Former England Cricket captain and Cambridge graduate Mike Atherton will be back in Cambridge today (Friday 18 July) to mark the beginning of construction work on a new indoor cricket school and a new College building at Fenner’s cricket ground.

Fenner's, having hosted first-class cricket for over 100 years, is to be transformed this month when construction starts on the new indoor school. It will coincide with the start of an imaginative new accommodation building for Hughes Hall; Cambridge's oldest graduate college which nestles alongside the historic turf. Purchase of the land for the College development is funding the new cricket school together with contributions from the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) and other cricket supporters.

As one of the six national ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) University Centres of Cricketing Excellence, formed by a groundbreaking partnership between Cambridge University and Anglia Polytechnic University and the ECB, Fenner’s has changed significantly since Michael Atherton and Derrick Pringle honed their skills. The indoor cricket school will provide further opportunities to expand Fenner's as a Centre of Excellence for the whole community and will form the focus for cricket development for Cambridgeshire and the Eastern Region.

Tony Lemons, the University of Cambridge's Director of Physical Education welcomed the start of construction:

"The building of the new indoor school will enable us to change the way the game is taught and played in the future. It will provide the essential year-round facilities and scientific capability to undertake in-depth analysis of our young cricketers' techniques so important in developing good skills and in preventing injury. The next generation of cricketers, from both the University and the wider community will be able to enjoy the benefits of the new school, with its three indoor lanes, video analysis facilities and coaching resource centre."

The President of Hughes Hall, Professor Peter Richards said:

"Sport and study are about acquiring expertise: we are delighted that the Fenner’s project creates opportunity for both."

Hughes Hall was established in 1885 as a teacher training college for women. It is now a thriving and diverse graduate and mature undergraduate College, which provides opportunities for postgraduate and second chance learning for mature students of both sexes and those seeking a change in career.

To mark the start of work on both projects, Mike Atherton will lead the foundation stone ceremony, along with Professor Peter Richards, President of Hughes Hall and Mr Tony Lemons.

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