Well before the Indian cricket team warmed up for its tour of England with a T20 match against Derbyshire on July 1, a group of students from Shimla’s Bishop Cotton School prepared the deck for an exciting summer season between the national teams. (More Cricket News)

Thirty-three students, all in their teens, got a taste of English cricket, as Bishop Cotton School, one of the oldest British-heritage all-boys’ schools in Asia set-up in 1859 by Bishop George Edward Lynch Cotton, renewed its ‘sporting’ links post the COVID pandemic.

During the two-week tour of UK that started on June 8, the BCS boys played several matches against English schools in London, Windsor and Wiltshire. Most matches were close affairs and the ‘experience’ was the biggest takeaway. ?

Apart from managing the swing and bounce, the BCS lads, from diverse backgrounds in India, not only picked up a few cricketing lessons but won a lot of friends. Bhangra, of course, played a great catalyst in the fun and frolic every day.

Bishop Cotton School in Shimla has produced several well-known personalities like Ratan Tata and veteran politician Virbhadra Singh. Among sportspersons, golfer Jeev Milkha Singh and upcoming Indian cricketer Mayank Dagar are among them. Having a director, who was previously a headmaster in the UK and even played cricket at Oxford, helped in planning the tour.

“The tour took six months to plan, but could only go ahead once (COVID) vaccination requirements eased. The BCS board were keen for the school to lead the way in re-engaging with the world post-pandemic. The biggest challenge, of course, was getting visas since the pandemic was showing-up again,” explained Simon Weale, the BCS director.

At a time when the pandemic has caused so much stress, the UK tour came as a big relief to the students. For the likes of Vikramaditya, Harshit and Sheefa, the tour was mentally refreshing ahead of the upcoming school tests.?

The cost per student was 2.5 lakh INR. Some anonymous donations allowed certain boys to attend this sport-cum-cultural exchange programme.