James Vince, who left Warminster School in the summer of 2007 to pursue his dream of becoming a professional cricketer, is already well on the way to achieving this goal.
His chosen county, Hampshire, have recently awarded James his first professional cricket contract - cause for celebration, even though it is initially just for 1 year. He has also represented England at Under 17 age-group and has since been selected for the English Cricket Board’s Under 18s winter coaching programme, which includes a trip to India in February 2009.
This summer, the 17-year-old finished as the leading runscorer for Hampshire 2nd XI in the 2nd XI county championship – scoring an impressive 399 runs at an average of 57.00. The highlight of his summer was an unbeaten 115 against Essex at Halstead in late August. James was also a member of the side that won the 2nd XI Trophy, beating Essex at Chelmsford the following month.
“I did pretty well in the 2nds and made a hundred against Essex, 90 against Warwickshire, and 78 against Somerset,” he recalled. “We won the second eleven competition and I was very pleased overall with my contribution. I felt I achieved my pre-season goals in the Hampshire 2nds and if anything I probably did better than I expected.” James also played one Minor Counties Championship game for Wiltshire, scoring 87 against Oxfordshire. He is now, for the second year running, wintering in Perth, Australia, where he is playing for the Melville club.
“Hopefully being out here and getting used to the heat will stand me in good stead for Indian conditions. My objective in Perth is to gain more experience and work on technical aspects of my batting against spin bowling. I can use that as a platform to further improve against the spinners in India. I scored 60 in my first game for Melville last weekend so it’s pleasing to have got off to a good start this time around”, he said.
James’ father, Paul, is proud of the progress James is making and was quick to thank Warminster School for the role it has played in James’ flourishing career. “The coaches were very pleased with his development whilst in Australia last year and were equally impressed, as were we, with the way James conducted himself and matured as a person whilst he was away. We certainly noticed a huge difference on his return, and believe that his experiences at Warminster helped him to cope with the situation.”
Looking to the future, James is very clear on his ambitions: “Playing for the Hampshire first team is my goal. I’d like to think I have a chance but I have to consolidate in the 2nds first”. He has certainly made real strides towards this goal over the last few months: over the summer, he scored his first hundred for the West and South of England Under 17s and gained his first full England Under 17 cap against New Zealand.
Congratulations to James on what he has achieved thus far: we wish him well over the winter with his cricketing in Australia and then with the England Under 18s in India.
