TWO former King’s College, Taunton, students Sonny Baker and James Rew made their full England debuts in the Second Test against New Zealand at The Oval.

Sonny, a 24 year old fast bowler who hails from Torbay, joined King’s aged 13 and batter/wicket-keeper James from Taunton started at King’s Prep before moving onto the senior school.

During their time at King’s the England duo had their skills nurtured through the school’s highly regarded cricket programme which includes top class winter coaching in the custom built Indoor Cricket Centre as well as a summer programme that provides huge opportunity for their players to stretch and challenge themselves.

What sets Kings apart is putting player development first ahead of results, otherwise they probably would have won even more national titles in recent years!

While the pair were at King’s the First XI enjoyed considerable success, reaching the finals of the English Schools Cricket Association Under 18 T20 Cup on more than one occasion, as well as winning the Woodard Schools Festival.

Both Sonny and James went onto join the Somerset Academy from where they have made a considerable impression in the first class game - Sonny with Hampshire while James has remained at Somerset.

King’s has an enviable reputation for producing first class cricketers, and several including Jos Buttler, Tom Banton and Neil Brand have gone on to play international cricket for England and South Africa respectively.

This is only the second time that two players from the same school have made their England debuts together; the previous occasion was back in 1881 when Arthur Shrewsbury and William Scotton, who both attended the Peoples College in Nottingham, appeared in the First Test Match against Australia in Melbourne.

Rob Woodman, head of cricket at King’s, said: “We are incredibly proud to see James Rew and Sonny Baker step onto the international stage for England.