"Stefan Kelly has been a model ambassador for his country and its cricket."

That was the glowing assessment of the talented 14-year-old Bermudian given by the former Lancashire and England cricketer Frank Hayes, the current cricket professional at Oakham School in the English Midlands.

The highly rated medium pacer is currently in his second term at the sports mad UK boarding school, thanks to a new scholarship awarded to him by the Bermuda Cricket Board.

The programme was co-ordinated by BCB Treasurer Neil Speight with the help of the Bank of Bermuda Foundation as well as contributions from Government, Bank of Butterfield, XL Insurance Foundation and Westbury.

Speight, who is convinced that international exposure for Bermuda's up and coming cricketers is absolutely fundamental to the Island's future cricketing prosperity, is currently in the process of establishing a charitable trust from which he hopes to fund further efforts to send Bermuda's best young cricketers away to school.

"We at the Board are trying to encourage young cricketers to reach their potential, not just in cricketing but academic terms as well," he said.

"We have recognised that an opportunity exists to improve the playing levels of cricket in Bermuda by providing educational support to young local players. Stefan is the first and appears to be doing well.We are determined to ensure, along with the much appreciated help of the corporate community, that he is the first of many."

By all accounts, Kelly has adapted impressively to his new environment and has made a significant impression on all those involved with him.

"He deals with people very well and is always smiling and seems pretty comfortable in his surroundings," said his house master Simon Barefoot, who is in overall all charge of Kelly's day-to-day affairs.

"He is very calm and deliberate about what he does and he has lots of common sense. Academically he is coping well also. Some might think it would be difficult for a Bermudian boy to be thrust into an English boarding school but he has handled it very well and if you did not know him, you would never know that he has not been in this type of school from an early age," he said.

"He is a real credit to his family and to his country - I cannot speak highly enough of him."

Although the youngster has been playing rugby this winter term, cricket will be his main sporting focus throughout his stay at the school and it is clear that he has already made great strides.

After one school cricket season under the tutelage of Hayes, Kelly returned to Bermuda for the summer holidays and finished with the best strike rate in the Premier Division, taking a wicket on average every 12 balls which included figures of five for 25 against St.George's.

Oakham's renowned coach was unwilling to take the credit however, arguing that he had only made a few technical adjustments to Kelly's action. The improvement, he said, was primarily down to an unbridled determination to excel on the part of the young Bermudian who is revelling in the opportunity with which he has been presented.

"He is cricket daft to be honest," Hayes said. "He is always on at me for extra guidance and coaching sessions. He also listens, practices hard and learns very quickly. He has no little ability as well. I have been loathe to make any major changes to his action because for the most part it is very natural and easy which bodes well for the future.

"He is very high at the point of delivery and is actually quite slippery for a 14-year-old. As he gets bigger and stronger, he has the action to become considerably quicker."

Hayes also described how Kelly had been persuaded to shorten his run and get much closer into the stumps at the point of delivery to exaggerate any movement he might obtain through the air and off the pitch.

"When we first saw him he was delivering the ball from far too wide and falling away too soon to the off-side in delivery," he said. "We've got him much closer in to the stumps and following through well down the pitch with his head upright. His wrist and fingers are therefore right behind the seam, which is now much more upright and he has started to swing the ball consistently away from right-handers.

"These were all very minor adjustments, however, and I am not going to tamper with his action too much because it is basically sound and I want his enormous natural ability to take over."

Hayes went on to say that he believed that if Kelly continued to improve during the winter, there is "absolutely no reason" why he would not play a regular part in the school's First XI next summer while he also revealed that he would be more than willing to consider other Bermudian candidates for a place at the school.

"We are without a doubt looking to take on other Bermudian cricketers, particularly after seeing how well Stefan has done and how talented and keen he is," he said. "There will always be an Oakham-Bermuda link as far as we are concerned and I hope the money is made available because I am convinced it will be a fruitful partnership."

Meanwhile, Kelly himself is clearly enthusiastic.

"I have to admit I'm enjoying it a lot," he said. "I'm sharing a room with another guy who is heavily involved in sport and we get on very well. I've found some of the work a bit tougher than at home but, overall, the academic side of things has not been as hard as I feared.

"The standard of cricket has been high but I feel I have adapted pretty well and I hope I get a chance in the first team this summer. There are still a lot of things I need to work on but I am so grateful to have been given the chance to practice in an environment in which I can only improve."