Talented 15-year-old cricketer Eddie Barnes has won the chance to train for a week with the full England squad at Loughborough University after performing superbly at the annual Bunbury English Schools’ Cricket Association Festival, writes Toby Latham.

The Festival – now in its 27th year – is an event which gathers together the best 44 young cricketers from around the country from which ten are selected to make up an England Development squad to be picked at some point in August.

In those 27 years, 308 former participants have gone on to play first-class cricket, while 60 have had the honour of representing their country, including nine of the current England squad.

Barnes, who represented the North of England at the Festival, picked up both the Nando’s bowling award after taking ten wickets in his five games and the David English scholarship which has handed him this opportunity.

A current pupil at King James’s School, Knaresborough, and a consistent performer this season for the Sheriff Hutton Bridge first XI in the York & District Senior League premier division with both bat and ball, Barnes was selected for the North after a series of trials at Ampleforth College where he impressed.

This form was carried through to the first game of the tournament where Barnes ended with figures of 2-22 from his seven overs in a 50-over game against London and the East.

He then proceeded to take 3-22 and 4-37 from his ten overs against strong South West and Midlands sides respectively in two 50-over matches, while he also struck a fluent 51 not out in a Twenty20 encounter at the Emirates Durham International Cricket Ground against previous opponents London and the East.

He then finished his tremendous tournament with figures of 1-29 from his four overs in a Twenty20 against the South West.

On hearing of Barnes’ achievement, Bridge captain Adam Fisher said: “It’s brilliant for the club to have young players of the calibre of Eddie in our ranks and his achievement is one which everyone at the club is very proud of.”

Barnes said of the Bunbury Festival: “It was a great experience, first and foremost, to play with players I usually play against for Yorkshire but also because the standard of the cricket was incredibly high as everyone wanted to perform.

“It was really competitive and I have definitely learnt a lot.”