The ACE (African – Caribbean Engagement) Charity have been carrying out trials to get into their performance squad over the past month with the last trials taking place on Wednesday at the KIA Oval for players from the South London area.
So What is the ACE Programme?
The charity which started in January 2020 as a Surrey Cricket Programme based out of the Oval has become an independent nationwide charity with bases including Sheffield, Bristol and Birmingham. It has produced three players who have earned professional contracts in that time.
But the flagship programme has held trials in the past month in North London, South London and in Beckenham for players based in Kent. It was initially supposed to just cover the three London Boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth and Southwark with players in the academy ranging from 10 to 23 years old.
In an interview with City News, Chevanis Green, the Director of the Programme, said those specific boroughs were targeted as they were looking to address a “75% fall in Afro-Caribbean cricketers in a 27 year period leading up to 2020, and in the recreational game participation was below 1%.
The High Performance Academy
The funding that the charity gets from Sport England and the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is based on the academy’s ability to transition players into county pathways and representative district cricket. This is in comparison to other charities like Chance to Shine and the Lord’s Taverners whose funding is based off participation.
“We want people to play the game and enjoy it but our key focus is around Talent ID”
Chevanis Green
The players are given every chance to succeed as they work alongside top level coaches throughout the winter and into the season. One of those is Donovan Miller who has built up a strong reputation in the world game, coaching a number of T20 franchises across the professional game.
The Golden ticket programme awards a ticket on school visits to a player who they think shows the most talent. That ticket would lead to an invite to a community hub. If that player then impresses at the hub, then they would then be invited to join the High Performance academy.
“The more professionals that we can get through ACE, the hope is that will inspire more people to play recreationally”
Mr Green speaks on the Golden ticket programme
The programme is inevitably compared to SACA (South Asian Cricket Academy) based in Birmingham who formed in 2021, which already boasts 10 players who have been given a professional contract, including Jafer Chohan who was recently called up to the England One Day Squad.
While there are some players such as Jamal Richards at Essex, Nico Reifer formally of Surrey who have played for ACE, Green acknowledges that they are not players who have come through the ACE system as they both were already part of County Pathways.
Building for the Future
Instead Green, is more excited about players such as Davina Perrin (Northern Superchargers) , Amy Wheeler (Blaze) and Londoner Troy Henry who have all been spotted by the programme and are hoping to make an impact on the professional game. He also earmarks Korey Smith Knight (Kent U17s/ Beckenham CC), Nathan Richards (Kent U15/Catford Cyphers CC) and Marley Simpson (Surrey U15) as players who started with the ACE programme at a younger age who had then moved onto county set ups.
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Headline
Short Headline
Standfirst
Published Article
HeadlineGiving the Golden Ticket to young Afro-Caribbean cricketers
Short HeadlineDirector of the African Caribbean Engagement Charity: the programme is about talent spotting
StandfirstDirector Chevanis Green discusses the Golden Ticket Programme which scouts local talent
The ACE (African – Caribbean Engagement) Charity have been carrying out trials to get into their performance squad over the past month with the last trials taking place on Wednesday at the KIA Oval for players from the South London area.
So What is the ACE Programme?
The charity which started in January 2020 as a Surrey Cricket Programme based out of the Oval has become an independent nationwide charity with bases including Sheffield, Bristol and Birmingham. It has produced three players who have earned professional contracts in that time.
But the flagship programme has held trials in the past month in North London, South London and in Beckenham for players based in Kent. It was initially supposed to just cover the three London Boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth and Southwark with players in the academy ranging from 10 to 23 years old.
In an interview with City News, Chevanis Green, the Director of the Programme, said those specific boroughs were targeted as they were looking to address a “75% fall in Afro-Caribbean cricketers in a 27 year period leading up to 2020, and in the recreational game participation was below 1%.
The High Performance Academy
The funding that the charity gets from Sport England and the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is based on the academy’s ability to transition players into county pathways and representative district cricket. This is in comparison to other charities like Chance to Shine and the Lord’s Taverners whose funding is based off participation.
“We want people to play the game and enjoy it but our key focus is around Talent ID”
Chevanis Green
The players are given every chance to succeed as they work alongside top level coaches throughout the winter and into the season. One of those is Donovan Miller who has built up a strong reputation in the world game, coaching a number of T20 franchises across the professional game.
The Golden ticket programme awards a ticket on school visits to a player who they think shows the most talent. That ticket would lead to an invite to a community hub. If that player then impresses at the hub, then they would then be invited to join the High Performance academy.
“The more professionals that we can get through ACE, the hope is that will inspire more people to play recreationally”
Mr Green speaks on the Golden ticket programme
The programme is inevitably compared to SACA (South Asian Cricket Academy) based in Birmingham who formed in 2021, which already boasts 10 players who have been given a professional contract, including Jafer Chohan who was recently called up to the England One Day Squad.
While there are some players such as Jamal Richards at Essex, Nico Reifer formally of Surrey who have played for ACE, Green acknowledges that they are not players who have come through the ACE system as they both were already part of County Pathways.
Building for the Future
Instead Green, is more excited about players such as Davina Perrin (Northern Superchargers) , Amy Wheeler (Blaze) and Londoner Troy Henry who have all been spotted by the programme and are hoping to make an impact on the professional game. He also earmarks Korey Smith Knight (Kent U17s/ Beckenham CC), Nathan Richards (Kent U15/Catford Cyphers CC) and Marley Simpson (Surrey U15) as players who started with the ACE programme at a younger age who had then moved onto county set ups.