CEO Message – July 2024

Hello all,

Unfortunately, I start my monthly message to you on a not so positive note. Firstly, everyone at the Taverners is deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Surrey and England great, Graham Thorpe. He made a huge contribution to the sport that is embedded in our work which positively impacts so many, and it is such sad news that he has passed at such a young age. We send our best wishes and condolences to all his family and friends.

Secondly, we have been shocked and horrified by the scenes of violence and disorder across the country in the past few days.

The Lord’s Taverners programmes exist to positively impact the lives of young people facing the challenges of inequality and this work in communities has never been more important than it is now.

We’ll continue to work with our Development Officers to ensure that both they and the young people on our programmes, feel safe and secure in their communities and we will continue to support our delivery partners as much as possible throughout this time.

Now for some reflections on a brilliant July for the charity and a preview of some exciting upcoming activity…

The cricketing summer is firmly upon us now with men’s Tests and women’s white ball series as well as the Hundred and Disability D40 competition either complete or still in full swing over the six weeks. For those of you, who like me, love your cricket I hope you’ve been able to enjoy watching and/or playing. 

22 July was a hugely significant date for disability cricket. The MCC hosted an incredible and poignant day at Lord’s which brilliantly showcased a range of ways in which cricket can be disability inclusive. Further details of all the activities that took place are showcased elsewhere in this month’s newsletter and on our social media channels, so I just want to acknowledge what took place, the importance of it and thank the MCC and ECB for inviting the Taverners to be an integral part of the day. I would also like to say a huge thank you and well done to former Taverners Trustee Ian Martin, who led the mission for many years to have this event arranged as well as our ambassador Adam Hills and the great Aussie off-spin bowler Nathan Lyon for joining us throughout the day.

So many people were involved and committed to making this the great occasion that it was. For those who took part as players, this was a significant milestone, a memory that will live with them forever and an opportunity for them to be recognised, valued and to play their part in effectively creating history for people from the disabled community. For people living with a disability to be able to take part in this day was a further demonstration of the continued recognition for, and growth of, cricket being played by people living with disabilities. But as great as this day was and as important as it is to celebrate it, more importantly I thoroughly hope that this is just the start of regular cricket played by people living with disabilities at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground. As the MCC have said themselves, this is further demonstration that everybody is welcome and can play the game at The Home of Cricket… so long may it continue. 

The very next day saw the start of this years Hundred competition. I know many people, some of whom are our own members, have questioned or even criticised the competition since its inception. But I would implore every single one of those people (as well all those who are fans of the format) to watch this video that the BBC showed during their live coverage on the day about one of our very own Super 1s participants Imogen, and her experience meeting Oval Invincibles and England all-rounder Alice Capsey.

The Hundred has had a profound impact on young people and their families in particular, as this piece demonstrates. It helped introduce Imogen to the game, which led to her joining our Surrey Super 1s programme run by the Surrey Cricket Foundation and becoming a huge cricket fan and player as a result. Well done Imogen and a huge thank you to Alice and the team at Surrey Cricket Foundation for working with our team and the BBC on showcasing this incredible, compelling story that belongs to Imogen and her family. 

With school holidays upon us, our summer residentials are fully underway, starting with the now annual Super 1s residentials in the New Forest (which included our first ever girls only Super 1s residential), where a group of young disabled people from a number of our Super 1s projects have enjoyed a unique life experience during a few days away from home, many for the first time in their lives, making friends, challenging themselves and gaining new skills. More residentials are planned this summer, including our second annual one at the magnificent Arundel Castle later this month, where more young people from our Super 1s and Wicketz programmes come together to take part in invaluable life skills workshops and learn from each other’s life experiences amongst cricket activity. 

Finally, the summer brings a hugely busy period for many Taverners from all over the UK who play a very important role in helping to organise and/or attend our wonderful events all over the country that showcase our work, raise funds and bring members and their friends together at lunches, dinners and other activities such as cricket matches, race days, golf events and so much more.

It’s been a real pleasure to attend many of these myself with particular highlights in July being the East Midlands Eve of Trent Bridge Test event at Stuart Broad and Harry Gurney’s pub the Tap & Run in Leicestershire, where we were also joined by the voice of Test Match Special and East Midlands region President Jonathan Agnew. The following week, I also thoroughly enjoyed spending the evening with Taverners and their guests from the West Midlands for another Eve of Test event in Birmingham where the BBC’s Pat Murphy hosted a fantastic evening with West Indies legends Sir Curtly Ambrose and Sir Gordon Greenidge. There were many more other incredible events around the UK this past month, where vital funds were raised and Taverners came together to socialise, have fun, meet up with old friends and do what we do so well! Thank you to everyone who has played a role in making all of these incredible events so much fun and such a success. These events are a key and integral part of what we do and what the Tavs are synonymous with, and I look forward to many more over the summer. 

As I head off for some holiday time myself this month, with my new copy of Charlie Ross’s book ‘Sold’ under my arm for some poolside reading, I want to wish everyone at Lord’s Taverners best wishes for the summer ahead (what’s left of it I hear you say!) and I look forward to seeing many of you at the upcoming Afternoon with Gower event at Lord’s on 17 September where we have another fun packed afternoon of entertainment planned with our host Chris Cowdrey who will be joined by Aggers, Mike Gatting and many more, if not before. 

Best wishes,
Mark