Cricket East

The compelling nomination read: “Through Lord’s Taverners, the Wicketz Programme has been rolled out to cater for the young people of Bedfordshire. This initiative has looked to engage young people from hard to reach communities and provide them with a positive outlet and encourage interaction between communities. On numerous occasions, the Community Cohesion team has been invited to present to the young people involved in order to raise awareness of hate crime and other issues that may impact cohesion within the county. In addition to these events, Wicketz has also looked to organise cricket tournaments, which have served to bring the diverse communities of Luton together and partake in their shared interests.”

Luton Wicketz Development Officer Amran Malik said: “Unfortunately, we did not win the award, but we are very proud to have been nominated. We will carry on serving our 21 ethnicities and 150 children every week!”