Sydney Boys High School

Cricket

Cricket is the most prestigious GPS Summer Sport dating back to 1906 played over Term 4 and Term 1. Sydney Boys High is unique as it is not only an academic selective school it is also the only public school among the nine members of the Athletics Association of Great Public Schools (AAGPS) - which means we are part of an exclusive group that competes at all levels in a variety of sports and activities and is arguably one of the highest standard school boys sport competitions in the world. High has won the GPS cricket premiership on seven occasions: 1933, 1934, 1938, 1968, 1979, 1982 and 1994. In 1994, Sydney High went on to represent NSW in the national championships. And in 1980 we won the prestigious CHS Knockout Tournament, The Alan Davidson Shield, captained by one of our current MIC Cricket, Mr David Smith. In 2014-15 season we won the South-East Regional Final.

High Cricket Program

Cricket is a particularly demanding sport that requires great technical skill, strength of character, concentration, commitment and physical endurance. We aim to produce well rounded young men and realise maximum enjoyment for all involved and showing respect for each other, promoting the values of team work, co-operation and leadership. In addition cricket helps young men learn to accept both success and failure graciously; they become aware of the need to co-operate with others, using the best qualities of each individual to contribute to the greater advantage of the whole group; the importance of time management; personal effort; commitment; goal setting; self-discipline and cooperation. Sydney Boys High values Cricket because of the life lessons learnt as we are concerned with the development of the whole person, turning our young boys into young men. These attributes transfer off the pitch and into the classroom, with studies showing boys who commit to extra-curricular activities such as cricket are better prepared and disciplined for school work and the HSC.

The majority of matches are played on turf pitches and are of the highest standard that are well equipped with cricket change rooms, toilets, kitchen and two large tents - like our home ground in Centennial Park, McKay Oval. Fixtures and ground locations are posted on the website in the Upcoming Events section during the week.

November and December features the annual exchange visit for the East Coast Cup against Brisbane State High School for our Year 7 and Year 8 representative team and the annual Summer Exchange playing for the Barberis Cup against Melbourne High School and Brisbane State High School for Year 9 (Under 16) representative players. Additionally our 1st XI participate in the annual 5 Highs National Carnival. State selective high schools from around the country, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, take turns to host this prestigious national cricket event. SBHS players are regularly selected in the Australian 5 Highs team.

Currently at High, we have over 180 cricketers in 16 teams. High Cricketers have access to high quality training facilities including our undercover cricket nets with four lanes and two bowling machines. The nets are also well equipped with floodlights allowing us to train all hours of the day. We have access to the SCG indoor cricket nets and to turf training facilities.

The 1st and 2nd XI play their fixtures on the picturesque field, McKay Oval, located inside Centennial Park. This is looked after by a third party company, Green Options, to provide top quality pitches and field for our players.

Staff