Regularly featuring in the ‘Best 100 Schools for Cricket’ guide and producing some of the nation’s finest names, Bedford School are well known as an excellent place to prosper in the sport, and now they are welcoming the professionals in a new partnership.
Emilio Gay and Gus Miller are two current players plying their trade for Northamptonshire County Cricket Club having attended Bedford School and chances are they won’t be the last as a new partnership between the two begins.
The agreement will see Bedford School’s elite cricket pupils receive high-performance training, giving coaches and players access to specialised training sessions, skill development programmes, and first-class facilities.
There will also be opportunities for the students to visit Wantage Road and take part in some of their training sessions, giving them an idea of what it’s like to make the jump from age-grade cricket to the big time.
In return, Bedford School’s picturesque grounds and superb facilities, such as the indoor and outdoor cricket nets and school gym, will be used by NCCC’s age-group cricket programme, benefitting young cricketers from across the county.
Inspiring the next generation
It’s been a while since Bedford School hosted a Northamptonshire game; the last occasion being in May 1982 and also 11 years previously, when one of England’s most famous broadcasters, David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd hit his first List A century.
Since then, a number of Bedford School students have turned out for Northants, from Charlie Thurston to former captain, Alex Wakely to more recently, Gay and Miller.
Gay in particular has enjoyed a superb start to the red ball season, scoring his maiden double century against Middlesex earlier this Summer as well as an unbeaten 153 against Derbyshire in May.
Bedford School do of course also boast Sir Alastair Cook as an alumni; the former England captain retiring from the professional game in October 2023, reaching 12,472 test match runs and leaving him 5th in the all-time rankings for test match run scorers.
Inspiring the next generation of young cricketers is high on the agenda for sport at Bedford School, with Headmaster James Hodgson looking forward to what transpires from this new partnership.
This partnership is announced at the same time Bedford School have been shortlisted for the ‘Sporting Achievement’ category at the Independent School of the Year Awards.
“We’re delighted to officially join forces with Northamptonshire County Cricket Club.
“This partnership aligns perfectly with our commitment to holistic education and sporting excellence and together we will inspire the next generation of cricketers.”
With the facilities already in place and now a major county’s coaching force behind them, Bedford School now look to go from strength to strength in their nurturing of cricket talent in the hope of creating a seamless transition to the professional game for the school’s brightest stars.
