Project to develop cricket in Liverpool receives national award
An innovative cricket programme in Toxteth has been honoured with a national award after a remarkable increase in participation.
The Liverpool 8 (the postcode of the area) Schools Cricket Hub has been awarded the Community Cricket Award at the Chance to Shine Awards 2024 in London. You can view a video about the project here
The award follows several years of work to develop the interest in cricket and offer realistic and sustainable opportunities for young people.
Paul Morris, Cricket Development Officer for Liverpool & Knowsley, spotted the opportunity to grow the game with placed based plan – and the results have been fantastic.
The programme has three key elements.
1. Chance to Shine Schools Coaching
2. Chance to Shine Street Club for children aged 8-12 years old
3. After School Dynamos Cricket Schools Competition
Following the first experiences of cricket in school the programme aims to take steady and welcoming steps.
The Street sessions have been led by a familiar face to many of the young people - Joe Chaplin, PE lead at Windsor Primary in Toxteth.
The schools' competition is themed around Dynamos Countdown Cricket games, the same format children have played in school sessions. The chance for the children to compete and stories of last ball thrillers spread across playgrounds. The competition quickly doubled in size with more schools entering month by month.
In an area with a real passion for football, cricket is now a real sporting option for young people in and out of school.
There are plans to grow the competition yet further and across Liverpool & Knowsley and Paul is keen to develop the game in secondary schools as well through Teacher Training events in 2025.
Rob O’Shea, PE Mentor, Kingsley Primary School, said: “We have been taking part in schools coaching and I could see the interest in cricket from the children straight away.”
“I thought cricket was a bit of an upper-class sport that didn’t really suit kids from an area like this. They couldn’t really access it, but there have been so many opportunities for the children. I couldn’t have been more wrong!”
“With Paul’s support we jumped at the chance to start the schools league, and it's moved quickly. We are now welcoming schools from across the city.”
Paul Morris, Cricket Development Officer for Liverpool & Knowsley, explained: “We have worked across Toxteth for a number of years and identified that a ‘traditional’ route to a cricket club might not work for everyone in the community.
“Recently we have been able to achieve the growth in cricket with schools cricket, weekly Street session and the regular schools led competition.”
Lancashire Cricket Foundation would like to thank everyone in the community for opening their arms to cricket. In particular - thank you to those at Kingsley Primary, St Patrick's, Holy Family, and Windsor Primary who have driven the programme forward. This is just the start!