LSCA were recently fortunate enough to catch-up with one of our former players, Luke Hollman.

Having played for LSCA as a youngster, Luke is now a professional cricketer at Middlesex CCC and made his debut in the 2020 season. He also has represented England Under 19's at an Under 19 World Cup.

What are your early memories of play for LSCA?

LH: "I went to state school throughout (growing up) so that made me eligible in the first place and I remember the first time I went I was so young I wasn't able to do my shoelaces, I had to ask the coach to do my shoelaces!

"I was about 7 and then I remember playing my first ever game for London Schools at Old Finchleians which isn’t too far from me. I can’t remember who against but that was my first game."

What are your experiences as a professional cricketer who comes from a state school background?

LH: "I remember when I first got in and around it (LSCA), that was the number one motive and it’s great to hear now there’s a bigger push towards state schools because there is a massive disparity I must say, especially seeing with my three years I had in the Under 19’s for England. There was a couple of tours when I was the only one that went to state school.

"I’m a massive advocate to promote state school cricket for sure because it is a big issue of course. It’s a bridge that definitely needs to be gaped and that’s the whole reason why London Schools was setup, to try and bridge that gap between state school cricket and trying to play as high a level of cricket as possible to promote country cricketers or try to get them into bordering counties."

What advice would you give to current young players at LSCA?

LH: "I was taking myself off to go to the nets as much as possible, batting and bowling as much as I could because you don't have that at state school. You just have to do that bit more to try and be better than your peers who go to a private school.

"That's one piece of advice: just train as hard as you can and as much as you can. That is the most important thing for sure. (It's about) giving yourself the best possible opportunity to improve."