Curtain practice draws fantastic result for batsman’s business

BURBAGE cricketer Lewis Hill has scooped a Dragon’s Denstyle scholarship to boost his online business after spending hours practicing his pitch - to his living room curtains.

The Leicestershire wicketkeeper/batsman had no previous interview experience before he appeared in front of a fourstrong judging panel at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham.

But Hill came away as a winner, sealing £1,000 in this year’s Cricketers’ Association Scholarship Awards.

“I’ve not done anything like that before,” said Hill. “I didn’t even do a presentation at school all those years ago but I quite enjoyed it actually.

“I was talking to my curtains for a couple of nights before the interview.

“I was pretty confident. When I got going I felt quite comfortable doing it. I had done my preparation and it flowed nicely.”

The prize money will be used to further establish his e-commerce business selling sports equipment and designing websites.

“The website design is done and I am planning to set up a sister business to my dad’s,” he added.

“He has contracts where he has to go through a middle man and I want to be that middle man. I want to sell on-line.

“I’m already on eBay. I have sold more than 2,000 net clips for football goals. I’m building for years to come. I want to really get into sports clubs and to talk to them about their products.

“Winning this award means a lot, especially as I wasn’t that academically bright.

“I tried hard and got my grades in the end, but it didn’t come easy to me.

“Having something that relates back to school and my experience and being successful is a real positive.”

The awards, which were introduced in 2013, reward the most proactive current and former professional cricketers in England and Wales who have sought ways to develop and improve themselves off the pitch.

Talented Hill, who switched on Hinckley’s Christmas lights last year, hit an unbeaten century as Leicestershire beat Highveld Lions at Bidvest Wanderers Stadium on their pre-season tour to South Africa.

Hill and Tom Wells shared 160 for the fifth wicket as the Foxes racked up 350-7 from 50 overs.