This year the Charity Projects Committee chose to support the MCC Foundation Under-16 Springboard Programme for boys and girls. The programme covers four days of specialist training over two weeks in July/August 2026 for under-16 girls and boys. Participants are selected via the MCCF U16 Hub Programme and are from state schools around London and the South East. The Programme not only covers expert cricket coaching but also personal coaching on fitness and ‘life skills’.
On one of the hottest days of a very hot summer Past Master Clive Hawkins, Tina Richardson and Jonathan Hook visited one of the under-16 girls training sessions which took place at Shepherd's Bush Cricket Club. We were greeted by Catherine Bench from MCCF and Simon Talbot, Head Coach of the Springboard Programme, and we crunched across an outfield burnt brown by the summer sun to watch the girls practising their batting and bowling in the nets.
We were incredibly impressed by the high standard achieved. And Jonathan, who is a keen cricketer, commented that he wouldn't like to face some of the deliveries!
At the end of training we all returned to the pavilion where Past Master Clive Hawkins, ably assisted by Jonathan, made a presentation of a pair of Grey Nicholls cricket gloves to all the participants. The girls and their parents, many of whom had travelled several hours to get there from all over the southeast, were very happy to receive the gloves to recognise the girls' achievement as a special gift from The Glovers.
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