Charity encourages young black people into cricket

Former Birmingham Commonwealth Cricket League players Denzil McCarthy and Morris Lowers visit the ACE programme

A cricket charity is encouraging young people of African and Caribbean heritage to get into the game.

The ACE programme in Handsworth, Birmingham, is run by Warwickshire County Cricket Board on behalf of the ACE charity and aims to increase access to the sport for black communities.

Coinciding with Black History Month, the programme has been visited by Denzil McCarthy, known as Tim; a former player in the pioneering Birmingham Commonwealth Cricket League, which was set up in 1976 amid a challenging social climate.

"In my day we had none of this," said Mr McCarthy, a member of the Windrush Generation. "It would've been really, really nice to have some coaches [years ago]."

"I see so many people [here] giving up their time to teach these youngsters."

The Birmingham Commonwealth Cricket League saw 10 teams play across the West Midlands. Its founders include Ahmed Kazi.

The situation was not always so positive.

Ahmed Kazi, one of the founders of the Birmingham Commonwealth Cricket League, reflected on the social climate of the 1970s, saying that when the game was primarily played in local parks, there were "a lot of problems with colour".

"A lot of insults were given, and we decided 'it's time to form a black league'," he explained.

Nearly half a century later, the ACE programme builds on such efforts.

In 2021, the West Midlands became the second national centre for the programme which seeks to ensure that a generation of young people do not miss out on the game.