Bedford School's investment in FrogBox adds to diverse programme

The school won an impressive 70 per cent of their block fixtures in 2022

Bedford School has become a staple of The Cricketer's top 100 and proof of a successful model which embraces the old cliché: 'if it ain’t broke, don't fix it'.

Those are precisely the intentions of master in charge of cricket and former Derbyshire cricketer, Gary Steer, who oversees an extensive programme.

Steer, who has coached with Warwickshire and within the ECB pathway structure, said: "Given the competing factors that all school environments bring, we are quite good at offering a diverse programme that improves and progresses the technical side of their game as well as fitness.

^{The school has become a regular feature in The Cricketer Schools Guide (supplied)}

We have good links with Northamptonshire, with the likes of David Ripley and Adam Rossington coming in to deliver masterclasses and sessions to the boys. It's great to have that support of former and current pros who the lads look forward to seeing – they provide a different voice which the boys take a lot from and provide standards that the boys want to adhere to."

Having won 70 per cent of their block fixtures across age groups, 2022 was a good season for Bedford, and Steer is eyeing up the winter calendar.

"We offer strength and conditioning throughout the winter while the boys are also invited in for a couple of sessions of coaching a week. Our programme starts to ramp up in January and we plan to tour Barbados next October, so as to avoid exam season and open it out to all our upper school," he said.

^{The school's superb facilities help provide platform for a successful programme (supplied)}

"We have made additions to our first and second pitches, with more wickets added to the square to keep up with the demand with our ever-increasing participation. We recently invested in FrogBox so we can live stream our home and away fixtures on Saturdays while also providing video analysis which has been a great addition; they have been well received by players and parents alike.

"When they can see an innings where they have batted, bowled or fielded well as a collective or as individuals, it suddenly brings to life some of the things we drum into them on the technical side of the game throughout the long winter months.

"When they go on to score a century or take a five-fer, to have those moments as keepsakes have been fantastic for the boys."

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