Cricket Without Boundaries

Lewis Sharp is a man who believes that any good cricket programme grows from the bottom up.

 

“One of my big coaching mantras is to create a safe and enjoyable environment where people feel comfortable to stretch themselves,” explains LWC’s Head of Cricket.

 

“I want to ensure that those who are just taking their first steps in the game are getting a positive experience and have access to all of the facilities. For those more experienced players, I want to take them out of their comfort zones as much as possible. If you’re comfortably dominating all the time, you don’t learn and your game isn’t improving.”

 

In short. LWC Cricket is open to all.

 

Mr Sharp joined the College at the beginning of the Summer Term from Wellington Prep, where he also led their cricket programme, along with the football and rugby offerings. With a background in coaching children since his late teens, Lewis is also a talented sportsman himself.

 

“My main sporting passions growing up were football and golf,” he explains. “I played golf for the county and still play actively now, with a handicap of five. I also trained with some big football clubs, but when I got to the age of 15 or 16, I realised that I’d started to enjoy my cricket more than football.”

 

In fact, when it comes to cricket, Lewis was something of a late bloomer, despite coming from a cricketing family.

 

“My mum and dad actually met through the sport because my dad played cricket with my mum’s brother,” he reveals. “My younger brother started playing straight away and was involved in the county set-up, but I didn’t start playing until I was around 10.”

 

Lewis began senior cricket at the age of 14, progressing up the ranks at his local club from the fourth to the first team reasonably swiftly. “I played two years in the first team at Eversley before deciding to move to Wokingham, who were in the league above. In 2021, I started playing for Finchampstead and I’m still there.”

 

A minor counties call-up then came for Lewis and he remains part of the Berkshire first set-up (when he isn’t supervising matches at LWC).

 

“I’m an opening bowler for Berkshire and more of an all-rounder for my club team,” he admits. “But there’s a real advantage to still playing the game myself when it comes to coaching. You keep up to speed with the nuances of the game. The tactical side of it has changed massively, even in the time that I’ve been coaching. If I didn’t play, it would be much more challenging.”

 

“Giving the girls the same access to cricket as boys is really important to me. We have really great female cricketers here and they must feel as though they’re getting equal opportunities.”

— Lewis Sharp, Head of Cricket

 

Lewis has not only developed as a player at Berkshire, but also as a coach, taking charge of the Berkshire Under 18s for the last three years. It was working with this older age group that spurred him on to venture beyond prep schools and into the 1200.

 

“I love watching people improve technically and tactically,” he admits. “I also really enjoy building relationships. Getting the job at LWC has been a real high point for me. I’m overseeing a big programme on an amazing site where everyone is really friendly. There’s just so much potential here.”

 

It’s at this point that we move back to Lewis’ original point about ensuring cricket is a sport for all. The College already boasts a talented line-up of male and female cricketers who share a host of county call-ups between them. But Lewis is keen to go way beyond the boundary with his future plans.

 

“Giving the girls the same access to cricket as boys is really important to me,” he continues. “We have really great female cricketers here and they must feel as though they’re getting equal opportunities. I want our girls and boys to be competing against the best sides in the country in the next few years. We’ve already shown that we can do this and I want that to continue on a regular basis.”

 

Lewis is also keen to shake off stuffy stereotypes in his pursuit of growing the game at LWC. “I want to grow partnerships,” he reveals. “Cricket can be elitist, but there’s a wealth of talent beyond independent schools, who don’t have access to as many facilities. I just want to make the sport accessible to everyone.”

 

It’s clear that once he’s helped to foster a love of cricket, he’s also keen to keep it there in the girls and boys he develops at LWC.

 

“Many cricketers play at school and then stop,” he concludes. “But I don’t want them to give up at 18. I want them to carry on playing, to keep going and see how far they can get. I didn’t make my county debut until I was 24, and so anything is possible.”