Bradford Park Avenue hosts Chance to Shine Street Yorkshire Finals

An invite to watch the Chance to Shine Street Finals for Yorkshire at Bradford Park Avenue proved to be an extraordinary day.

Chance to Shine’s Street programme gives young people (between the ages of eight and 24) the opportunity to enjoy free tapeball cricket sessions in their local communities.

Here in Yorkshire, there are 11 Chance to Shine Street programmes covering Leeds, Sheffield, Hull, Batley and Dewsbury, with one just started in Bradford.

This was a story of collaboration between the national charity Chance to Shine, delivered locally by the Yorkshire Cricket Board (YCB) and sponsored by Yorkshire Tea.

The omens were promising from the moment we glided into Bradford Park Avenue’s ground having negotiated Toller Lane with barely a whisper of traffic.

This was my first time at Bradford’s state-of-the-art cricket dome and it’s very impressive. On a day of sunshine and showers, we were all grateful for the roofed facility that meant no disruptions.

The six teams (Batley, Dewsbury, Sheffield and three sides from Leeds) would play a round-robin tournament before a semi-final and final in the afternoon.

The winner will represent Yorkshire at the national finals in Nottingham in August.

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This is six-a-side, all-action cricket. So fast. You can’t take your eyes off it. Something’s happening every ball; not least because there are only 20 per innings.

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Street20, as it’s known, is a format geared towards inclusion. Equipment (tapeball, plastic bats and stumps) is provided and the cricketers can wear what they want.

Just turn up and play.

Street clubs are based in economically disadvantaged areas where children are often inactive and there wasn’t an opportunity to play cricket beforehand.

Its importance became obvious from the moment I stood in the middle aisle of the venue between the two playing arenas and watched Leeds versus Sheffield.

Loud, often chaotic as sharp singles were taken and runouts achieved, it looked as if everyone was involved all of the time.

As we know, cricket can teach you teamwork, fair play, leadership and communication, to name but a few. After the game, all players shook hands with each other and the umpires.

So, we can add respect to that list – because this happened after every game across the day.

That’s the magic of these Street Cricket clubs. The life lessons being shared beyond the nuts and bolts of wickets and runs.

Always brewing with Little Urn

Meanwhile, the prospect of unlimited Yorkshire Tea all day, courtesy of the stylish tea van known as Little Urn, was a happy one.

I was curious how many players would drink tea and it turns out lots. A refreshing brew to top up the energy before bowling like a hurricane or trying to hit the ball into another postcode.

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Chance to Shine is Yorkshire Tea’s cricket partner and the sponsorship of this event links in with their wider support of recreational cricket – including our own cricket teas competition.

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They’ve also been previously the Official Brew of England Cricket, putting their name to the tea break for home Tests, but now focus on grassroots.

Chatting to Abi from Yorkshire Tea, the support of Chance to Shine goes back over a decade, working with an organisation that enables over half a million children annually in state schools and communities to access cricket.

“We’ve been involved in grassroots cricket for over 30 years…this is really important to us. Cricket is a game that stops for tea and we think it chimes really well with our values.”

Those watching the action unfold were able to take the weight off their feet in Yorkshire Tea deckchairs while there were goody bags for all of the players after the presentation.

Changing lives

A chat with Soyeb Kayat, the YCB’s Core Cities Community Development Officer for Kirklees, starts with a discussion of tape.

I note they use a white tape; apparently it’s the premier stuff, a brand called Rocket from Pakistan.

Picking up on the nuances of the Street programme, Soyeb tells me that the coaches work with parents to build life skills and encourage attendance at school for the kids.

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Feedback from parents has highlighted how this format can bring participants out of their shell, building self-confidence and helping to shape new friendships.

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It makes me think about how we all started our own cricket journey as players and what brought us into the game in the first place.

This was highlighted by Katherine Sciver-Brunt, a Chance to Shine Ambassador on the day, along with David Malan and Jafer Chohan.

Katherine’s interest in the game was initially though her dad and brothers playing club cricket, rather than at school: “If I’d not got that at my club, I wouldn’t have been exposed to cricket.”

Although her skills meant she made her state school boys team in her mid-teens, where Katherine told me she felt like she fitted in.

The fast bowling allrounder with Yorkshire and England Women would go on to win three World Cups and four Ashes series. She has worked with Chance to Shine since 2005.

At lunchtime, the players get a chance to bowl at Dawid Malan and it will probably be the most intensive batting stint he has all year. Deliveries rained in and a few snuck past his defences to knock over the stumps.

I even bowled a couple of slow, looping pies myself that were swatted back over my head. On that performance, an IPL contract is probably in the post.

Onion bahji and Bettys

It would be fair to say that lunch represented the perfect fusion, including an onion bahji the size of a cricket ball, allied with a fine selection of cakes from Bettys.

Meanwhile, on the Park Avenue outfield, there was a Learning Zone focussing on cricket skills. Taking catches, diving onto a mat and honing hand-eye coordination in between tapeball matches.

The venue felt especially apt as Bradford is a thriving hotbed for cricket and Park Avenue hosts nets, games and festivals all year round. Jer Lane, White Rose and Bradford Park Avenue Ladies are all based there too.

In the afternoon, it got down to an all-Leeds final with Harehills taking on Hyde Park. It was Harehills who triumphed to represent Yorkshire in the national finals but all the teams were a credit to themselves and their local area.

Cue a trophy for Harehills, finalist medals and a Yorkshire Tea goody bag for all of the players, including limited-edition socks.

There are different routes into the game from school to clubs to Chance to Shine projects; all equally valid and important.

Days like these at Bradford Park Avenue are a reminder that tapeball has its place and the work of Chance to Shine remains as crucial and impactful as ever.

This is a sponsored article for Yorkshire Tea – if the mood takes you, click to read Cricket Yorkshire’s policy on sponsored content.