Freddie at the ready for Suffolk

July 13, 2020

FREDDIE Heldreich is ready for the challenge if he is called up to play for Suffolk this summer.

The 6ft 2in tall left-arm wrist spinner is fully recovered from a stress fracture in his lower back which ruled him out of most of last season. And after switching clubs during the course of the winter, Heldreich is also looking forward to his first taste of playing in the Read Brothers East Anglian Premier League.

The former Framlingham College student, who played at Easton CC until he was 15, has swapped Marshall Hatchick Two Counties Championship Division One side Woolpit, where he spent two years, for Copdock & Old Ipswichian CC. He said: “I have shown what I can do at Two Counties level, but this will be my first season in the EAPL. I feel like I have put in the hours to deserve my chance, but I know it is a big step up.”

Uncertainty still surrounds whether Suffolk will play any competitive fixtures this summer under the newly-branded National Counties Cricket Association banner. Three-day cricket has been ruled out, but it is possible that Suffolk may play some competitive fixtures in either of the white-ball formats.

Heldreich, who was born in Ipswich but lived in Debenham before his family moved to Badingham when he was aged three, actually made his Suffolk T20 debut as a 16-year-old. He played in the final group games of the season versus Hertfordshire at Harpenden in June 2018, but didn’t bowl or bat in the first match and delivered two overs for 20 runs and was out for a duck in the second match.

“When I was picked for Suffolk I had one season of playing at Woolpit so it was a big step up, so if I get another opportunity I want to show how much I have grown up and improved since then.

“It was a good learning curve, although I didn’t perform as well as I would have liked to, but I will know what to expect next time,” he said.

Heldreich’s county ambitions are not just limited to playing for Suffolk as he has been a member of the Northamptonshire Academy for the past three years. He has regularly travelled to Northampton twice a week, and is now back training alongside the first-class county’s professional staff after the all-clear was given to return following the COVID-19 lockdown.

“My Academy contract with Northants finishes in September and they are unsure what is going to happen with myself and another three 18-19-year-olds,” he added.

WORDS AND IMAGES: NICK GARNHAM

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