The influence of former England international Dean Headley has rubbed off on fellow seamer Zak Chappell, who has recently signed a professional contract with Leicestershire.
The 18-year-old was part of Leicestershire’s academy for 2013-14 and has since penned a two-year deal at Grace Road.
Chappell was a pupil at Stamford School where he was coached by Headley, who played for England from 1996 to 1999, and he has gone on to work with Lloyd Tennant at Leicestershire’s academy.
The youngster said: “I went to Stamford Boys School and learnt a lot off Dean Headley, who has taken a five-for in the Ashes.
“It does help a lot to work with people like Dean and Lloyd Tennant, who has helped me a lot here.
“I love my sport. I have played squash for Hunts (Huntingdonshire) and also enjoy tennis and other ball sports. It is actually helpful for my cricket to play racquet sports because fitness and footwork are so important across all of the sports.
“I had a few injury problems this year unfortunately so I missed out on the chance to play in the (Leicestershire) seconds and was only able to bowl in one of the games I played for Market Harborough.
“I took a seven-for on that occasion, which was nice, and I’ll look forward to playing more premier division cricket in Leicestershire next summer.”
Chappell added on Leicesershire’s website: “I’m very happy to have signed a contract at Leicestershire CCC as it is something that I have worked towards. I was on the academy last year but that was my first year on it, so things have happened pretty quickly.
“The academy gives a good grounding for players. The matches I played were of a high standard and, although it’s hard for counties to fit in games with school and exams, I enjoyed playing against some good opposition.
“You do lots more than just play cricket in the academy. There are strength and conditioning sessions, psychology sessions, gym and fitness work too. It is a full package that mixes cricket with education.
“As I live a distance away and was at school it wasn’t always easy to make the sessions, so I often used to come in and train with the first and second team players. That was a great experience and I got to see the standards that they set.”