Cricket charity helps unite inner city community

Easton Street tape ball cricket team won the national championships in 2023

A national winning tape ball cricket team has changed the lives of its players, a coach has said.

Bilal Raja, trustee and part-time coach for the charity Chance to Shine Cricket team, said the sport, which uses a tennis ball wrapped in electrical tape rather than a traditional cricket ball, "filled a void" - offering him a "structured curriculum" in his younger years.

"It taught us the importance of key skills like teamwork, communication and coming together because we were all from different, varying backgrounds," the 26-year-old said.

The team is now "ramping up efforts and doing a lot of great work with inter-community", Mr Raja added.

Bilal Raja said tape ball is a "level playing ground for everyone" because no one has to buy expensive kit

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

"I live personally two minutes away from Stapleton Road, in Easton," Mr Raja continued. "In the nineties, it was sort of a no-go area, one of the really dangerous roads in the UK."

Mr Raja said he was "fortunate" to have had the charity, which works to inspire young people from underserved backgrounds into the sport.

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

"Ultimately, one thing you realise with the youth, and having spoken to them a lot is they just need a sense of belonging, somewhere they can go and feel comfortable."

'Wider benefits'

Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation's operations manager, Chris Munden, said over the last 12 years they had delivered social impact workshops and taken the team to national events.

"The cricket is the vehicle to attract young people to the programme. The wider benefits the sport can provide is clear to see," said Mr Munden.

"Bilal is a fine example of someone who has used the skills he has learnt in our programme and gone on to great things both personally and professionally."

Chris Munden, from Gloucestershire Cricket Board, said: "Cricket is the vehicle to attract young people to the programme"

Ross Jeavons from Chance to Shine added: “Last year we took cricket to 26 schools in Bristol, as well as running five free Street cricket clubs in the area.

"When you put that in the context of our delivery to 600,000 children annually across England, Wales and Scotland – it’s really exciting to think how many more Bilal’s there are out there waiting to be discovered."

'Level playing ground'

Mr Raja said the sport itself makes it accessible for everyone and unlike traditional cricket, it "eliminates the need for kit".

"That's one of the great things about tape because we could bring individuals from underprivileged backgrounds," he said.

"They are individuals who can't afford necessarily a £400 or £500 bat or to pay £100 for a pair of gloves or pads. It eliminates all of that, and it's a level playing ground for everyone."