How Lord's Taverners programme led to Hampshire job

The scheme is now delivered in all 39 counties, Scotland and Wales

CHARITY FEATURE

In 2014 the Lord’s Taverners Super 1s programme – a free national community cricket programme aimed at young people with a disability aged 12–25 which provides them with the opportunity to play regular cricket and enjoy the benefits of playing sport – was launched at the home of cricket as part of an initial pilot with the four London counties (Essex, Kent, Surrey and Middlesex). Now, the programme is delivered in all 39 counties, Scotland and Wales, impacting nearly 2,000 young people and their families across 176 local hubs.

We're now seeing participants not just accessing and enjoying cricket, but all the personal development benefits being part of the game brings too. Improvements in confidence levels, feelings of independence and belonging are there for all to see. Super 1s is now providing participants with training that will help them secure future employment – CV-writing workshops, mock interviews and work experience opportunities through county cricket boards and foundations are proving to be game changing.

One former participant in Hampshire, Michael Powell, decided to go down the coaching route. After securing his coaching qualifications through the programme, an opportunity came up to apply for the disability development officer role for the very project that he benefited from himself. He went for the role, and now he is leading grassroots disability cricket across the county, providing young people with a disability in Hampshire with a role model who can show participants coming through the programme what you can achieve.

"I've always wanted to change the world for disabled people," he said. "Give them something to strive for, and part of that was finding where I felt I belonged. I remember sitting at the Ageas Bowl (Rose Bowl as it was known then) as a 12-year-old attending my first match with my dad and never in a million years did I ever think I would be the lead of a disability cricket programme in Hampshire and be able to call Hampshire Cricket my home."

Finding somewhere where you belong is special, but then dedicating your time to that community to provide an even better experience for others is truly impactful. Michael is Hampshire disability cricket development officer, which involves overseeing the running of the Super 1s programme for young people with a disability aged 12–25 across eight hubs throughout the county.

Michael was born with quadriplegic cerebral palsy and is a wheelchair user. Throughout his time at mainstream school, he was bullied and things weren’t adapted for his disability. He’s struggled with access to sporting and social provisions, but he always found his friends playing football in the playground. From that point onwards he really wanted to tackle the stigma around disability and challenge the world on making disability a more accepted part of society.

"When I moved to Hampshire and found that disability cricket was a thing, I knew that it wasn’t going to be straightforward. I was thinking, 'How am I to swing a cricket bat or bowl the ball straight?' Super 1s really helped me in the early days to nurture my skills."

Super 1s exists as a grassroots means for young people with a disability to get into cricket, but it extends beyond cricket as a sport. It's a safe space where they can truly express themselves with their peers, interact and feel as though they belong.

"Cricket is where I was able to discover confidence and that feeling of belonging. It helped me learn so many other important life skills. The impact it has in our communities is tremendous. What really spoke to me was that community feel within the programme and having access to regular, free provisions during a time where the cost of living for people living with a disability continues to rise has been absolutely crucial. I've seen many participants who have gone on to achieve great things in cricket because of Super 1s.

"Super 1s really opened the door for me, where I thought 'hold on a minute, I’ve got lived experience of a disability, how can I use the skills and knowledge that I have to a wider audience.' I then took my Foundation coaching course, then the level 2 qualification as well.

"The previous Hampshire disability development officer said he was leaving the role, and I jokingly went up to him and said, #I'm going to apply for your job'. It was a tongue in cheek moment, but he looked at me and said 'no… do!' I went home that night, filled in the application and I’m delighted to have had this opportunity to lead this disability cricket programme that I was a participant of. Leading Super 1s in Hampshire and our cricket offer in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) settings has been a really transformative experience for me as I've entered the world of full-time employment.

"I'm really getting a sense and feel for the challenges that participants face because of the challenges I've faced in life. We can really adapt the drills we do to accommodate as many people as we can. If you put your mind to something you can really achieve and that’s what Lord’s Taverners and Super 1s really encapsulates."

A parent of one of the Super 1s participants Michael coaches regularly highlights how important it is for someone living with a disability to lead a disability sports programme – "Michael has been a brilliant coach, and that rubs off on the other children. They can see what cricket and Super 1s has done for him, and it gives them the thought of the future and what that can be for them."

Michael really appreciates the wider impact being involved in cricket and Super 1s has had on his personal development.

"It's made me realise I've been able to be independent in so many other ways. I've got married and gone on to have my own family, and achieve things beyond cricket. If it continues to work out, this will be my life forever more. I want to help young people reach their potential.

"I will never achieve full independence and always need help with transport or support with personal care. We really need to break down the barriers of independence and focus on what an individual with a disability is capable of doing for themselves. How far can they push themselves forward and achieve the absolute maximum they can."

This year is the Lord’s Taverners 75th anniversary, and we are sure that Michael is one of many young people with a disability in the coming years who will go on to realise what they can achieve through the Super 1s programme.

The Berkeley Foundation has been vital to the development of stories such as Michael's. They have funded the programme across the London counties and beyond since it began in 2014, and the legacy their funding is leaving speaks volumes.

In May, the Lord's Taverners and Berkeley Group hosted a joint celebration of the charity’s 75th anniversary and the topping out of Berkeley’s new collection of nearly 200 homes within the iconic Oval gasholder called The Halo - offering front-row views into one of cricket’s most beloved grounds.

A once-industrial icon became the city’s most unique cricket venue as guests took to the top of the historic Oval gasholder - an astonishing 11 storeys high - for a one-off Super 1s cricket session with Surrey Super 1s participants, overlooking the legendary Kia Oval.

"These are some of the most unique homes in the world," said Paul Vallone, Chairman of Berkeley St Edward. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to own a piece of cricket history. Many homes will offer direct views into the Kia Oval, and a communal rooftop terrace will provide an unparalleled spot to watch live matches."

As part of the ceremony, participants from the Surrey Super 1s programme embedded signed cricket balls into the rooftop concrete - a lasting legacy of the day and a nod to the Berkeley Foundation’s £750,000 commitment to the charity’s life-changing work, with England cricketing legends Mike Gatting, Monty Panesar and Chris Tremlett joining the celebrations.

Homes are launching from June 2025 and residents are expected to move in from 2028. The Halo forms part of Berkeley’s wider Oval Village regeneration, which will deliver over 1,300 new homes revitalising a former brownfield site at the heart of London. 

If you are a young person with a disability, parent or friend of a young person with a disability and would like to follow in Michael’s footsteps, visit www.lordstaverners.org/super1s to find out how you can get involved