MAGDALEN College School have pulled off something of a coup by recruiting former England seamer Phil DeFreitas as their cricket professional.

And now he hopes to make his mark on a school that is more renowned for its academic prowess than sporting success.

“I am quite excited about it all and hopefully I will bring some good changes to the school,” said DeFreitas, who started work this term.

“The number one priority at the school is always the academics, but I also believe that sport should play a big part as well.

“My aim is just to get kids to enjoy sport.

“If we can one kid to go and play first-class cricket, that will be great, and over 50 per cent to carry on playing cricket when they leave.

“The main thing is that they enjoy cricket and have fun.”

After appearing in 44 Tests and playing for Leicestershire, Lancashire and Derbyshire, 45-year-old DeFreitas retired from professional cricket in 2005.

He has since worked with Hong Kong Cricket Club, Leicestershire CC and Oakham School.

As an ambassador for the Professional Cricketers’ Asssociation (PCA), DeFreitas learnt of the vacancy at MCS and is now working alongside the school’s director of cricket Richard Gilbert.

In one way, DeFreitas’s career has turned a full circle as he made his professional debut for Leicestershire against Oxford University in 1985 in The Parks.

On that occasion, the 19-year-old DeFreitas took 3-3 as the students were dismissed for 24.

Now he is back working in Oxford and hopes to inspire some MCS pupils to follow in his cricketing footsteps.

“For this term, I will come in three to four days a week and then to first-team matches on Saturdays,” said DeFreitas, who is commuting from Leicestershire.

“Firstly, I’m just finding my feet. It is hard to start changing things straight away, especially as Richard Gilbert has done a lot of good work over the years.

“It is sad that he is leaving at the end of term to go to South Africa because we seem to be getting on really well.

“We have got the same ideas about coaching.”

DeFreitas, nicknamed Daffy, still plays for the PCA and this year is also captain of the Lashings World XI, which raises funds for charity.

He said: “One of my aims is hopefully to have a Lashings or PCA international players game at MCS next year.”

DeFreitas has noted St Edward’s School’s partnership with Gloucestershire as a satellite junior academy and would love to establish something similar at his new school.

“My aim is to get one or two kids to be part of first-class set-ups,” he said.

“I have got connections with Leicestershire and Derbyshire and so I am hoping to get them down to MCS.

“I would like MCS to be linked to one or two counties.”

DeFreitas is a firm believer that the best coaches understand their players as well as refine their techniques.

“If I get the kids coming to me and asking for input, then that is the art of being a coach,” he said.

“You have got to get to know the kids and find out what makes them tick.”

He added: “I believe you can always tell how someone will end up by the way they show themselves on the sports field.

“It is not just about winning. It is about trying your best.”

DeFreitas still follows England cricket now, especially with his PCA role, and always dreamed of playing the game as a boy.

But he had no idea where cricket might lead him as he made his professional debut in The Parks back in 1985.

“When you are playing first-class cricket, you are just focused on what you are doing,” said DeFreitas.

“It is only really at the end of your career that you think about what you are going to do next.

“When I started out, a lot of cricketers had other jobs such as accountants and teachers and got time off in the summer to play.”

DeFreitas made his first-class debut at 19 and was playing for England in the Ashes at 20 – the successful tour Down Under in 1986-7 – with Ian Botham his first room-mate.

“It all happened very quickly,” he said.

“I had no time to think about what else I was going to do. I was very fortunate.”