Middlesex's Toby Roland-Jones hails Hampton education

Former England bowler and fellow alumnus Zafar Ansari both went on to play Test cricket

Hampton School is proud of its cricketing tradition and the sport continues to grow from strength to strength, with an ever-increasing number of pupils playing throughout the year and 15 teams fielded across the age-groups.

With former first-class Ranji Trophy cricketer Ami Banerjee at the helm, supported by cricket professional and ECB level 3 coach Chris Harrison, the school's flourishing programme provides all pupils, regardless of ability, with the opportunity to play cricket. One-to-one coaching is available throughout the year, including an extensive and excellent winter all-round coaching programme incorporating indoor leagues and video analysis for all players.

The winter programme combined with a wide-ranging professional coaching programme during the autumn and spring terms, mixing high-class technical advice with cricket basics, plays a key role in Hampton's excellent summer results.

^{Toby Roland-Jones has fond memories of Hampton [Alex Davidson/Getty Images]}

While fostering participation is a fundamental aspect of sport at the school, Hampton also has a strong history of producing professional cricketers. Notable alumni include Zafar Ansari and Toby Roland-Jones, who both played Test cricket for England. 

Speaking to The Cricketer, Roland-Jones said: "I have fond memories of Hampton School and still have many close friends from my time there. Saturday cricket fixtures were always the highlight of the week for me. We had a great cricket team and reached the final of the national T20 competition at Edgbaston. I also played football every break time and loved the social football on a Wednesday. I wasn’t any good but it provided a proper game every week."

He believes Hampton offered him an all-round platform for life, adding: "Hampton helped me to grow and mature as a young adult, building a core of inter-personal skills that have since proved essential. As a cricketer, I developed an ability to analyse and think quickly. As a boy you learn that coping with pressures of education can translate into dealing with other pressures further on in life, and of course I learned there is no substitute for hard work. Appreciate the support network available at the school and utilise all aspects of it, both co-curricular and academic.

"In your sport, be fearless and be prepared to make mistakes – this is how we learn best. Remember your school days will be some of the best days of your lives, so enjoy them and make the most of all the opportunities in front of you because the time goes by so quickly. Pursue your passion and your hard work will always be rewarded, even if you have to wait a while!"