An update from our CEO

Hi all,

Summer is nearly upon us! We’ve got so much to look forward to in the coming months as the cricket season comes in to view and our 75^th anniversary celebrations get into full swing.

To start my latest message, I’d like to mention our recent International Women’s Day celebration event held at our Fivefields office in London. This was a brilliant opportunity for our community of members, friends and supporters network to hear about the incredible work our teams are doing to reach and impact the lives of many more young women and girls through our community cricket programmes. It also enabled us to learn more about the challenges being faced in women and girls sport, and how much still needs to be done to ensure culturally, structurally and financially, sport is welcoming and inclusive for females, allowing girls and women to thrive and achieve their potentials.  

Martha Silcott (CEO of FabLittleBag), Sue Redfern (professional cricket umpire and former player) and Kate Coppack (current Essex CCC and Welsh Fire cricketer) spoke excellently about their experiences on a panel expertly hosted by TNT Sports host Kate Mason. They shared many examples from their journeys to the height of their professions, the barriers that still very much exist and gave really positive insights on what they and many others are doing to improve experiences. They were followed by our very own panel hosted by our Director of People and Programmes Gabby Shirley, who spoke about the vital work we’re doing through all of our programmes when it comes to engaging females with a disability and from disadvantaged communities in cricket. Taverners Youth Ambassador and Super 1s participant Sophie Buckland, alongside our Wicketz Programme Manager Katie Holland did a fantastic job drawing upon their lived experiences by conveying the differences and impact that being involved in the game through programmes like ours can make, including what we’re striving to achieve as a charity going forward. If you want to find out more and get involved in this particular area of work, please click here.

As a male and especially as a male in a position of privileged leadership here at the Tavs, I was invited to speak about the importance of what is commonly known as male allyship. I outlined how, in my view, that men like myself have a crucial responsibility and role to play in ensuring that opportunities for girls and young women are created. I talked about how I am inspired by, and learn from, girls and young women in my role, in my personal life and through the everyday things that I do. I tried to emphasise how I value that I have the responsibility to ensure that I constantly learn, think differently and challenge myself to always positively contribute to ensure girls and women can all overcome the challenges and barriers we had heard so much about that evening by playing my role to ensure women and girls are empowered. As an organisational leader, a husband, a father (to a boy and a girl), a volunteer community sports coach and generally in my own community, it is a responsibility that I have and something we should all proactively think openly about and challenge ourselves to be more proactive in including, empowering and inspiring everyone to ensure we all create environments for girls and women to thrive - these were the key messages I shared with guests on the evening. I think the event was a great success, and I want to invite everyone to commit to joining us all here at Lord’s Taverners in recognising, celebrating and being inspired by all of the women and girls you know, not just on International Women’s Day, but every single day!

Coming up very soon is our 2025 AGM at Lord’s. I would really encourage you all to come along and attend so you can find out about all the incredible work right across the charity and get first sight of our refreshed strategy and the direction of travel the Taverners continues to head in over the next three years and beyond. This will also be your first opportunity to meet our new incoming Chair of Trustees, Lucy Pearson, and of course thank our outgoing chair Tim Luckhurst for all the incredible work he has undertaken over the past five years as the transition continues to take place. Lucy has already met our staff team at Fivefields, and it would be fantastic if our brilliant members took up that same opportunity on 15 May. I hope to see you there.

Immediately following the AGM, there will be an event in the Lord’s Tavern hosted by the Cricketer magazine for all members to enjoy. Editor Huw Turbervill, Chief Correspondent George Dobell and former England bowler Angus Fraser will be discussing all the latest from the cricket world and If you’d like to join us for all of the above, please click here.

We have so much to look forward to both before and after our AGM. Our Regional Table Cricket Finals begin at the end of April as the road to Lord’s for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) settings across the country begins.

We have a record 67 amazing people running the London Marathon this year including a first for us, as we have our first ever cricket programme participant taking to the streets of the capital to raise valuable funds. Connor Hyde, a Super 1s participant from Somerset, and our 2023 Inspire Award winner, has always dreamed of running the London Marathon, and we’re so happy that he’s able to take it on this year. Please donate to Connor as he looks to raise £7,500 for us to mark our anniversary year. Good luck to Connor and the team!

In a jam-packed anniversary celebration year, we have numerous regional lunches and dinners, golf days, cricket matches, Eve of Test international cricket events and a number of special 75^th anniversary celebration events soon to be announced. Our members are always the cornerstone of our charity’s support base, and I think it will be incredible if you could all get behind events near you whenever you can this year to help make this a fantastic and successful celebration of 75 years of Taverners coming together to include, empower and inspire the thousands of young people we reach through our work. As ever a big, big thanks to long-term Taverner David Robinson and the 75^th Anniversary Celebrations Committee he is chairing for working together with the events team to make our 75^th anniversary a really special year.

I am delighted that our Wicketz programme residentials are returning this year, and there are also multiple Super 1s residentials taking place as well. All of these will be hugely valuable opportunities for the young people on our programmes to interact with their peers from different parts of the country, making new friends, enjoying new life impacting experiences and learning vital life skills whilst having the most incredible fun.

I can also confirm that thanks to Taverners and big supporters of the charity like Tony Wall, Gus Mackay and our staff, the return of our celebrity golf event in Catalunya this October is confirmed. Packages to join us on the trip are available now and it would be great to have as many of you join us as possible to mark our 75^th anniversary. Tavs ambassador, tour Captain and former England Cricketer Graeme Swann, as well as other celebrities, will be joining us for the occasion where you can enjoy playing the course currently bidding to host the 2031 Ryder Cup. Click here to book your place.

So, I’d like to finish by saying a huge, huge thank you to everyone who continues to make all of this happen. There is much to be proud of and look forward to as we enter the second quarter of our 75^th anniversary year.

Best wishes,
Mark