Cricket has a proud heritage at Bradfield and we continue to explore new ways to make sure that we can compete at the highest levels into the future.
The Cricket Club’s two driving aims are to foster a lifelong love of the game for all boys and girls who play while also providing the opportunity for the strongest cricketers to work towards a career in the game.
Participation and competition
The College puts out 13 boys teams playing fixtures through the Summer Term and girls cricket is on the rise with four teams playing matches against local schools, adult and representative teams. This is supplemented by a programme of House Matches opening the game up to a wider number of pupils.
The First XI play up to 20 fixtures including a two day fixture against Malvern College, declaration cricket, 50 and 20 over limited overs games.
Coaching
Bradfield’s full time Head of Cricket Performance is Rob Ferley, formerly of Kent CCC and Nottinghamshire CCC. Rob is supported by a team of qualified coaches and former cricketers to make high level coaching available to all at the College.
During the Summer Term, all boys and girls will train at least twice, and usually play one or two fixtures a week.
Over the winter period, we offer a comprehensive programme of one-to-one, squad and voluntary sessions, allowing those who are passionate about developing their skills up to 15 hours of cricket per week.
All sessions are free of charge. For our leading cricketers at each age group we provide a personalised strength and conditioning programme with the aim of developing power, speed and resilience to injury.
Pit
Pit is the spiritual home of cricket at Bradfield. It was created from an old chalk quarry in 1927 and remains one of the country’s most beautiful grounds. Ted Dexter ranked only Lord’s and his old stomping ground at Radley higher.
Tradition tells that a 15 year old Sachin Tendulkar cleared the River Pang, and young Indian batting sensation Prithvi Shaw, who spent a summer at the College in 2013, could well be on the way to following his idol’s footsteps.
Honours
Bradfield is proud to count two former pupils as England Test cricketers. Lauren Bell (J 17-19) earned her maiden Test Cap against South Africa in the summer of 2022, taking two wickets, while Graham Roope made his Test debut in the 1972/73 tour of India.
Gus Atkinson (A 11-16), LV= County Championship Division One winner with Surrey CCC in 2022 and Oval Invincibles bowler, received his maiden call-up to both the England ODI and T20 squads for the series against New Zealand, the same squad which will compete in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023.
Gus made his test cricket debut in the summer of 2024 against the West Indies. On his first day of test cricket, he took seven wickets for 45 runs. Gus was named Player of the Series across the three tests, which England won 3-0.
Ryan Higgins (D 09-13), Middlesex CCC and Welsh Fire in The Hundred, formerly England U19 and Gloucs CCC, and Harry Came (D 12-16), Derbyshire CCC, formerly Hampshire CCC, are currently playing cricket professionally. Sheridon Gumbs (D 17-22) broke the Surrey CCC record for highest score achieved by an Academy player with his unbeaten 259 before making his senior debut and scoring a List A half century in the Royal London Cup in August 2022. Monty McKenzie (F 17-22) helped his Tridents team win the Disability Cricket Premier League Final in the summer of 2022.
They join a long list of Old Bradfieldians to have made it onto the professional cricket circuit, which include former Hampshire captain and broadcaster, Mark Nicholas. We are also very proud to have contributed half of the Berkshire Minor Counties 1st XI side in recent years.
Representational cricket is now being realised in the girls’ cricket programme too. Lauren Bell made her debut for England Women during the Summer 2022 series against South Africa before going on to earn Caps for the Test, ODI and T20 teams in the 2023 Ashes Series. She also played a starring role for Southern Brave, reaching the final in each of the first three editions of The Hundred, and, during her time at the College, represented the Southern Vipers and Middlesex CCC.
