West Indian cricket star Carlos Brathwaite visited Moseley School Sports Centre in Birmingham on Tuesday 22 June for a game of Street cricket.  

The project visit took place to mark Yorkshire Tea National Cricket Week, aiming to help young people reconnect with their peers through physical activity.

Brathwaite, who is currently playing for the Birmingham Bears in the Vitality Blast, joined the girls group for a game of Street cricket - a fun and accessible version of the game, played with a tapeball. The Chance to Shine Street project takes place every week in Moseley in partnership with Warwickshire Cricket Board.

Charity ambassador Nubaid ‘Rambo’ Haroon also joined the session, taking part in a ‘amateur versus pro’ challenge with the towering Barbudan.   

Chance to Shine coach Mina Zahoor finished off the evening by taking the young cricketers through a ‘Street’ Life Skills Module – ‘Team for Life’. The Life Skills Modules encourage young people to consider the important issues in their lives and supports them to develop the key life skills to deal with those challenges. The ‘Team for Life’ session focuses on helping young people to explore their individual support networks and understand how important it is to have the right people around them.

Speaking at the event, Carlos said: “It was a great evening and the girls were good fun! There are some affluent areas in Birmingham but also some less affluent areas and it’s really important to ensure all kids get opportunities to play cricket. The work that Chance to Shine do is vital, especially for young girls who can find a route into the sport.”

Street cricketer Humnah Nadeem, aged 16,  said: “I had fun! Cricket gives me a chance to show my skills in ways that other sports may not. Carlos got involved and gave us some good advice. He told us that it’s important to show respect to everyone, and encouraged us to utilise the opportunities that we now have that girls perhaps didn’t used to have.”