Chance to Shine

Bringing cricket to the streets

Designed as a dynamic alternative to hanging out on the streets or watching TV, Chance to Shine Street brings together young people from diverse, urban communities and gives them the opportunity to play, learn and develop through cricket.

Street cricket is a fast-paced version of the game played with a tapeball – a tennis ball wrapped in electrical tape – in small enclosed spaces. With six players per team and 20 balls per innings, it’s cricket’s answer to five-a-side football. Run after-school or at weekends, games are free, players don’t need to bring any equipment and can wear whatever they like.

There are 211 Chance to Shine street cricket projects across the country.
For 74% of participants, this is their only extra-curricular activity.
89% of those surveyed in 2020 said they felt more confident meeting new people or doing new things and 86% feel closer to their local community.

© Marie-Lan Nguyen / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY 2.5

Gaining life skills

Our £33,600 grant is enabling Chance to Shine to re-launch 52 street cricket projects in London, which had to close due to the pandemic. It is also helping the charity to expand its Life Skills Education Workshops into London.

The workshops explore the following themes:

* Laying Foundations (confidence, resilience, teamwork, mental health)
* Making Choices (health, aspirations, community cohesion, online safety, gangs)
* Expanding Horizons (creativity and entrepreneurship, financial literacy, goal-setting, employment and training pathways).

“Through taking part in this exciting and innovative project, we are optimistic that cricket can reinforce and embed learning, and support young people in London with their wider social, education, and personal development.”

Sharika Alam, Grants Assistant, Kusuma Trust