Oxfordshire Cricket is delighted to announce that pathway players Zach Lion-Cachet, and Dylan Driscoll have both been awarded a place on Sussex County Cricket Club’s Academy for 2021/2022.
The news marks an exciting time in our partnership with Sussex, which was just recently extended for a further five years. Both boys will go on to follow the likes of Harrison Ward, James Coles and Harry Startin who were the last Oxfordshire Pathway Graduates to be awarded a place on Sussex’s Academy.
Zach (17) had a successful summer which saw him score a hundred for Oxfordshire U18s against Sussex at Blackstone. He then went on to play for Sussex’s U18s, Sussex 2s, Oxfordshire’s County Men and 2nd XI. This included a century against Wiltshire 2nd XI and hit an impressive 73 on his County Men debut. The pathway journey for Zach started at the age of 8 when he was in the U10s. He scored 115 not out v Wiltshire at the Bryanston U11 Festival. In 2019 he was selected for South & West U15s who went on to win the 50 over and t20 competitions at the Bunbury Festival alongside James Coles.
Dylan (16) also had a successful summer which saw him selected to represent South and West U15s at Bunbury. For Oxfordshire’s U15s he scored a total of 461 runs which included three centuries. He also played for the County Men’s 2nd XI as well as also play for Sussex U15s which saw him score a century on his debut. The pathway journey for Dylan started at the age of 10 when he was in the U10s. At that age, he scored 135 not out v Norfolk at Malvern.
Matthew Barnes – Performance Director at Oxfordshire Cricket said:
“Dylan and Zach are players of high potential whose dominant performances have deservedly been rewarded with a place on the Sussex Cricket Academy this year. Academy selection has been hard earned, and is an achievement that both they and their families should be very proud of.
I take this opportunity on behalf of everyone at Oxfordshire Cricket in congratulating both Dylan and Zach on their Academy selection and to wish them every success with their transition into the Academy at Sussex Cricket.”
Zach Lion-Cachet said:
“I was delighted to be invited to join the Sussex Academy and it wasn’t a hard decision to accept the place. It is an amazing opportunity to be a part of such a special Club and have the chance to progress my cricket in an environment where they are promoting young cricketers. “
Dylan Driscoll said:
“I was over the moon, it has been one of my goals for the past few years to get into the Sussex Academy, so I was very happy and can’t wait for it to kick on.”
Phil Hudson – Interim Academy Director at Sussex CCC said:
‘Whilst the previous 18 months was challenging for all associated with the Sussex Cricket Pathway the performances of several of last years academy intake in the first team environment demonstrated that the programme continues to produce cricketers with the attributes needed to perform at the highest level. The 2021/22 Academy intake is an exciting group of players who have all been invited to join the programme for the first time. The group covers all disciplines of the game and all those included produced outstanding performances for Sussex and Oxfordshire. I am looking forward to supporting this talented group of cricketers further to ensure their continued development, working alongside new Academy Director Mike Yardy’