Cricket East is a collaborative organisation responsible for delivering the England & Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) participation & growth activities and supporting recreational cricket as well as the performance pathway programmes across Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire, creating links between schools, clubs, leagues and the community.
Cricket East's collective vision is to lead and influence the development of the game while inspiring everyone to take part and grow cricket in an accessible and inclusive way.
Summer Camp, Central Park Aug 2020
In August 2020, a Summer Camp event was hosted by Cricket East at Central Park. Due to Covid restrictions the event was attended by invited members only of the City of Peterborough Cricket Club.
All players were u13 and supported by several parents along with event support and coaching staff.
The aims and objectives of the club was to:
· To offer coaching and competitive opportunities in cricket.
· To promote the club within the local community.
· To ensure a duty of care to all members of the club.
· To provide all its services in a way that is fair to everyone.
The above photo shows members of the City Cricket Club Peterborough. These members usually come from the heart of the city but have to usually go to the edge of the city to play routinely. The clubs female coach, Farida Chaudry can also be seen in the picture.
City Cricket Club’s vision is to bring together children young people (CYP) and their families, predominantly from a Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) background, to encourage greater involvement and enjoyment in the game of cricket.
This event was organised with the assistance of their Chairperson Jabeen Maqbool, consent of the City Council and Friends of Central Park. We are also grateful for generous funding from Living Sport, the County Sports Partnership for help in making this event possible .
The above photos capture a small scale soft ball young people community cricket activity taking place in the heart of the City at Central Park during the Summer holidays.
In order to support and build the communities through cricket, Cricket East have appointed a Diverse Communities Officer, Dave Summers who leads the coordination and delivery of community cricket activity and programmes to Peterborough’s diverse communities.
Dave works with key partners to empower communities to take a leading role ultimately in the development and delivery of local Community Cricket Hubs.
Dave has organised and arranged several cricket activities at Central Park. We are hoping the lifting of restrictions around Covid will enable future cricket activities to take place.
Community Cricket Game at Central Park, September 2018
Weeks of planning came to fruition on Saturday 1 September when community cricket came back to Central Park in Peterborough.
The aim was to bring different communities together and promote a healthy lifestyle through cricket.
A team made up of members of 5 local mosques played a team which included representatives from Peterborough Council, the Police and the Fire Service as part of the City’s Family Fun Day. There was also a cricket session for youngsters after the adult match with participants from the Lords Taverners Wicketz' Programme (see more information below on this project).
Congratulations to the Mosque Team who with a margin of 39 runs were winners of the Peterborough Community Cricket Cup.
All money raised during the cricket match was donated to Pancreatic Cancer UK, co-ordinated by Abdul Choudhuri (Chairman of Faizan E Madina Mosque and Peterborough Joint Mosque Council).
Thanks to all partners and the great support from Luton Wicketz colleagues.
Photography Lester Milbank
A similar event took place again in 2019 at Central Park, raising further monies for Pancreatic Cancer UK. The event was won by the Mosque team again.
Wicketz - what is it?
What/Who - Wicketz is a community cricket programme targeting children and young people aged 8 to 19 across the UK living in areas of deprivation and hard to reach groups. Why - There are children and young people living in deprivation across the UK without access to sporting opportunities and the benefits sport can bring.
How - By establishing sustainable community cricket hubs that provide year-round weekly cricket sessions with a focus on developing crucial life skills.
The above photo was taken during the Wicketz project tournament in 2019 at Central Park. Jonathan Bigham (Peterborough Wicketz Development Officer) and Dave Summers (Diverse Communities Officer) can be seen in the picture with the youngsters who attended.
Outcomes - to develop participants physical and mental well-being
to promote positive life choices
to enhance the future prospects of its participants
to increase community cohesion
to create sustainable community club environments
Impact - Wicketz will tackle issues that negatively affect its participants and communities. Through sport, it will improve prospects of participants by developing their social and personal skills such as leadership, communication and self-esteem.
By creating sustainable club environments focused on the wellbeing of its participants and local communities, Wicketz will leave a legacy beyond the funding cycle of the programme.
Contact details - Jonathan Bigham runs the Lord's Taverners Wicketz Programme. there are currently 17 projects nationally including one in Peterborough. Want to know more?
Contact details for both Jonathan Bigham and Dave Summers can be found by going to the About Us - Staff Section of the cricketeast.co.uk website.
Try this at Home
At Home fun based activity attached by Dave Summers, Diverse Communities Officer for Cricket East.
'Hi everyone, I have been doing these bite sized videos weekly during lockdown as ideas to keep youngsters (and possibly others!) from a sporting perspective active at home and supporting their well-being as well.'
'They are shaped to work in limited space and with little actual cricket equipment, usually utilising household items'.
Check out the @Cricket_East Twitter page for more ideas on how to keep youngsters fit and healthy whist having fun.