News

26 November 2020

John Lyon makes Cricketer Schools Guide 100 list for the first time

With a long cricketing tradition spanning the School’s history, John Lyon and its “compelling commitment” to coaching young players has been recognised by the prestigious Cricketer Schools Guide.

Announced today (Thursday 26th November) the Cricketer Schools Guide 2021 lists what it judges to be top 100 UK senior schools that offer Cricket at a high level.

The 148-page guide has been compiled following what the editors call an ‘exhaustive process’ with a record number of submissions to be looked at. All entries were judged against an extensive set of criteria, which included “a compelling commitment to cricket in the curriculum, facilities, fixture programmes and coaching.”

John Lyon — whose 1st XI are the current Middlesex county schools champions — makes the list for the very first time, having previously been highly commended. A full-page write up in the Guide reflects on the School’s attempts to keep Cricket going during the lockdown and the progress the School has made in recent times – redesigning training to be more inclusive and developing a winter training programme. It also looks ahead to the introduction of girls to the School in 2021 and their inclusion in the Cricket programme.

The top 100 contains some of the best-known schools in the country, including Eton, Rugby, Winchester and our neighbours at Harrow.

Editor of The Cricketer, the world’s most respected and best-selling cricket magazine, Simon Hughes said: “This year’s Schools Guide is particularly important in showcasing our schools who have kept the game alive through a very challenging summer. Whether it has been remote video sessions, drills in the garden or even Zoom quizzes, schools cricket has emerged resolutely from this pandemic and the appetite to get back out on the playing fields is palpable.

“There should be deserved praise for all the teachers, coaches and volunteers who have put in so much hard work, in the most difficult of circumstances, to preserve a love of the game among the next generation.”

John Lyon Director of Sport, Mr Shane Cloete, a former international cricketer with Zimbabwe, said: “To make the list of top 100 cricketing schools is a testament to the hard work of the Sports Department and wider School community to Cricket. With this dedication, the huge number of talented young cricketers we have at John Lyon are able to hone their skills, techniques and commitment to the Sport.

“What we are doing with Cricket we are also replicating with Football, Hockey and all the other sports we offer: to offer ‘sport for all, with the pursuit of excellence’ by running an effective, productive and high-quality sporting programme as well as exceptional opportunities for participation and fun across all the year groups.”


Cricketer Schools Guide 2021

The Cricketer Schools Guide 2021 will be included in the December issue of The Cricketer, available to buy in stores from Friday 27th November. It will also be available from The Cricketer website from Tuesday 15th December.