English sport has recently received a much-needed wave of young talent across the board. With well-funded academy pathways allowing talent to access world class training facilities and coaches, these sports have never been more accessible. As a result, the number of younger players which have had the opportunity to represent their club and country is on a steep incline.
Drawing on three key sports, we take a closer look at a rising star from Rugby, Cricket and Tennis, dissecting their style of play and what makes them stand out from the crowd.
Rugby - Freddie Steward:
Freddie plays for current Gallagher Premiership champions - Leicester Tigers, playing a key role in the success of the team. Freddie comes from Norfolk, a rugby strong hold for discovering talent such as the Youngs brothers who are from the area. He came through the Tigers academy, which is regarded as having one of the best youth setups in English rugby, with numerous academy graduates in the current England squad. A closed premiership league has given young talent such as Freddie the opportunity to gain experience from a young age in arguably the most competitive league in world rugby. This platform to succeed has been firmly grasped by the 21-year-old who was voted player’s young player of the year and England men’s player of the season in May 2022.
Making his debut in July 2021 against USA, Steward burst onto the scene quite literally with his ability in the air earning him the nickname “the king of the skies”. Since his debut he has solidified his position in the national team at full back. With Danny Care recently commenting on his ability during the tour to Australia, stating he is one of the best players he has ever played alongside. Steward recently mentioned in an interview about his drive to further succeed and improve; “you can have the skills and the flair, but it is all underpinned by work rate, and by desire and an attitude to work for each other. That is something Steve [Borthwick] has brought in at Leicester and it is obviously something Eddie [Jones] values highly at England, too.” Showing his maturity at such a young age he is sure to have a long and successful career with Paul Grayson writing that he can give England long needed certainty at fullback.
Tennis - Jack Draper:
20-year-old Jack Draper comes from a family surrounded by tennis with his father a previous chief executive of the Lawn Tennis Association. The British ranked No. 4 from Sutton is an exciting prospect for British tennis. He enjoyed successes against Jannik Sinner and Alexander Bublik in 2021 at the cinch Championship at The Queen’s Club. Jack is continually making ground in the ATP rankings, currently ranked 87th globally which is impressive at such a young age especially considering he only turned pro in 2018. Jack has been on a steep developmental curve recently reaching his first tour-level semi-final, beating fellow Brit Ryan Peniston 6-3, 6-3 at the Rothesay International, Eastbourne. The opportunity for a rising star such as Jack to gain experience in such high-pressure environments will help him grow as a player. Creating greater composer to deal with situations and allow him to have better decision making, executing clever shots made in split second decisions.
Jack has previously played against Novak Djokovic, who is widely considered the best player in the world. Draper couldn’t have faced tougher competition – but it’s valuable experience for the young talent. Greg Rusedski, former British tennis player who worked in partnership with Keith Prowse during this year’s Championships commented that Draper is the future British star to take Centre Court. If Jack can continue his upward trajectory, climbing up the rankings he will surely be one to watch for many years to come.
Cricket - Harry Brook:
Harry plays for Yorkshire CCC, his local side growing up in Airedale in Yorkshire. Brook was only the second English player to score a century in the 2018 U19 World Cup, making a big statement from such a young age. Brook made his international debut in January 2022 against West Indies aged 23. Gaining vast experience from an early age playing in leagues around the world, he had some success in the Pakistan Super League where he reached 102 runs off 49 balls, the highest runs scored in his career to date! Brook also has experience in the domestic leagues too making his debut for Yorkshire against Pakistan A at just 17. Brook is an innovative batsman who has found his form and style, reverse lapping, and scooping balls over the boundary. His skilful batting particularly shines through against seamers, with teams soon becoming wise to carefully select bowlers who do not let his skills tear balls over the grandstands.
Playing in various formats in the T20 Vitality Blast for Yorkshire and in The Hundred for the Northern Superchargers, it’s a new format which suites his style of play as a big hitter. With the backing of big-name pundits such as Michael Atherton, who has previously commented that he should start ahead of Jonny Bairstow. A bold statement from the veteran pundit!
All three rising stars share numerous attributes which allow them to stand out from the rest. A clear focus to succeed, coupled with a willingness to learn new skills and improve on current skills. Keep an eye out for these three individuals over the next few years, they are only a handful of the array of English talent coming through the ranks.
Interested in finding out more about rugby, tennis and cricket hospitality for 2023? Look at our sports calendar here to see all our upcoming fixtures.
