The Tape Ball Cricket charity is helping to unite the inner city community

2 hours ago

By means ofMatthew Pick,BBC News, West of England

Chance to shine

A nationally winning tapeball cricket team has changed the lives of its players, a coach said.

Bilal Raja, coach and trustee of the Easton Street Cricket team, said the sport, which uses a tennis ball wrapped in electrical tape instead of a traditional cricket ball, “filled a void” and provided him with a “structured curriculum” offered in his younger years.

“It taught us the importance of important skills like teamwork, communication and coming together, because we all came from different, diverse backgrounds,” the 26-year-old said.

The team is now “ramping up efforts and doing a lot of good work with the inter-communities,” Mr Raja added.

Chance to shine

Funded by a grant from Chance to Shine, the team won the national championships last year and is run by the Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation.

“I personally live two minutes away from Stapleton Road, in Easton,” Mr Raja continued. “In the 1990s it was something of a no-go area, one of the really dangerous roads in Britain.”

Mr Raja said he was “happy” with the charity, which is inspiring young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into the sport.

“Not only myself but other members of the cohort are seen as role models for the younger generation,” Mr Raja added.

“Ultimately one thing you realize with the young people, and after you talk to them a lot, is that they just need a sense of belonging, a place where they can go and feel comfortable.”

'Broader benefits'

Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation operations manager Chris Munden said they had run social impact workshops and taken the team to national events over the past 12 years.

“Cricket is the vehicle for attracting young people to the programme. The wider benefits the sport can provide are clear to see,” Mr Munden said.

“Bilal is a great example of someone who has used the skills he learned in our program and achieved great things both personally and professionally.”

Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation

Ross Jeavons from Chance to Shine added: Last year we brought cricket to 26 schools in Bristol, and ran five free street cricket clubs in the area.

“When you put that in the context of our delivery to 600,000 children a year across England, Wales and Scotland, it's really exciting to think how many more Bilals are out there waiting to be discovered.”

'Level playing field'

Mr Raja said the sport itself makes it accessible to everyone and, unlike traditional cricket, “eliminates the need for equipment”.

“That's one of the great things about tape, because we can bring people from disadvantaged backgrounds,” he said.

“They're individuals who can't necessarily afford a 400 or 500 bat, or pay 100 for a pair of gloves or pads. It eliminates all of that and it's a level playing field for everyone.”

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