Durham Cricket are delighted that three members of its boys under 15s squad will represent the North of England at the prestigious Bunbury Festival.
Bertie Morris, Sam Hood and Harry Walker have been selected for the week-long festival which commences this weekend at Loughborough University the home of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s high-performance centre.
Morris is a wicket-keeper batter who signed this first deal with Durham Academy this winter and plays his club cricket at Richmondshire Cricket Club, Hood is a quick bowler who plays at Chester Le Street Cricket, while Walker is an off-spinner who plays at Brandon Cricket Club.
The famous festival is into its 39th year and its sixth in the current format as a formalised part of ECB’s Player Pathway. Trials and assessments for each region have been going on since the winter, with county coaches nominating their top players for consideration for final selection.
For many young players, the Bunbury Festival is their first chance to benchmark themselves against their peers from different parts of the country. And the process clearly pays dividends, with over 90 former Bunbury players going on to represent England, including 10 from the 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup squad.
For the first time the Bunbury festival kicks off with a three-day red ball fixture as the North take on the South and West, before the regular 50 over and T20 format gets underway on Monday with the North going up against London and East first in a T20.
Durham Cricket Academy Coach, Cole Pearce said: “I’m really pleased for the three lads from Durham selected for Bunbury this year.
“It’s a great reward for the hard work they have put in and recognition of their excellent performances at county age group and club level.
“It has been great to see their development over the last few years and I’m sure this will be another fantastic experience in their cricketing journey.”