Eastbourne College to host 2020 ECB David English Bunbury Festival

Eastbourne College will play host to the 2020 ECB David English Bunbury Festival between 2-7 August, bringing together the best U15 schoolboy cricketers from across England and Wales.

The 34^th edition of the famous festival heads to the Sussex coast, where squads from the North, Midlands, London & East and South & West will battle it out across 50-over and 20-over competitions.

For the first time, ECB introduced a formal tender process to decide the host venue for the festival. Over 25 schools from across the country expressed an interest in hosting, with Eastbourne College chosen by the ECB panel.

Former Kent and Nottinghamshire player Rob Ferley is Director of Cricket at the college. He said: “Having played in the Bunbury Festival back in 1997 along with future England player James Tredwell [now part of the college’s coaching team], and subsequently forging a lifelong friendship with him, the opportunity to be part of the 2020 Festival and to help nurture the next generation is something that we are really proud of.”

ECB National Performance Manager, David Graveney, said: “We’re delighted to be taking the ECB David English Bunbury Festival to Eastbourne in August. The festival continues to be a key part of the ECB’s development pathway and I’m sure we’ll see a high standard of cricket being played once again.

“Ten of England’s 2019 World Cup winners played at Bunbury in their formative years, with the festival providing these talented youngsters their first chance to compare themselves to their peers around the country.

“It was great to see so many schools put themselves forward to host the 2020 event, which really shows the increasing status of the festival within the education community.”

ECB Performance Director, Mo Bobat, said: “For players at the start of their journey, the Bunbury Festival is a great opportunity to gain experience, make new friends and show what they can do on the field.

“The best-versus-best opportunity the festival provides gives us a first indication of how these young players might develop along the pathway.

“We’ve seen over 80 Bunbury graduates go on to win international caps, with hundreds more playing county cricket, which is a great inspiration for the class of 2020.”