The start of the production line

With only a few hundred pupils, Cumnor House School for Boys in Croydon punch well above their weight and are feeding into one of cricket's most fruitful school programmes

Three of England’s Test openers over the past 18 months learnt their trade at Whitgift School in Croydon. Dom Sibley, Rory Burns and Jason Roy – who has achieved significantly more in the international white ball arena, all spent their formative years at the south London school.

Whitgift are the real deal in schools cricket and their 1st XI is the final stop on a production line that often results in players reaching the professional game. But while England may seem to be plucking their top order options from Whitgift, from where does the school source their cricketers?

Just down the road, Ryan Brotherton is preparing for cricket’s comeback summer at Cumnor House School for Boys. The director of sport is entering his 12th year at the boys’ prep school and reflects fondly on how his past pupils have gone on to be a major part of Whitgift’s leading cricket programme.

“This year’s 1st XI captain at Whitgift is an old Cumnor pupil and last year I think five of the 1st XI would have been former Cumnor boys. This year we may have six,” Brotherton tells The Cricketer.

^{Cumnor House are a feeder school for Whitgift (All images: Stephen J Kennedy Photography)}

It is remarkable for a school of only 300 boys, in such a crowded London schools market, to feed that many boys into the top teams at one of the country’s finest sporting schools.

But this is no accident. Strategy is implemented at a young age to give all boys the foundation from which to develop.

“Regardless of what teams the boys played in the previous year, or two years ago in this case, we hold trials for all teams to ensure a level playing field.”

No player is guaranteed a place in the top teams, negating any sense of entitlement and ensuring a healthy level of competition.

Before anything else, Brotherton wants all his pupils to be able to bowl. 

“For every year group we have a different emphasis. Year 2 going into Year 3 we want them to know how to bowl. 95% of boys can do this by the time they’re in Year 3,” Brotherton explains.

“Year 3 is all about running between the wickets before Year 4s focus on batting. After that it is down to the individual and their skill sets.”

Of course, all boys get a chance to practice all aspects of the game all the way through, but the emphasis on skills other than batting early on set an invaluable base for the boys as cricketers.

In club cricket, or later in the schoolboy game, a co-ordinated and dynamic fielder who can also bowl is significantly more use than a batter who doesn’t bowl and is ineffective in the field.

Promoting these aspects of the game that can be cast aside by those who are only interested in batting also ignites a love for the sport whatever the status of the fixture and whatever the format. If you love fielding, that doesn’t go away.

^{Brotherton is keen to establish basic skills among all boys}

Any coach who works with youth players knows that they have to keep formats fresh to keep youngsters engaged. At Cumnor, Brotherton is using 100-ball cricket.

“It was 10 overs of 10 balls each. We bowled five overs from one end then five from the other. In terms of Covid protocols it was perfect because there wasn’t that much changing of bowler. And sanitising after ‘x’ number of overs fit very well. 

“If the boys are watching 100-ball cricket on TV they’re more likely to want to play it in real life. Our game was brilliant, I brought the boundary ropes in an extra 10 yards so they could hit a few more boundaries.

“In one game we had three boys hit 50 off about 30 balls. It was so good for their confidence but also good for the other batsmen as it made sure everyone got a bat.”

Due to their comparably small size, Cumnor House can certainly claim that they punch above their weight. Boys are given the focus and opportunity to move on to cricketing institutions such as Whitgift and have a lifelong impact on club, county and maybe even the international game.

“The boys can’t wait to get back to cricket,” Brotherton finishes. I’m a Year 6 form teacher so I get to speak to a few of my players every day, and they’re desperate to play.”