Co-founder Chris Willett says Platform Cricket wouldn’t be able to achieve its impact without the diversity of its young participants.

Platform Cricket is one of Levelling the Playing Field’s Local Delivery Partners in London. The organisation aims to increase numbers of disadvantaged and ethnically diverse children participating in cricket, and support their personal and social development. Platform Cricket’s LtPF sessions are due to start in Deptford and New Cross as soon as Covid restrictions allow (week commencing March 29). Like many of the other communities they work in, they are socially deprived but highly culturally diverse. That cultural melting pot enables Chris and his team of coaches to achieve a variety of positive outcomes. “The sport programmes we operate kickstart relationships, trust and cohesion between not just the coaches and participants, but between young players too,” says Chris. “Some of the pre-existing prejudices young people might have – which can be quite deep-seated, even amongst young ages – disappear a little bit when you’ve got the common goals of working together in a team sport. “The social interaction that develops as a result of our delivery of cricket activities also breaks down the barriers and stereotypes people might have about others from different backgrounds. In some communities, views and beliefs are deeply entrenched. Our activities can contribute to opening minds up to alternative ways of thinking.” Platform Cricket’s engagement process starts with Year 4 pupils in local primary schools, then moves on to sessions at ‘pop-up’ clubs in local parks in summer, or schools and leisure centres in winter. Matches and festivals follow afterwards. “The age at which we get kids started with us is key,” said Chris. “We’ve just re-started our activity in schools post-lockdown, and I’ve just been into a school in Clapham. There were kids from North African, West African, Somali and Middle-Eastern backgrounds in the classes. “There's huge diversity and the young age group we work with enables us to make inroads into communities in which cricket has no foothold at all. It’s one of the main reasons we do it; we can start with a blank canvas in terms of engaging them in something beneficial. “Extremism, crime and violence; these issues are there on stairwells in buildings and prevalent in the neighbourhoods these kids come from. These influences on kids are not passive, whereas recruitment into sport can often be a bit too passive. Sport has to go a little bit more down that road, and use diversity in communities as a platform for social cohesion and positive engagement.” Follow Platform Cricket on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or head to their website.