Jamie Cairns (Form IV) played cricket without much pause this summer, and a glance back over the preceding weeks reveals a remarkable number of successes.
Everyone remembers that Dollar Academy were crowned the 2018 Secondary Schools S1-3 T20 champions and, of course, Jamie Cairns was named Player of the Tournament. He was an integral member of the Dollar 1st XI that won the U18 Scottish Schools Tournament in late June. ‘This has been quite year for one of our rising cricketers here at Dollar Academy,’ said Mr Frost (PE teacher and cricket coach). ‘He played such an important part in Dollar Academy’s success in the U15 and U18 Scottish Schools T20 competitions and as part of the winning six in the inaugural Glenalmond U15 6s tournament; Jamie has gone from strength to strength.’
A summer of success for JamieAfter the academic session ended, Jamie went on to play for the East of Scotland U16 team that won the Inter-regional title in July and, over the summer months, Jamie acquired no less than five Scotland U17 caps as well as eleven caps for the Scotland U15 team.
The U15s in particular enjoyed a great deal of success, reaching the finals of the ECB County Cup, and beating five English county sides along the way. Jamie finished this particular campaign averaging 38 with the bat, and he ended up as the leading Scottish wicket taker.
Jamie also travelled to County Wicklow to play three U15s fixtures in the Scotland v Ireland annual Celtic Cup series.
More locally, he continued to play club cricket for The Grange in Edinburgh, and this season he and two other talented young players were selected, by coach John Blain and captain Preston Mommsen, for the senior 1st XI. This is no small achievement, and Jamie certainly did not disappoint. He thoroughly enjoying the challenge of participating in the Scottish Eastern Premiership and Gary Heatly of The Scotsman writes that ‘the trio have certainly not looked out of place… alongside seasoned team-mates. They have shown very few nerves and a wiliness to learn.’
The Grange’s captain, Mommsen, said of the three young players, ‘They have shown maturity beyond their years.’
Towards the end of the season, Jamie was invited to play a couple of games for Hampshire U15s and U17s and, as a result of this performance there, he has been invited to join the Hampshire Cricket Academy winter training programme.
Jamie began playing cricket at the age of four, having been introduced to the sport by his father. ‘It’s been such a big part of my life for ages, eleven years,’ said Jamie, ‘and it’s been an amazing journey, an amazing experience, and it is just so nice to be given the opportunity to take it to a higher level.’
Such was Jamie’s success in cricket this summer that, in recognition of this schoolboy’s tremendous talent in the sport, he was featured alongside three other young athletes in a Scotsman feature this August (see link attached). Tremendous congratulations to Jamie for all of his successes in the sport this summer.
