Starting the ISH Cricket Club
A year back, Thiru, Divyesh Sinar and I were at the school for a festival, playing in the gym. It then hit us how our school gym had so many different types of equipment - including our very own cricket equipment, even though we rarely saw the sport being played.
We knew how many cricket fans were already in the school, teachers and students included, and decided that we could take the initiative to start our very own cricket club. We hoped that, in time, we would be able to play against other schools which already had clubs.
Over the past year, we went through a tedious process of finding members and spreading awareness of the club through word of mouth, posters, and messages on Teams or WhatsApp. By the end of 2025, we had amassed 20+ people, well beyond our expectations. Each person had different skill levels, with many barely having played the game, while others had played in clubs.
The four of us as leaders made sure to create regular sessions in the cage during the spring and summer when the weather got better, as well as looking for opportunities to use the large gym during winter so we could continue playing the game in an indoor format.
However, to finish our full goal, we decided we needed to host a tournament, especially seeing how many members we had gained over the past year, with numbers still increasing at the time. We looked for a simple tournament within our club, or perhaps one with students against staff, but ended up getting something even better.
With the help of Mr Maguire and Mr Sydenham, we managed to organise a tournament with five other schools. Unfortunately, this multi-school tournament was cancelled at the last minute due to bad weather.
We still managed to get one game in before the school year ended. On Tuesday, 30 June, we played against AIC at Hilversum Cricket Club. Our team consisted of players from across the school, with students from Grade 7 to DP1.
The game was very exciting, despite being just a friendly. ISH batted first, putting on a total of 134 all out in 21 overs. There were notable batting performances from Thomas Elderbroek and a courageous last-wicket stand, with Navyah Rajesh standing tall.
The first few overs of AIC's innings saw some very good bowling from Samarth Satish, who took an early wicket to put pressure on AIC. However, AIC grew into the game and saw some excellent batting that pushed them past our total.
It was a wonderful experience for all.
A great thanks to all the members who joined us over the year and to all the staff who supported our club. A big thanks also to Hilversum Cricket Club for letting us use their grounds.
Hopefully, next year the club can participate in more tournaments and games - and have even more people join!
By: Navneet Rajesh
