All four current England Cricket Captains; Andrew Strauss, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook and Charlotte Edwards brought cricket to some of Nottingham’s inner-city youngsters today when The Lord’s Taverners staged a special coaching session ahead of the England Test with West Indies at Trent Bridge.
As cricket’s number one charity, The Lord’s Taverners is dedicated to giving young people access to sporting and recreational opportunities. The four England captains joined together for the first time to assist the session, led by two graduates of the charity’s Street Elite programme.
Over the past six months the Street Elite scheme, supported by the Berkeley Group, has trained a group of young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs) and seen them gain coaching qualifications in cricket, rugby and futsal. The participants have since organized sessions with youngsters on local housing estates, inspiring them to get involved in sport and other positive activities which help address the kind of disillusion which led to the August 2011 riots across much of the country.
The four captains were on hand to assist Street Elite graduates Kemar Campbell and Akiem McCarthy, both 21, deliver the session for 60 young people from Bentinck Primary School, Berridge Junior School and Catch22 at the Bridlington Street MUGA (Multi-Use Games Area) in central Nottingham.
England One Day International Captain and Lord’s Taverners ambassador, Alastair Cook, said: -It’s great to come down and interact with the kids.
-While Andrew, Stuart, Charlotte and I were fortunate enough to realise our sporting potential through the ECB performance pathway, these youngsters also need a framework which organisations like The Lord’s Taverners are putting in place.
-The Lord’s Taverners is doing a great job around the country giving kids access to sport so were delighted to have the opportunity to do our part.”
Matthew Patten, Chief Executive of The Lord’s Taverners, said: -The Lord’s Taverners is all about giving young people like Kemar and Akiem the opportunity to transform their lives through cricket and other sports.”
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