How first-class mentors are driving Uppingham School's county vision

A fresh generation of role models are inspiring girl and boys on the school's books

There’s certainly no shortage of first-class and international experience when it comes to providing Uppingham School pupils with great mentors.

Alongside director of cricket Rob Taylor (Leicestershire and Scotland), and cricket professional Trevor Ward (Kent and Leicestershire), members of the school’s coaching staff have included Neil Johnson (Hampshire, Leicestershire and Zimbabwe) and Ian Butcher (Gloucestershire and Leicestershire) recently.

But Taylor’s long-term vision of strengthening an emerging girls’ programme has also produced a fresh generation of role models including Beth Harmer (The Blaze) and Gemma Marriott (Northamptonshire) in the last two years.

“For the girls, that’s been a big one,” says Taylor.

“The lads enjoy having male role models, so giving the girls the same opportunity has helped them massively.

“We’ve seen more girls from Uppingham involved in county pathways, who have had three years on our programme, so it’s great to see their development being recognised at a higher level.

“Having girls playing on that kind of stage shows the growth and strength of our programme.”

Uppingham have a regular intake of cricket scholars each year into Years 9 and 12 from counties including Northamptonshire, as well as Taylor’s former county.

The alignment of the women’s professional domestic structure with that of men’s counties has also helped his young charges to envision the same kind of professional aspirations as their male classmates more easily. 

“We’ve put a lot of time into building that relationship with Leicestershire, which includes hosting fixtures as well as being aligned on player development,” says Taylor.

“Now, I can tell all players in our programme that they’ll have the chance to sign a county contract like Arush Buchake did in 2024, when he signed for Northamptonshire.”

There’s no shortage of opportunities for Uppingham cricketers to showcase their talents either, with 14 teams set for an increased fixture list of more than 100 in 2026.

It comes after a boys’ 1st XI in transition (they lost six players after 2024) recorded an impressive seven wins out of 12 this summer, something Taylor plans to build on.

“We want to be getting to the latter stages of tournaments, which is something we had a taste of with the U17 boys making the National Plate semi-finals in 2024,” he adds.

“For girls, we are making cricket a genuine option for those who have aspirations to play at a higher level and providing an opportunity for those who are newer to the game.”

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