Chris Saunders (headmaster)
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Christopher John Saunders (born 7 May 1940) is a former headmaster of
Eastbourne College Eastbourne College is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging school in the English Public school (United Kingdom), public school tradition, for boarding school, boarding and Day school, day pupils aged 13–18, in ...
and
Lancing College Lancing College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school) for pupils aged 13–18 in southern England, UK. The school is located in West S ...
, and a
first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...
er who played for
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
and
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
.


Cricket career

Saunders attended Lancing College, where he played for the First XI and was selected to keep wicket for the Southern Schools against The Rest in their annual match at
Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...
in 1958 and 1959. He went up to
Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Fitzwilliam College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college has origins from 1869, with the foundation of the Non-Collegiate Students Board, a venture intended to offer academically excellent students of all ...
, where he kept wicket for the university's cricket team in seven matches in 1962 and one match in 1963 without earning a
blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...
. He also played a match against Cambridge University in 1963, captaining Col. L. C. Stevens' XI in a match that was scheduled and played as a first-class match but later had its status rescinded by the
Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...
(MCC). After finishing at Cambridge he went to
Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...
, to study for a PGCE. Late in the 1964 season he took over the wicket-keeping duties for the university team, and played in four matches, including the annual
University Match The University Match is an annual cricket fixture between Oxford University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Cricket Club. First played in 1827, it is the oldest varsity match in the world. Until 2001, when first-class cricket was reorga ...
against Cambridge, thus gaining his cricket blue at Oxford. He was a neat keeper who conceded few byes (none at all in the University Match), but his batting was unproductive and he usually went in at number 10 or 11. He appeared in three
Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship or National County Championship is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national counties (previously ca ...
matches for
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
in 1971.


Teaching career

Saunders taught at
Bradfield College Bradfield College is a coeducational public school (independent boarding and day school) for pupils aged 13–18, in the village of Bradfield, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It is noted for its open-air Greek theatre and its trien ...
in Berkshire, where he became a
housemaster {{Unreferenced, date=October 2024 In education, a housemaster is a schoolmaster in charge of a boarding house, normally at a boarding school and especially at a public school. The housemaster is responsible for the supervision and care of board ...
, before taking up the position of headmaster at
Eastbourne College Eastbourne College is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging school in the English Public school (United Kingdom), public school tradition, for boarding school, boarding and Day school, day pupils aged 13–18, in ...
in Sussex in 1981. He later moved to
Lancing College Lancing College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school) for pupils aged 13–18 in southern England, UK. The school is located in West S ...
in Sussex, serving as headmaster from 1993 to 1998. He was the chairman of the
Independent Schools Football Association Independent Schools Football Association (ISFA) oversees football in independent schools in the United Kingdom. The ISFA is affiliated to the Football Association. The chairman is current Headmaster of Hampton School Kevin Knibbs. History Dick ...
from 1982 to 2003, greatly expanding the scope of its activities. Since his retirement from the position, the award for the play of the match in the ISFA final has been awarded in his honour: the Chris Saunders Golden Moment. He is a Life Vice-President of
The Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...
.


Personal life

Saunders remains active in retirement. In an after-dinner speech to the Worshipful Company of Feltmakers in 2013 he urged his audience to "avoid being like a
thrombosis Thrombosis () is the formation of a Thrombus, blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. When a blood vessel (a vein or an artery) is injured, the body uses platelets (thrombocytes) and fib ...
– a bloody clot that circulates around the system". His son
Jonny Jonny is a masculine given name, and pet name, in the English language. A pet form of Jon, the natural diminutive of given name Jonathan, in some cases it can also mean a condom. A variant form of ''Jonny'' is ''Jonnie''. People with the name * ...
is a former radio presenter who is now, as his father was, a housemaster at Bradfield College.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Chris 1940 births Living people People from Worthing People educated at Lancing College Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford English cricketers Cambridge University cricketers Head Masters of Lancing College Oxford University cricketers Berkshire cricketers Heads of schools in England Cricketers from West Sussex 20th-century English sportsmen