HARRY BROOK FIRST CLASS CRICKET DEBUT FOR YORKSHIRE

Sedbergh School cricketers are celebrating team-mate Harry Brook ’s First Class debut for Yorkshire against Pakistan A at Headingly this week.  Harry, 17, from Ilkley, will return to school after the four-day match to play for the Under 17s and U18s in the National Schools Semi Final fixtures in Arundel, Sussex, later this week.

Current First Class players Jordan Clarke (Lancashire) and Jamie Harrison (Durham) were educated at Sedbergh School but Harry Brook is the first pupil to play First Class whilst still at School, which is a phenomenal achievement.

Martin Speight, Sedbergh School’s Cricket Professional, who previously played for Sussex, Durham and Wellington in New Zealand, said: “In the previous week Harry scored more than 500 runs for the Sedbergh 1st XI.

He joined us in Year 10 at the age of 14 and throughout his time here he has shown total dedication. He trains incredibly hard and only two months ago, in an article for a national magazine, I named him as one to watch. He’s the most mentally strong young batsman I’ve come across for a long time.

“Cricket is a tough mental game and here at Sedbergh, our approach is to utilise the time that we have because pupils board – it’s a big advantage. To develop the sport here I set up early morning sessions for players from 10 to 18, six days a week.

We do a lot of the technical work in the off-season period, leaving more time to develop tactical and mental skills in the summer. I’m a big believer that success is player driven, so if they want to be in the nets then I’ll get out of bed early.”

Scholarship assessments for potential cricketers and other sports, academics and all-rounders take place on November 10th. Contact admissions@sedberghschool.org or call 015396 20535 or visit www.sedberghschool.org

Martin Speight also runs a residential cricket course at Sedbergh School during the Easter holidays. Visit http://summercourses.sedberghschool.org

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