Chance to Shine Street: Tapeball transformation

On the walk to Bradford Park Avenue’s all-weather cricket dome for the Chance to Shine Street regional finals, I was grateful for the guarantee of play.

As the rain hammered down on my newly-christened Tunnock’s Teacake umbrella, it’s rare to know you’ll definitely get a game with a grim forecast amid a lively wind.

Invited by Yorkshire Tea, long-time supporter of the cricket charity Chance to Shine and sponsor for today’s Yorkshire tapeball tournament, the prospect of brews, news and lunchtime chews all appealed.

First, a quick recap if you’re new to the format and Chance to Shine Street programme. Young people, aged 8-24, are offered free tapeball cricket sessions and matches in their local communities.

There are 13 Street clubs across Yorkshire and with assistance from the Yorkshire Cricket Board (YCB), they offer an invaluable hub to connect with the game, socialise and develop skills that cricket can teach such as teamwork and leadership.

These are kids who often face barriers to being active and are from diverse communities where a Chance to Shine session is their introduction to playing cricket; that open door and friendly welcome to turn up, wear what you like, all kit provided and take part.

From the suburbs of Sheffield (Sharow) to Bradford newcomers based at Girlington, there were six teams here to battle it out to be crowned Yorkshire champions and represent the region in the national finals.

The Yorkshire Tea Little Urn van was set up and ready to serve drinks all day to thirsty competitors who, I recall from last year, would routinely appear for a brew in between the helter-skelter of these six-a-side, 20-ball-an-innings matches.

After an impressive debrief on the rules and expectations of the day by Gareth Davis and Johnny Younis of the Yorkshire Cricket Board (YCB), the noise levels cranked up as these bite-sized matches got into full swing.

I grab a few minutes with Hassan Hussain (above right), coach at the Leeds Chance to Shine Street club in Beeston. Leeds is a hotbed for tapeball cricket with three clubs taking part in this event at Bradford Park Avenue.

Weekly sessions on Saturday mornings have proved popular: “We get some kids who are complete beginners and some who are very, very talented but don’t have access to hardball cricket.”

What the Street programme does really well is mesh the wider social and aspirational goals with a competitive edge. This isn’t about scouting for Yorkshire – although about 1 in 10 of these players may end up at a traditional club in weekend league cricket.

Hassan plays for Spen Victoria in the Bradford Premier League so he knows lots of clubs and where appropriate, can engineer opportunities: “The local one to us is Hunslet Nelson Cricket Club so we’ve got a partnership with them where they’ve invited some of our (CTS) kids for a free taster session.”

We get to discussing Hassan’s role as a mentor and the impact of Chance to Shine Street on those who go: “First things first, when they’re playing, they’re having fun. Over time, they develop softer skills such as teamwork, confidence and communication.”

Hassan said: “We get a lot of kids who come at the start and they’re very quiet but as the weeks go on, they open up, become themselves and really gel into the group. It’s like a big family we’ve got.”

Talking to the coaches, I discover a young lad from Pakistan who’s only been in the country for a year but has come along to the Beeston CTS Street club. Hamid can hit a ball, that’s for sure, and has a beautiful bowling action with genuine pace.

As we talk later, an initial shyness dissolves as common ground over cricket is quickly found. I ask about his favourite players and I am amazed to hear former South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn’s name mentioned.

From Beeston to captaining England

Even after his playing days, Steyn has a large fan club – in this case, through the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and he can now add Hamid; a talented teen with a short, whippy action like his own to the list.

“I want to play for England! I want to be England’s captain!” Hamid tells me, with a massive smile that frankly makes my day there and then. Ben Stokes is an inspiration apparently but might soon be out of a job.

Beyond the stumps being flattened, shrieks of laughter and support for team-mates in matches, the YCB have arranged for fielding drills, a speed gun challenge and a chance to bowl at Yorkshire T20 captain Dawid Malan.

Dawid spares a few minutes between media commitments for BBC Look North, Sky Sports News and ITV Calendar to have a chat with Cricket Yorkshire. It’s noticeable / impressive that the county’s captain for the T20 Blast is here a day before his team’s first fixture.

I also catch up with coach Zainab Goreja who plays for Bradford Park Avenue Ladies Cricket Club as well as being a coach for the Bradford CTS Street club based at Manningham Sports Centre.

On launching the Bradford Street club about a year ago, 60 kids turned up, many of whom had never played the game before. Demand for any and all cricket in Bradford is rarely in short supply.

Like Hassan earlier, Zainab talks with affection about how these tapeball sessions can transform behaviour positively, alongside the exercise and camaraderie fostered during games.

Back inside the cricket dome, there’s plenty going on.

At whatever age, launching yourself horizontally at a crash mat to catch a tennis ball fired from a machine is always going to be fun. In the nets, bowlers are charging in to get as high a reading as possible on the speed gun; Kate Duffield, Doncaster’s Town’s overseas player from New Zealand calls out the speeds.

Speed gun success

I can’t resist a bit of impromptu coaching to some of the bowlers around the importance of a balanced run-up. Sprinting up more quickly doesn’t mean a quicker ball.

Usually the opposite as arms, legs and momentum get in a tangle. Technical adjustments made, we get a 2mph increase the next delivery and big smiles. Job done. The highest recorded speed on the day was 63mph; in contrast, the one feeble ball I bowled failed to register because it was too slow!

Amid the interviews and trips to Little Urn to stock up on Yorkshire Tea from Pete and Amy, the regional finals are suddenly here. In the blink of an eye, Sheffield / Sharow are in the final against Leeds Harehills.

I join the YCB’s Soyeb Kayat who is umpiring at square leg. As drama builds, requests for the scores occur every ball; all answered with kindness and patience because that’s Soyeb for you.

Sheffield score 60-1 off their 20 balls and Leeds Harehills ultimately fall short by 15 runs. Congratulations to them, they were bouncing at the end. It’s a credit to all involved that there are handshakes and commiserations between teams with the importance of respect hard-baked into these clubs.

The partners who collaborate on the staging of this annual event do a fantastic job, they really do. The regional finals are given the importance they deserve so the teams get medals and have all been playing in their own black Yorkshire Tea shirts.

Moments like these should not be underestimated. Especially for children who may or may not go beyond Chance to Shine Street. They have had a taste of a showpiece and been made to feel very special.

As I wander downhill towards Centenary Square – getting hopelessly lost in a city I thought I knew pretty well, there is plenty of time to reflect.

This year is Chance to Shine’s 20th birthday as an organisation reaching more than half a million children a year in state schools and communities. With a focus on enabling cricket for those who have limited or no chance to play, their work through partnerships at county level continues to change lives.

In 2025, there are now 274 Street Cricket clubs across England, Scotland and Wales making the kind of impact we all witnessed at these regional finals for Yorkshire.

With nearly three quarters of all participants being from ethnically diverse backgrounds and 91% from the most deprived areas of England and Wales, this is a programme that’s well thought through and targeted.

Chance to Shine Street reaches those who are economically disadvantaged, in areas with high numbers of children who are inactive and where there is either no cricket or none that’s affordable.

Bundle that all up and it’s not difficult to see why those I know associated with this event, some of whom have worked as coaches or administrators for a long time, still find it so powerful.

Meanwhile, the good folk at Yorkshire Tea, (strong supporters of us here through the Yorkshire Tea Community Awards and Cricket Yorkshire Teas of the Year), continue to partner Chance to Shine and we’ll have more news on future events this summer.