Lord's Taverners table successful results

In the first of our monthly magazine columns about youth cricket and disability sport charity Lord's Taverners, we reviewed the success of their ongoing programmes that positively impact the lives of young people facing the challenges of inequality

This article features in our March 2023 magazine. To read the full version, get a copy of the magazine by clicking here.

To quote Mo – one of the participants on the Lord's Taverners cricket programme aimed at young people living in deprived communities, Wicketz: "Cricket is not restricted to one community, or one type of person."

And it's through programmes like this that the charity is seeking to help empower young people with disabilities and from disadvantaged communities to raise their aspirations and reach their potential through the game that we all love.

The impact report that the Taverners published in February shows that more than 10,000 young people who are facing the challenges of inequality are now engaging with the sport through activities such as Wicketz, Super 1s and Table Cricket.

They've delivered more than 7,700 hours of community coaching, 277 life skills workshops and have 246 schools playing Table Cricket.

Take Humzah, a 16-year-old wheelchair user who lives with spina bifida and arthritis – and absolutely loves table cricket: "Not only is it really fun but it is just so inclusive and adaptable so everyone can play – we all feel really included and an important part of the team.

"It can also be very competitive and its fun for me being able to play a sport knowing I can play to win!"

^{Humzah taking part in the Lord's Taverners table cricket programme [Credit: Lord's Taverners]}

The results have been extremely encouraging. 93% of the Taverners' participants said they felt more included thanks to the charity's programmes, with 91% saying that they felt more active as a result and 88% report feeling more confident.

"We are growing our reach and impact, but there is still so much more we can do," says Mike Hartwell, Director of Marketing and Communications.

"There are an estimated 4.3m young people at risk of inequality in the UK and 1.2m young people with a disability who either access sport rarely or not at all.

"Along with continued growth of our work, we have also launched a new programme to deliver disability cricket to a minimum of 200 new special educational needs and disabilities settings through our new Disability Cricket Schools programme in partnership with the ECB, with plans to reach all 1,500 school in the UK. 

"This is an example of how our inclusive and diverse cricket programmes across the whole country work daily to educate through shared experiences and empower young people to break down the barriers and tackle the behaviours that lead to discrimination and prejudice.

"That way we can help more young people like Mo and Humzah to fulfil their potential."

To find out more about the charity and its 2021/22 Impact Report, head to the Lord's Taverners website.

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