co-ed sport. We have a lovely indoor facility, with four lanes, and an area in the middle for fielding practice. The alliance with Surrey CCC has lifted the school brand. We have access to the club's coaches, and pupils are mascots at The Oval, and go with parents to matches.

"We have several boys and girls playing at a high level, but we are also about inclusivity, with B and C teams, and youngsters playing in the sunshine and doing their bit. We play at some lovely village grounds. In October 2023 we took 75 youngsters on a fabulous cricket and netball tour to South Africa. We plan to return next year.

"It's been great to have The Cricketer here. We hosted the testing day here four years ago with Ian Bell, and now it’s Mark Stoneman and Bryony Smith. Cricket is really on the map here now. For a small school competing against bigger ones like Whitgift and Trinity, we really hold our own. Jack is an outstanding director of sport, driving the cricket programme as a Level-3 coach.  We have Level-2 coaches leading the age-group sides. The youngsters love to learn and improve."

Click here to find out more about Dunottar School

Click here to read our 2025 Club Cricket Guide