A cricket analyst from Suffolk will go behind-the-scenes with the England team after being called up to cover three forthcoming matches.

Olly Williams, 26, from Ipswich, has been asked to code the T20 internationals against India at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on July 7, and at Edgbaston on July 9, as well as the one-day match versus South Africa at the Riverside, Chester-le-Street on July 19.

Coding of cricket matches involves logging extensive details of each ball bowled during a match as it happens, recording where the bowler pitches the ball, where it is hit and the type of shot a batsman plays.

Mr Williams will also work on graphics such as pitch maps - which focus on the line and length of a player's bowling - and wagon wheels, which show where a batter has placed their shots.

The former East Bergholt High School student, who has been Suffolk Cricket's analyst for the past three seasons, has been asked to code the matches on behalf of Sports Mentoring, which is working as a sub-contractor for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

Mr Williams has been working for Essex County Cricket Club since March as their pathways performance analyst, coding for their second XI and academy as well as the occasional first-team match.

He said: “I am looking forward to it as it is where I aspire to get to permanently, so this is a nice stepping stone.

“I think I have learnt so much about the professional game of cricket by being around it, so this can only benefit me in the future.”

Mr Williams played for Copdock and Old Ipswichian Cricket Club from the age of 12, and when the club were looking for a new scorer three years ago he suggested they purchased some kit to do both scoring and analysis.

The club bought the kit from the ECB enabling him to do analysis coding and live stream home matches in the East Anglian Premier League.

Mr Williams studied sports science at the University of Suffolk, before starting his masters in sports performance analysis at Middlesex University, graduating in September 2018.

Sports Mentoring, based in Elmstead Market, near Colchester, then offered some contractual work to Olly.

The company supply contracted analytical services to the ECB, which led to the opportunity for Mr Williams to code Indian Premier League matches among others and subsequently led to the England call-up.