.
.
.
The Chance to Shine Street participants are buzzing with energy at Khalid Sadiq’s Tuesday evening street cricket sessions in Saltley, Birmingham. They are all enjoying this fast-paced brand of cricket, played indoors with a plastic bat and taped up tennis ball. Session leader Khalid Sadiq has run Chance to Shine Street U16 street cricket sessions here in Saltley for over a decade and his passion for the game is as strong as ever.
Khalid’s participants feed off the energy and enthusiasm Khalid generates as he throws himself into the session. One minute he’s behind the wicket, whipping the bails off the stumps ruthlessly, the next he’s coaching and encouraging from the sidelines, then suddenly he’s bowling at the other end.
Always alert to the overall flow of the session, Khalid also understands each of the participants’ individual needs. He knows who needs to be stretched and who requires more gentle coaxing. Likewise, he creates a more nurturing environment in the evening’s first session for 7-11 year olds, which changes into a louder teenage vibe for the 12-16 year olds afterwards. When Khalid gives a briefing, no one’s messing around and everyone’s concentrating, such is the respect Khalid receives from the group.
(Photo credit Mohammed Arif)
First impressions suggest that Khalid’s passion for cricket is unparalleled in his personal priorities. After a couple of hours in Khalid’s company, however, it’s clear there is something Khalid is equally, if not more, passionate about – and that is making a positive contribution to young people and their families in the communities of Saltley and Aston where he lives and works.
Khalid knows the family circumstances of all the children in his group, he knows their parents and which school they go to. He can point out the child who six months ago wouldn’t get out of the car to join the session and is now happily running around waving a plastic cricket bat. He can point out the child who has a heart condition and three years ago couldn’t run at all, another with hearing difficulties and yet another with mobility issues. Khalid can also tell you about the generations of young cricketers who have graduated through this Chance to Shine Street programme, those that have gone on to play county age group cricket, and plenty more who simply had a great time and developed a lifelong love of the game.
The Saltley Street Generations
Khalid is one of the most experienced community coaches in Birmingham and his association with Chance to Shine Street goes back over a decade to when Chance to Shine (CTS) established its first award winning projects in Birmingham at Saltley and Sparkhill. Talking to Khalid and his fellow coaches, Siraj and Dinah, one quickly gets the sense of a project with deep roots in the community. Khalid and Saltley Street have seen generations of participants pass through the doors of the Saltley Wellbeing Centre, each generation benefitting far more widely than simply developing as cricketers.
Understanding the impact Khalid and CTS Street cricket have made in this community involves looking along the 10 year timeline of street cricketers who have passed through the programme. The first generation of participants, who started a decade ago, included Siraj Ali. Now a qualified coach, Siraj is assisting Khalid tonight, straight from his day job as pastoral head of year at nearby Saltley Academy.
The second Saltley Street generation are now around 17 years old and graduated from the programme during Covid. One of their number, Nadar, is present tonight, volunteering at the session where the third generation are currently playing. Let’s take the opportunity to speak to a participant from each of these three generations and hear what Khalid and CTS Street in Saltley means to them.
Saltley Street first generation – Siraj Ali’s story
“I was a participant in the first ever Saltley CTS Street group when I was about 14. By the age of 17, Khalid had me training to coach at the sessions. From the start, street cricket kept me focused. Khalid and cricket played a major part in my development and stopped me from getting involved in some stuff I shouldn’t have been doing. On my street growing up, everyone was in trouble at my age, but cricket stopped me from making some bad choices. I also had temper issues, which I learnt to control through cricket. Khalid was an important part of that journey. He passed on to me his knowledge and his learning, which helped me and gave me confidence. I was always happy to learn from him and apply what he had taught me to develop my own coaching style.
My personal experience helps me understand the participants here and the students I work with at Saltley Academy as a pastoral Head of Year. I failed all but two of my GSCEs the first time around. I even failed PE! Then I decided to turn my life around. Khalid and cricket were a big part of that. At these sessions, we always ask the participants how things are going at school. They often talk to us in a way they wouldn’t talk to their teachers and open up more about their difficulties. The students at Saltley Academy certainly get to see a different side of me here.
People say this community is deprived, but what are they actually doing about it? What we are able to do here is actually making a positive difference to the community and I love being part of it.”
Saltley Street second generation – Nadar’s Story
Nadar is now 17 and is part of the generation of Saltley Street cricketers who graduated from the after school programme during Covid. Before the pandemic, Khalid arranged for this group to have the opportunity to play hardball cricket outside in club and league environment. At first, this took some adapting to. Dinah describes how most of the players had never played on grass before and were used to the ball bouncing back off the sports hall wall rather than having to run after it! The group persevered and adapted, bowling one team out for just 14 runs, and eventually winning their U15 and U13 leagues. Nadar was captain of the U15 team and takes up the story from here.
“I have been coming to Chance to Shine Street sessions in Saltley since I was seven. In the early days, I was quite nervous, but everyone was very welcoming. The sessions were something I looked forward to every week. Now I am playing in the hardball Chance to Shine sessions Khalid runs on a Saturday morning and I look forward to those sessions each week too.
When I first joined, I didn’t know how good I could be at cricket. By the time I was 13, I wanted to play much more. Playing in the outdoor league was great. We beat some good teams who had been together for a long time.
The Chance to Shine programme has given me confidence. I feel I can play cricket with anyone now. It has also helped with my communication as I have developed good listening and speaking skills through cricket. I want to play club cricket at a high level, and also to start coaching. I want to help the kids round here growing up. Khalid has been a good influence on me. He is strict, but always tells things to us straight. He tells us we can improve if we are prepared to work at it. Khalid has also given us lots of great experiences by taking us to tournaments and entering our team in the outdoor league.”
Saltley Street third generation – Mobasher, Husnain, Ismail and Kamram’s stories
The current ‘post Covid’ group of street cricketers is part of a rebuilding exercise after the disruption caused by the pandemic. Khalid is eager to rebuild numbers at the sessions to pre-pandemic levels. “There are some good cricketers here,” he discloses, “We need to bring them on.” As part of this process, Khalid is looking to enter the group into an outdoor league this summer, as he did for Nadar’s group. His approach is, “We’ve rebuilt before, when the first generation graduated, so there is no reason why we can’t do it again. We have also had quite a few girls coming to the younger session, which is very encouraging.”
Mobasher is 16 and has been coming to these sessions since he was ten. “I really enjoy coming here, and the tournaments in the holidays. The atmosphere is great, and I have lots of fun. Coming here has definitely made me have more interest in cricket. I am an all-rounder, and I play hardball cricket as well. I want to be involved in cricket in the future, hopefully as a job. Being part of this group feels so good and has made me have more interests, commitment and ambition. This is my second family here.”
Mobasher’s mum agrees. “Mobasher definitely has more confidence as a result of these cricket sessions. They have done a good job here. He can’t wait to come, and now his brother has also started playing with the younger group.”
Husnain and Ismail are brothers who enjoy coming to the session for younger participants. Their mum Assma explains what the sessions mean to the boys and the family. “The sessions are amazing and it’s a great safe environment for the boys. They can’t wait to come each week and, if we are running late, they will always put cricket first – even over a snack after school. The coaches are very welcoming and go above and beyond. Husnain has a heart condition and a has had a pacemaker fitted as a result, but the coaches are great with him, and I know they will ring me if there is a problem. Ismail lacked confidence before, but the coaches have worked on his confidence, and he is much more vocal at home. We have tried other sports, but this is the one they have stuck at, and this has to be due to the excellent coaches.”
Kamran is 11 and is a talented county age group cricketer. He loves coming to Khalid’s Street sessions. “Khalid is the best coach in the world. He has made me the player I am. He’s taught me how to do a front foot drive, and lots of bowling techniques too. His sessions are hard, but they are fun.”
Kamran’s mum, Dinah, is a Level 1 cricket coach and supports Khalid and Siraj at the after school sessions. She talks about the benefits to the group as a whole, as well as for Kamran. “This is a great environment for Kamran. There is a mix of abilities here, but they are all improving all the time. It’s a supportive inclusive group for building people up. There is the opportunity for progression too, not just with the outdoor league, but also the hardball sessions on Saturday mornings that the boys can attend when they leave the evening sessions aged 16. In addition, Khalid also runs community cricket sessions here on Sunday mornings.”
Dinah continues, “A while back, one of our participants had an epileptic fit. Their epilepsy hadn’t been diagnosed and the other participants were amazing when the paramedics arrived. They accurately described all the symptoms to the paramedics, and this proved important in getting a diagnosis. One minute they were all arguing about who was bowling next, and they next minute they were supporting their friend and each other, being really responsible with the paramedics.”
The wider community and the future
Abdul Sattar is a gym instructor at the Saltley Wellbeing Centre and offers a view on the impact of Chance to Shine Street on the wider community. “This is a much needed programme. Saltley is a deprived area and the lack of funding here for youth projects means there are not many other provisions. It’s good for the mental and physical health of the participants to play cricket in this safe environment. I look through the windows and I can see them all having fun and growing in confidence. It also gives some respite to their parents.”
Khalid is undaunted by the prospect of building the street sessions back up after the pandemic and expanding the programme, even giving the participants opportunities to play outdoors. His colleagues say he’s in the business of building people up and it’s hard to disagree. Khalid’s commitment to cricket and to his community is unbreakable. “In the end, this is about more than cricket,” he says after the session. “It’s about doing positive things in the community. If someone is in a bad place, I will be here for them. The whole team will be there for them. I am a team player, and I’m very lucky to be part of a fantastic team of people where we all really care about our community.”
