 Tom Prest pushes into the off-side to bring up his double century. |  ... then raises his bat in celebration ! |
Academy prospect Tom Prest hit an unbeaten triple century in Hampshire's Second XI Championship match against Sussex on the Ageas Bowl Nursery Ground - only a matter of hours after sitting an A-level Geography examination at Canford School.
He made a remarkable career-best 303, hitting 38 fours and a six, and shared a massive 258-run partnership for the third wicket with Tom Scriven, who made 117 as Hampshire piled up a towering 578-8 declared.
The 18-year old from Wimborne focussed his mind for his epic innings by sitting a three-hour long breakfast-time geography exam, after which he hot-footed it to the Ageas Bowl to change into his cricket whites.
“I was in the examination hall at 8 o’clock in the morning and got to the cricket to field the tail end of the Sussex innings, after which it was time to strap on my pads and open the Hampshire batting,” he smiled.
Sussex were bowled out for 376, but by the end of the second day’s play - which had begun with him penning an essay on water pollution – Prest was 111 not out and Hampshire handily placed at 213-2.
Prest continued his assault on the Sussex bowling in the morning session of day three (Wednesday) and came in at lunch 199 not out, an agonising one run shy of his double century.
Standing ovation
It didn’t take him long to bring up the magical 200. The third ball after lunch he pushed into the off-side for a single before turning to raise his bat to acknowledge the standing ovation from his team-mates in the Arthur Holt pavilion.
Soon after Scriven completed his century, but Prest – despite the slight inconvenience of losing five batting partners – moved relentlessly on, peppering the boundary rope time and time again before eventually celebrating his treble century off the 414th ball he received.
He was eventually stumped for 303 – his stay at the crease lasting just short of nine hours … and all not that long after sitting an A-level Geography exam !
Hampshire went on to win the match by an innings and five runs, bowling Sussex out for 191 in their second innings, with Mason Crane taking 5-34.
Hampshire Second XI batting coach Jimmy Adams reflected: “Probably most impressive part of Tom’s knock was his temperament and the fact he didn’t really change anything. He kept going and going, barely a poorly decision or false shot. Incredible focus.
Grounded and humble
“Most batsmen when they reach a milestone tend to look to shift a gear, sometimes get ahead of themselves and often lose concentration – there was barely a sign of that.
“What I find about Tom is that he’s grounded and humble, mindset (open, learns), awareness of his game. He seems to understand the game – the challenges it presents, the importance of team environment, a quiet leader. He has incredible hands through the ball. I’ve not even addressed his bowling and fielding.
“Tom has a lot of similar traits to those you would see and want in the modern cricketer.
“I would have though he be in the mix for the England U19 World Cup – his white ball cricket skills are very exciting. I think he has a bright future.”
* Tom Prest is the first Hampshire batsman to score a triple century in the Second XI Championship. In the first team, John Crawley made 300-plus scores against Nottinghamshire in 2004 and again in 2005, while Michael Carberry achieved the same treble figure feat against Yorkshire in 2011.
He made a remarkable career-best 303, hitting 38 fours and a six, and shared a massive 258-run partnership for the third wicket with Tom Scriven, who made 117 as Hampshire piled up a towering 578-8 declared.
The 18-year old from Wimborne focussed his mind for his epic innings by sitting a three-hour long breakfast-time geography exam, after which he hot-footed it to the Ageas Bowl to change into his cricket whites.
“I was in the examination hall at 8 o’clock in the morning and got to the cricket to field the tail end of the Sussex innings, after which it was time to strap on my pads and open the Hampshire batting,” he smiled.
Sussex were bowled out for 376, but by the end of the second day’s play - which had begun with him penning an essay on water pollution – Prest was 111 not out and Hampshire handily placed at 213-2.
Prest continued his assault on the Sussex bowling in the morning session of day three (Wednesday) and came in at lunch 199 not out, an agonising one run shy of his double century.
Standing ovation
It didn’t take him long to bring up the magical 200. The third ball after lunch he pushed into the off-side for a single before turning to raise his bat to acknowledge the standing ovation from his team-mates in the Arthur Holt pavilion.
Soon after Scriven completed his century, but Prest – despite the slight inconvenience of losing five batting partners – moved relentlessly on, peppering the boundary rope time and time again before eventually celebrating his treble century off the 414th ball he received.
He was eventually stumped for 303 – his stay at the crease lasting just short of nine hours … and all not that long after sitting an A-level Geography exam !
Hampshire went on to win the match by an innings and five runs, bowling Sussex out for 191 in their second innings, with Mason Crane taking 5-34.
Hampshire Second XI batting coach Jimmy Adams reflected: “Probably most impressive part of Tom’s knock was his temperament and the fact he didn’t really change anything. He kept going and going, barely a poorly decision or false shot. Incredible focus.
Grounded and humble
“Most batsmen when they reach a milestone tend to look to shift a gear, sometimes get ahead of themselves and often lose concentration – there was barely a sign of that.
“What I find about Tom is that he’s grounded and humble, mindset (open, learns), awareness of his game. He seems to understand the game – the challenges it presents, the importance of team environment, a quiet leader. He has incredible hands through the ball. I’ve not even addressed his bowling and fielding.
“Tom has a lot of similar traits to those you would see and want in the modern cricketer.
“I would have though he be in the mix for the England U19 World Cup – his white ball cricket skills are very exciting. I think he has a bright future.”
* Tom Prest is the first Hampshire batsman to score a triple century in the Second XI Championship. In the first team, John Crawley made 300-plus scores against Nottinghamshire in 2004 and again in 2005, while Michael Carberry achieved the same treble figure feat against Yorkshire in 2011.
