Surrey’s Academic Cricket Scholars (SACS) programme is helping students hone their cricketing skills and engage with the Club’s Talent Pathway, with three students having had opportunities to train alongside Surrey’s age-group Elite Performance Groups and play in the representative teams last summer.
The programme offers young people access to high-quality cricket coaching as well as strength and conditioning training, coaching qualifications, and careers in cricket information whilst completing their sixth-form academic studies. Over the course of its first year, the combination of thorough coaching and match experience has facilitated in holistically improving cricketing skills of the students enrolled in the programme.
A recent highlight of the programme was the selection of Will Hamilton and Ed Marsh in Surrey’s U18s County Championship squad last season, alongside U16 Edward “Ned” Brown who was initially identified at his SACS trial.
Brown, a quick who recently entered the programme with the 2024/25 cohort, trained in the winter with Surrey U16s and was a member of the side that shared the 50-over 2024 National Cup with Chesire, taking 18 wickets at an average of 22.33 in the competition.
Launched in 2022, the SACS programme partners with state schools across Surrey and south London. In its first year, the programme started out with three partner schools and is now set to be working with 12 schools from the 2025/26 academic year.
The first two years of the programme has seen partner schools receive additional investment, with the aim of enhancing the quality of cricket facilities and infrastructure available on the site.
A testament to the cricket training environment cultivated by the programme is the part it is playing in helping introduce young cricketers in the county to the Surrey Talent Pathway, alongside providing them more opportunities in club and recreational cricket. Last year, there was a 28% jump in the number of applicants who had previously been selected in the Pathway.
Applications to join the programme in the 2025/26 academic school year are now open and the trials will also start soon.
Like the last two years, these trials will be supported by Surrey Talent Pathway coaches. Some of the best cricket coaches in the county will deliver masterclasses to applicants and offer guidance to the enrolled students throughout the school year.
Judy Wallis said: “Broadening access to high quality cricket training to state school students is among one of the goals of our programme. I’m glad that some of our students have been introduced to the Talent Pathway and have earned their way to play for Surrey’s representative sides, together with players increasing their opportunities to play at higher levels in recreational club cricket.”
“The quality of the cricket coaching on offer through the programme is a big draw for young cricketers and their parents, and we are hearing from more and more applicants who previously had a connection with the Pathway.”
“The SACS programme offers the opportunity to keep young players engaged and stay playing cricket and hopefully encourage each student to find a role to play in the future of the game.”
