Trailblazing Urban Cricketers Make Their Mark
55 young cricketers from Urban programmes represented Lancashire Cricket Foundation this summer.
A busy calendar of training sessions, Inter League fixtures and Friendly games saw young people seize the opportunity to step onto the Pathway For All.
The new programme, which is set to be extended in 2025, has been developed to tackle potential barriers to playing cricket and increase opportunities across for young people to access cricket. The players, aged 9 – 15, were all participants of community programmes ran across the county (Chance to Shine Street, Lords Taverners Wicketz, MCC Foundation Hub & ACE).
They took part in observation sessions in April, group training, trial fixtures and competitive games from May through to September. The Urban squads competed in 11 Inter League Fixtures playing 40 or 45 over hard ball fixtures across the region. They also came together for friendly fixtures against Jersey and Lancashire Cricket County Age Groups.
Seven players went on to take part in ‘Best Of’ Inter League observations, training sessions and fixtures in September. To qualify to take part all players had to be a regular attendee of a community-based programme in their area.
Lancashire Cricket Foundation would like to thank our recreational cricket leagues coaches, umpires, coaches, officials and volunteers for the warm welcome they offered to the squads throughout the Inter League programme. A special thanks to Lancashire Cricket for their generous donation of kits from surplus stock. Your support is deeply appreciated and will make a significant impact on our community programmes.
The Squad were made up of:
13 Chance to Shine Street players
7 ACE players
3 Chance to Shine School players
2 Wicketz players
18 MCCF Hubs players
Jen Barden, Executive Director stated "This has really opened up our pathway with real tangible opportunities for players. I am a believer in players should be able to showcase their talent and potential over time, it should never be snapshot. With this programme in place it allows players to progress over time, with multiple opportunities to demonstrate their skill through match play, indoor sessions and testing themselves against their peers. I'm pleased the programme has been positively received across the County and we hope to expand to more age groups in the future. Well done to all those who took part, took a leap of faith and supported the programme. "
The Feedback:
Families and players from the Urban Inter League were asked what they thought of the programme, here is a selection of their responses:
“The programme gives kids the opportunity to play the sport they love but not necessarily get the opportunity at grassroot level .” – Parent (Under 14s)
“It’s been unbelievable to play in these games against really good players. We have had real umpires, scoreboard and tactics.” – Player (Under 12s)
“It has a good step in my cricket journey to captain a team that I didn’t know so well – and people have made friends and I think we’ve played good cricket.” – (Parent U14s)
“I was so so nervous because he is moving from tennis balls into a hard cricket ball – but he wasn’t nervous and has batted really well. We are so proud of him for taking part.” (Parent U12s)
“All I want as a parent is a fair opportunity for my son to play cricket. The summer games were a good platform for him to show his skill.” (Parent U12s)
“I’ve been learning cricket all summer. I’ve learned the fielding positions and more rules. I feel like I have been fielding for 100 days – but it was fun and everyone was friendly.” (Parent U14s)