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12 Oct 2015

Loughborough cricketers to play in international Twenty20 event

Loughborough’s cricketers are heading to India this month to represent England Universities in the prestigious Red Bull World Twenty20 Finals.

The Loughborough MCCU team qualified for the international tournament earlier this summer after defeating Durham in the semis and Oxford in the final to claim the national university T20 title.

The team will travel out to Delhi on 17 October and face teams from Australia, Bangladesh, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies.

Vice-captain Michael Burgess, a third year sport and exercise science student at Loughborough University, said:

“It was a very tough competition to get to India in the first place so now we are representing Loughborough and England Universities we want people to think well of us as cricketers.

“All the lads are very excited to go. A lot of us haven’t been to India before, but we were lucky enough to go to Sri Lanka last year, so we have had a taste of conditions in the sub-continent.

“It’s a once in a lifetime experience, so if we can come back with some fond memories and the trophy as well it will be a successful trip.”

Loughborough is one of six university cricket academies called MCCUs which have received funding from the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) since 2005.

The aim of the MCCUs is to give talented young cricketers the chance to receive top-level coaching, pursue a professional cricket career and playing opportunities whilst furthering their education.

Fraser Stewart, Cricket Academy Manager at the MCC, said:

“Twenty20 has had such a big impact on global cricket and we wanted to make sure that our scheme mirrored that and had a T20 competition in it. With the added prize of a place in the World Finals the stakes for winning it are now very high.

“In India the conditions will be tough and the competition is strong, but I think Loughborough MCCU have got a very good chance to go far in the tournament.”

To celebrate the team’s achievement a reception was held on campus hosted by the University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Robert Allison.

The event was attended by Loughborough’s Member of Parliament Nicky Morgan, who wished the team well by stating:

“Loughborough University is such an important part of my constituency and so it is terrific to see that the students are going to be representing not just Loughborough but also the country over in India.

“We wish them all the very best, they are a great bunch and are going to do the University proud.”

You can follow the fortunes of the team in India via the @lboroMCCU Twitter account.

Notes for editors

Article reference number: October News

Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, putting it among the best universities in the world, and was named University of the Year in the What Uni Student Choice Awards 2015.Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. It was 2nd in the 2015 THE Student Experience Survey and was named Sports University of the Year 2013-14 by The Times and Sunday Times. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

In September 2015 the University opened an additional academic campus in London’s new innovation quarter. Loughborough University London, based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities.

Contact for all media enquiries

Robert Knott
Sport Marketing & Communications Manager
Loughborough University
T: 01509 226248
E: r.a.knott@lboro.ac.uk