World's Greatest Fast Bowlers Bring Cricket To Streets Of London

World's Greatest Fast Bowlers Bring Cricket To Streets Of London

Makhaya Ntini was on hand to show the youngsters the benefit of his immense experience

©Lord's Taverners

World's Greatest Fast Bowlers Bring Cricket To Streets Of London

Devon Malcolm offers some help to young budding batsmen

Six of the world’s greatest living fast bowlers brought cricket to youngsters in Lambeth when The Lord’s Taverners staged a special Street Elite coaching session with pupils from Archbishop Tenison’s School.

Legendary bowlers Glenn McGrath, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, Devon Malcolm, Sir Richard Hadlee, Andy Roberts and Makhaya Ntini spent the morning passing on tips to the pupils, who despite going to school in the shadows of the Oval have very little access to cricket or outdoor sports.

As cricket’s number one charity, The Lord’s Taverners is dedicated to giving youngsters access to recreational opportunities and Street Elite, supported by the Berkeley Group, is just one of many programmes which are run throughout the country, designed to provide children with positive sporting and recreational outlets.

With much of the country having been affected by recent riots and the lack of sporting and recreational opportunities sighted as a possible cause for unrest among youngsters, The Lord’s Taverners programmes are addressing these issues with over £3 million donated every year to help give children the opportunity to take part in sporting activities.

Glenn McGrath, who played in 124 test matches for Australia and has taken more test wickets than any other fast bowler, said, "It’s been good fun today. We've given these kids a few tips on bowling action as we've done quite a bit of it ourselves so it's nice to pass that on! You can see they’re really enjoying it, you just can't stop them.

"The Lord's Taverners do a lot of great work getting young people more involved in sport so we are more than happy to do our bit with them.

“I can't think of another occasion when all of these guys have been together at the same time. It's amazing to look around, especially with the older fast bowlers; players that I really looked up to all the time when I started in the game, real legends of cricket."

Matthew Patten, Chief Executive, The Lord’s Taverners said, “The issue of providing youngsters with access to sport has never been more pressing. Recent government cuts meant there is going to be a shortfall in local council funding of £100million for youth initiatives so it’s vital that projects like Street Elite are supported and can reach out to local communities throughout the country.

“The Lord’s Taverners aims to directly engage with the children at the front line of Broken Britain and give them the opportunity to take control their own world, and avoid the influences of gangs, drugs and violence. For us sport is the perfect vehicle for engaging with youngsters which can then lead to positive social outcomes.”

The bowlers were in London ahead of tonight’s gala Fast Bowler’s Dinner which is being supported by Macquarie and organised by The Lord’s Taverners. With 23 of the greatest living bowlers attending the evening at the Hilton Park Lane, the dinner promises to be a once in a lifetime occasion for cricket fans.

ATTENDING FAST BOWLERS

Alan Davidson (Aus)
Glenn McGrath (Aus)
Jeff Thomson (Aus)
Andrew Caddick (Eng)
Darren Gough (Eng)
Devon Malcolm (Eng)
John Snow (Eng)
Bob Willis (Eng)
Chris Tremlett (Eng)
Sir Richard Hadlee (NZ)
Mike Procter (SA)
Makhaya Ntini (SA)
Clive Rice (SA)
Curtly Ambrose (WI)
Colin Croft (WI)
Andy Roberts (WI)
Courtney Walsh (WI)
Joel Garner (WI)
Charlie Griffith (WI)
Wes Hall (WI)
Sir Garry Sobers (WI)
Michael Holding (WI)
Kapil Dev (Ind)

ALSO ATTENDING

Andy Flower
Brian Close
Mike Denness
Mike Gatting
Tom Graveney
David Steele