Former England bowler Headley visits Sutton St James Community Primary School

Sutton St James Community Primary School welcomed a very special guest last week.

Former England international cricketer Dean Headley visited the school with two of his current cricket pupils to encourage the children to have high aspirations and follow their dreams.

In a whole school assembly, Headley – who was a right arm medium fast bowler who took 60 wickets in 15 Test matches for England at an average of 27.85 – told the children how his sporting career had enabled him to travel the world.

One of the highlights being in Australia in 1998 when he played in the England Ashes team.

The children were particularly impressed to hear that Headley is the holder of a World Record, jointly achieving the most hat-tricks in a cricket season.

After the assembly, the former England ace, who also took 11 wickets in 13 ODI fixtures, went back to the

Year 5/6 Herons class for a question and answer session.

The children were praised for the questions they asked and found the discussion very interesting.

Headley told the children how important it is to make the most of any opportunity they are given and to widen their experiences as much as possible.

The morning ended with a practical session with Herons class in the hall.

Headley’s pupils James and Raiffe, who play cricket for the Leicestershire County Under 15 Squad, demonstrated some fast reaction activities where the children had to listen carefully, work together and react at speed.