An update from CEO, Mark Curtin

Hello fellow Taverners, 

It’s been a very busy month at the Tavs with lots of exciting activity happening. I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to spend time visiting some of the communities where our programmes are thriving.

In early April, I was in Bristol where a number of our Wicketz programme participants took part in a festival of cricket with young people who are participants on programmes run by partner charities, ACE and Chance to Shine. This is part of a broader plan to work more collaboratively with other charities and partners from across what we call the community cricket family. It’s so important for all of the various organisations, including ourselves to work together, to collaborate and to co-ordinate activities to offer young people, their families and communities the best opportunities to enjoy and achieve great outcomes from the game.

Myself, Chair and Founder of ACE, Ebony Rainford-Brent and Vanessa Greene, Interim CEO of Chance to Shine, have been working very closely together and we all recently had the pleasure of meeting with new ECB CEO Richard Gould to talk about how we are working together as the three official charity partners of the national governing body. There’s more of this to come, so watch this space! 

In the past month, many people amongst our communities here at the Tavs have been celebrating Ramadan. I was privileged to be invited to attend an Iftar with participants, coaches and their families at our Luton Wicketz programme. It was a fantastic evening of community togetherness - our chairman Tim Luckhurst and a number of other staff members and guests joined us, including colleagues from the ECB and the Mayor of Luton. I wish to thank our Wicketz Development Officer Nauman and his brilliant team and their families for inviting me, helping me learn more about Ramadan and for making us all feel so welcome and included. This is exactly what Wicketz is all about, the sense of community cohesion and togetherness was clearly evident for all to see and experience. It certainly demonstrates how the game of cricket can bring people, cultures and communities together to engage and share with one another… it was fantastic.

Another inspiring Tavs day I attended this month took place at Edgbaston. It was an inspiring and exciting day at the West Midlands Table Cricket Finals seeing so many young people from different schools and settings from across the region coming together to compete, enjoy the game and experience playing cricket at an historic stadium. I spoke to young people, their teachers, some parents, Development Officers and coaches from our county cricket boards partners, learning about how table cricket and our wider disability cricket programmes impact not just young people as individuals, but also whole school communities. It was incredible insight about the powerful impact our work has in building confidence, developing teamwork and communication skills, and enabling young people to achieve so much. It was another great example of the impact and outcomes our cricket programmes achieve. 

I’m just this week back from a fantastic weekend trip to Corfu. It was a privilege to be able to join a large number of Tavs members, President David Gower, members of staff and the Tavs XI cricket team, brilliantly skippered by former England opening bowler Andy Caddick. We were invited as part of the Hellenic Cricket Federations celebration of 200 years of cricket being played on the island. Teams from the British Army, The Royal Household, the Gurkas, the Hellenic Federation and our friends at House of Lords and Commons CC all took part in a brilliant festival of cricket with the Tavs XI finishing in a respectable fourth place. Some of our coaches and staff joined Andy Caddick and the team in running a community coaching session for young people from the island and there was a fantastic women and girls game played too.

The Tavs party played its role and were commended by our friends from the Greek federation and the game’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC). Members enjoyed good company, sun and plenty of competitive cricket all played in the right spirit - a wonderful, engaging trip for all. A huge thanks from me to all the members who came along, supported and helped the Tavs raise its profile and showcase its work overseas. 

To close my monthly update, I wish to reflect on what has been a fantastic month of varied, engaging activities. What I’ve experienced this April shows just how broad our work is, how impactful it can be and how so many people can play such a varied range of roles in making all this possible. It’s fantastic to see the passion, commitment and pride that everyone in the Tavs community takes in making us the impactful and engaging organisation we are. 

Kind regards,
Mark