Oakham School is delighted to announce the appointment of Tom Fell to the newly-created post of Head of Cricket Development.

Tom will work closely with Patrick Latham, Director of Cricket, to further grow and enhance cricket at Oakham for both boys and girls.

Right-handed batsman Tom has enjoyed a successful professional cricket career, representing Worcestershire for nine years, playing 97 first-class games for his county.

An Old Oakhamian, Tom holds the accolade of being the all-time 1st XI record run-scorer. In his last year at Oakham he recorded eight successive scores of 50 or more runs, including two centuries.

Tom has fond memories of his time at Oakham as a pupil, and is delighted to return. “I was here at Oakham School from 2008 to 2012 and had an amazing time, some of the four best years I’ve ever had. I really loved the staff, the environment, and made a lot of great friends.

“For me to come back is really nice and feels quite right. I could always see myself working in a school like Oakham. It feels good to be back and really doesn’t feel that long ago that I left.”

Tom already has a clear vision for developing cricket at Oakham. He explained: “For me, it’s about nailing the basics with school cricketers.

“In my experience working with young people, I’ve noticed that a lot of young players don’t know the basic stuff, whether that be skills or just understanding of the game. It’s almost expected of them, but I think coaches can forget that these boys and girls are young and still learning the game.”

Tom sees Oakham School as an ideal environment for young cricketers to develop. “Coming somewhere like Oakham, you’re going to have the luxury of great facilities, a lot of great staff and coaches to work with as well as great fixtures.”

But Tom also believes that cricket should be fun. He added: “For me, at a young age, it’s all about enjoying it, not taking it too seriously and getting involved in other sports and opportunities.

“Not only that, but also within cricket, making sure you are having a go at batting, bowling, fielding and wicketkeeping. It’s good to have a few different elements to your game.”