Dubai youngster aims to turn pro

Dubai youngster aims to turn pro
By Steve Hill, Correspondent Dubai:

Jonathan Houghton has set his sights on becoming a professional cricketer after breaking into the French national side at the tender age of 16.
The Jumeirah College pupil made his full international debut earlier last month as an off-spinner and lower order batsman for France in Division II of the European Championships held in Glasgow.
And spurred by that success, he has now applied for a scholarship at the renowned Millfield School in the hope of one day securing a full-time contract with county side Somerset and appearing for England.
This story of sporting ambition has a remarkable international flavour as Houghton was born in Muscat, Oman to a cricket-mad English father and a mother who is French of Lebanese origin.
He began playing cricket in Dubai at the age of 11, and owes much of his success to the support of the Darjeeling club where he has excelled, most recently securing the all-rounder of the year award for the 2005-06 season after taking 52 wickets.
Playing while on holiday in France brought Houghton to the attention of national selector David Bordes. And after scoring 397 runs in five outings last season for France under-15s in a Rome tournament, he stepped up to the full senior side this summer.
Houghton said: "I learned a lot, especially playing on grass. Almost all of my cricket so far has been on concrete at Darjeeling so it was a big change but it was good to be on grass and be able to dive around a bit in the field."
Houghton is now looking ahead and will hear in December if he has secured a scholarship at Millfield.