While the eyes of the cricketing world will be on Mumbai on 2 April for the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, this week forty young leaders are discovering how the sport can strengthen their work with disadvantaged children and have a positive influence on their lives long after the competition is finished.
Just weeks before the biggest occasion in the cricketing calendar, the young leaders from rural and urban Maharashtra are being trained in Mumbai as part of a partnership between the International Cricket Council (ICC), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) and UNICEF.
UK-based charity Cricket for Change is delivering the training that focuses on Street20, a simple, fast and inexpensive form of the game. As part of a week-long programme, the young leaders are developing their cricket mentoring skills and also learn how to address issues related to education, health, inclusion, protection and safety.
Select participants had the chance to showcase the Street20 initiative at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday, the venue for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 final, alongside members of the New Zealand squad including Jamie How, Hamish Bennett and Luke Woodcock.
"I have really enjoyed attending this week's course and learning how I can use cricket for development in my work with community children. People in India love the sport, so if we can use cricket to engage them on a variety of social issues, we can hopefully make a difference in their lives," said young leader Vishal Mhaismale of Mumbai.
Others on the course have enjoyed understanding the basic elements of running a Street20 cricket tournament and how cricket can be used to reach out to disadvantaged young people.
"Obviously everybody has heard of Twenty20 cricket in India before, but I had never heard of Street20 cricket before this week. I think it is a brilliant game and I have really enjoyed learning how to run a cricket tournament, as well as umpiring and scoring. I can't wait to return home to start running cricket activities. It'll be like having a mini World Cup in my village," said Naziya Shek, aged 17, from rural Chandrapur.
The partnership between the ICC, UNICEF and Cricket for Change has already delivered similar 'Great Spirit' programmes for street children in Delhi, child soldiers in Sri Lanka, marginalized girls in Bangladesh and disadvantaged boys and girls in Afghanistan. Further plans are being made to develop a project in Pakistan later this year.
