I am delighted to be able to lend my support to the Bunbury English Schools Cricket Festival in its 21st year.  This is a great achievement and everyone involved with the event can be rightly proud.

The Bunbury organisation has enjoyed many notable achievements over the past 21 years.  These include the raising of close to £10 million for national and international charities such as NSPCC, Mencap and Tsunami Disaster Appeal and, of course, providing opportunities for young aspiring cricketers to participate in the sport via the Bunbury Scholarship Scheme.

The festival continues to provide a golden opportunity for young cricketers to showcase their talents so that they begin to take their first steps towards winning full senior caps at both county and international level.  The fact that 35 cricketers were discovered at the Bunbury Festival and have gone on to represent the senior England team is testament to how wonderfully successful the festival has been.

I wish David English and everyone involved with the Festival my congratulations upon reaching this year’s milestone and my very best wishes for many more years of success.