8th October 2015
| Mallory Gray
Wales has achieved a
hat-trick of shortlisted nominations for the Asian Cricket Awards, to be
presented at Lord’s next month.
The Cricket
Wales/Glamorgan CCC BME (black and minority ethnic) project ‘Cricket Beyond Boundaries’ funded by
Sport Wales ‘Calls4Action’ has been
shortlisted in the top three for the best diversity project.
Sohail Rauf, chairman
of Welsh Asians Cricket Club has been short-listed for the 'Inspiration Award' and
Hannaa Zaman for the 'Women in Cricket Award'. They will join other finalists,
including England stars, such as Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, at the ceremony at
Lord’s Cricket Ground on October 13.
The Cricket Beyond Boundaries project runs ‘pop-up’
cricket clubs across Cardiff, targeting areas not linked with mainstream
cricket clubs.
The project, which is
managed by Mark Frost, who has a dual role working for both Glamorgan CCC and
Cricket Wales, alongside BME coordinator Ali Abdi, aims to tackle inequality by
using sport to break down cultural and economic barriers between communities.
A highlight of the ‘pop-up’
cricket scheme was the Gilbert Cup, which was hosted at The SSE SWALEC during
the televised Glamorgan versus Hampshire Royal London One-Day Cup match earlier
this summer. Fifty young people from
specific BME communities, enjoyed coaching sessions before the match, provided
a guard of honour for the two teams and performed a play on the pitch demonstration
during the interval.
Sohail Rauf is chairman
of Welsh Asians Cricket Club, coaches the U9 and U11 teams, and is also
secretary of the Glamorgan and Monmouthshire Cricket League, which he
represents on the Cricket Wales Senior Council. He has worked with Glamorgan
County Cricket Club and Cricket Wales to help them support the BME community
and build stronger relations. He is also involved in
setting up the National Asian Cricket Council, which is looking to become the
voice of the South Asian community dealing directly with the ECB (England and
Wales Cricket Board).
Hanaa Zaman has coached
cricket for over 10 years for Glamorgan CCC and Cricket Wales as well as the MCC
(Marylebone Cricket Club) besides touring the Channel Islands and Trinidad and
Tobago. Her coaching covers players from
local communities, schools and at elite level, and she is keen to involve more
girls, especially from the BME community.
“Having three nominees
on the shortlist is a testament to the fantastic work being done within the BME
community in Wales,” said Peter Hybart, chief executive of Cricket Wales.
“There is a huge amount
of enthusiasm and cricketing talent across the communities in Wales and I’m
delighted that this is being recognised with these shortlisted nominations.”