Sport & Fitness

Here is the England cricket team for the first Test of May 2016:
Billy Godleman (Middlesex)Sam Northeast (Kent)
Mervyn Westfield (Essex)
Tom Winslade (Surrey)
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire)
Tom Maynard (Glamorgan)
Greg Wood (Yorkshire)
Steve Finn (Middlesex)
Maurice Chambers (Essex)
Paul Dixey (Kent)
Rory Hamilton-Brown (Surrey)
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So says David English, who for two decades has been part of the nurturing process for England’s stars of the future through his English Schools Cricket Association (ESCA) Under-15 Festival.

English is best known as the founder of the Bunbury’s – the celebrity cricket team that has raised more than £9 million for good causes and on any given day could have Bill Wyman – fag in hand – bowling at Sir Viv Richards, Phil Collins keeping wicket to Samantha Fox and Eric Clapton fielding next to Shane Warne. The Bunbury’s are in action at Stanmore Cricket Club on Sunday, their chaotic exploits helping a memorial fund for two young women killed in the Bali bombings.

It would be easy for English to bask in the affection he has earned through his charity work and continue plundering his contacts book to organise these madcap events until he shuffles off to the great pavilion in the sky. Many japes from life as chief Bunbury and a previous incarnation as president of RSO Records are recounted in his second volume of autobiography, ‘Confessions of a Dedicated Englishman’. But his commitment to cricket runs deeper – in particular to kids who may be lost to the game.

Michael Vaughan, Andrew Flintoff, Ian Bell, Marcus Trescothick and Steve Harmison all played in ESCA Festivals. But so too did Phil Neville – reckoned by Flintoff to be the best schoolboy cricketer he’d ever seen – and Chris Sutton, along with eight others who opted instead for pro football. English hopes last summer’s Ashes triumph will inspire gifted youngsters to stick with a sport that may bring fewer material benefits but, he believes, develops more rounded individuals.

‘The difference between cricketers and other sportsmen is that they are approachable,’ he insists. ‘I know I can phone the Middlesex dressing room and find six guys happy to turn out for the Bunbury’s on their day off. Footballers now are out of reach; they’re surrounded by PRs and agents.’

English’s latest project reaches out to those hamstrung by lack of opportunity. With help from two independent schools, Edge Grove Prep and Mill Hill, plus Saracens rugby club owner Nigel Wray, English has set up scholarships in the name of Flintoff, England rugby hero Lawrence Dallaglio, international netball player Tracey Neville and England hockey captain Kate Walsh. ‘It’s not exactly “Pop Idol” but the search is on for kids with ability who could benefit from a chance like this.’

Nor will he be stopping there. ‘Now I’ve got the blueprint, I’ll speak to the heads of all the other independent schools in the country. By the end of the year I want 50 scholarships in place. How many people can afford to send a kid to a school that costs 20 grand a year? Private schools have to show responsibility to children who are not so privileged. In return, they might help groom the next Flintoff.’

For proof that talent can so easily be missed, English points to a national under-12s tournament that the Bunbury’s sponsor. Two years ago, one of the finalists was Christ Church Middle School from Staffordshire. ‘Not only did they not have a cricket pitch, they had two cones and a dustbin in the playground. They beat four private schools to get to the final. We can’t ignore places like this. Think of the schools in east London with all their Asian pupils. There could be a couple of Tendulkars in Barking.’

English is deadly serious – but then his mobile rings and he’s back in the realm where sport and showbiz meets, getting a side together for a game in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust. In ten years’ time, the boys he’s picked from recent ESCA Festivals as potential England players will owe him a huge debt of gratitude – repayment of which involves bowling at newsreaders and Page Three models while a member of the Rolling Stones steers his zimmer frame round the boundary.

‘Confessions of a Dedicated Englishman’ is published by Macmillan at £17.99.

See www.bunburycricket.com for fixtures.