Above image (L-R): Chris Gange (Head of Cricket, Framlingham College), Ray Payne (CEO, Northamptonshire CCC), Nick Gandy (Director of Sport, Framlingham College), Kevin Innes (Performance Coach, Northamptonshire CCC), Johann Myburgh (Head of Cricket Development, Framlingham College)

We are delighted to announce our new partnership with Northamptonshire County Cricket Club. As part of the agreement, Framlingham College students will have a direct and clear potential pathway into professional cricket, with regular opportunities for boys and girls to take part in Academy and Elite Player Programme (EPP) sessions at the County Ground. Northamptonshire CCC will enjoy access to Framlingham College’s outstanding cricketing facilities for their own players, while also using Framlingham as a base from which to provide Masterclasses in the local area, and Coach Development programmes for College and College Prep School staff.

Ray Payne, Chief Executive Officer of Northamptonshire CCC, comments:

‘Our educational partnership with Framlingham College will provide a firm pathway for young player development and continue our strong link with the College. It will enable Framlingham’s talented young cricketers to improve through having regular access to first-class county coaching facilities and support networks, thereby complementing the great work that is already carried out by the College.’

Mark Robinson, Co-curricular Deputy Head at Framlingham College, is equally excited by this development, suggesting that, ‘the formalisation of this relationship provides yet another string to our bow, which has already benefitted from the arrival of Johann Myburgh as Head of Cricket Development, the establishment of an MCC Foundation Hub for state-school pupils, the development of girls’ cricketing facilities and playing opportunities and an extension of the support we offer to the Suffolk Young Cricketers. We are thrilled to now be in a position to offer our most-gifted cricketers the opportunity to seamlessly progress into the professional game with such a prestigious county as Northamptonshire.’

There is a longstanding association between the College and Northamptonshire, going as far back as the 1960s, when Old Framlinghamian (O.F), David Larter, opened the bowling for the County to devastating effect, taking 666 wickets at 19.53. He also played 10 tests for England (37 wickets at 25.43) before injury cut his spectacular career short.

Above image: Rob Newton

More recently, Robert Newton (O.F), has cut quite a dash for the county as an opening-batsmen. With a personal best of 202*, in 2018 he played a captain’s innings when he scored a magnificent century against the Pakistan touring team. Whilst at the College, Newton scored a record breaking 3,339 runs for the 1st XI (947 as a Year 10 at an average of 94.70), represented England Under 17s and captained the MCC Schools’ XI on their tour to India. Newton, who was the first schoolboy to score a double-hundred against the MCC, observes: ‘I have been fortunate enough to bat at Cricket HQ at Lord’s, Newlands in Cape Town and the WACA in Perth and yet ‘the Back’ at Fram is still one of the best cricket pitches I have ever played on’.

More recently still, current pupil, Fred Heldreich, who made his full Suffolk County T20 debut as a sixteen-year-old against Hertfordshire last year, is a current member of the Northamptonshire CCC set-up and will tour South Africa with their Academy in February 2019. Last summer Fred, who bowls left arm unorthodox wrist spin, was called up by the full England side to assist in their preparations for the Lord’s test against India.