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Budding SPCL players secure county Academy contracts
Mike Vimpany - 15 October 2001
Two of the Southern Electric ECB Premier League's most exciting local young cricketing prospects - Bournemouth's Chris Park and David Wheeler, the New Milton all-rounder - could be headed towards a career on the county circuit.
The teenage duo have signed Academy scholarship contracts with First Class counties - Park, Bournemouth's talented batsman/wicketkeeper, with Northants, and Wheeler at Hampshire.
The pair will link up with their respective counties next month to begin a demanding winter programme, which involves all aspects of cricket development, including fitness and sports psychology.
Spending the 2002 summer season with Northants is a dream come true for 18-year old Park, from Dales Drive, Wimborne.
The former Queen Elizabeth School sixth-former scored over 400 runs and snapped up 30 victims behind the stumps in a sparkling debut season for Bournemouth in the demanding surrounds of the Southern Electric Premier League.
Park went on to make three Minor Counties Championship appearances for Dorset, scoring a maiden half-century in Cornwall.
"Being signed up by Northants is the perfect end to what's been a terrific first season for me in senior cricket," smiled Park, who has played regularly for Dorset youth teams in recent seasons.
"It hardly seems five minutes ago I was playing village cricket for Kingston Lacey and now I've been given the opportunity to progress into the professional arena."
But Park, spotted by Northants when he represented Dorset in last year's Jersey Youth Festival, knows the hard work is yet to begin.
"It's entirely up to me now. There's a demanding winter schedule ahead and then the task of proving myself where it matters - in the middle next season.
"This is an opportunity few youngsters get and I don't intend to waste it," he said.
Park, who will probably play Northants 2nd XI and Colts cricket next summer, could hardly have chosen a better time to display his rich batting prowess than in Jersey last summer.
"I scored an unbeaten 147 against them off 86 balls and then followed it up with a century against Yorkshire. It's really gone on from there," Park explained.
Former England all-rounder David Capel, now the Northants Academy coach, said : "We were very impressed with what we saw in Jersey.
"Chris looks a very, inspirational positive player, who shows total commitment. He always seems to have a happy smile on his face."
Wheeler, New Milton's hard-hitting 6'3" all-rounder, made an equally devastating impact in his debut season in Premier Division 3.
He struck two centuries and passed the 50-mark on six other occasions in scoring 582 runs and took 22 wickets - no mean feat for a 16-year old !
Educated at Highcliffe School, Wheeler has been playing at New Milton since he was eight years of age and been a regular representative player for both Hampshire Schools and the New Forest CA since he was 11.
Wheeler, currently studying Sports Science at Brockenhurst College, hit the high spots last year, scoring 1,500-plus runs and taking 60 wickets in all cricket.
"When David's batting, he times the ball so sweetly. And his bowling action has such a high trajectory that he can get substantial lift and away movement," explained Steve Watts, the New Milton captain.
Wheeler had been earmarked to captain Hampshire's Under-16 team this summer but was fast-tracked into the Under-17 side which reached the semi-finals of the ECB County Youth Championships.
He was subsequently selected to play for an England Under-17 XI against the MCC at Uxbridge.
Wheeler, who lives in Barton-on-Sea, is the only Hampshire-based youngster at the Rose Bowl Academy this winter.
"David has got a great deal of potential and I'm looking forward to seeing him continue to develop in the Academy this winter," said Hampshire 2nd XI coach Tony Middleton.
Both Park and Wheeler have been nominted for the Southern Premier League's Young Cricketer of the Year award, which will be announced at the presentation dinner on November 9.
© SPCL / Mike Vimpany
| Teams | England. |
| First Class Teams | Hampshire, Northamptonshire. |
| Players/Umpires | Chris Park, David Capel, Tony Middleton. |
| Tournaments | Southern Premier League |
| Season | English Domestic Season |