Congratulations to Matthew Garbett on achievements in Wiltshire Cricket's inaugural year of MCC Foundation Hub delivery
Last winter Wiltshire Cricket embarked on running MCC Foundation Hubs for the first time, with two programmes for girls and two for boys at the U14 and U16 age groups. The MCC Hubs have been created by the MCC Foundation to provide an opportunity for free-to-access training and match play to state-educated young cricketers across the UK. The Hubs focus on talent: helping promising youngsters who have been engaged through mass participation activities or non-traditional formats to join cricket clubs, develop their hard-ball skills, and access the formal talent pathways. As well as developing cricket skills, our Hubs help participants feel happier, more confident and improving their focus and performance at school.
We have some great success stories from our programmes this year, one of which being Matthew Garbett from our U16 boys hub. Matthew was invited to attend this MCC hub along with 23 other U16 boys, they had 10 net sessions between January and March that focused on T20 skillsets and was run by County pathway coaches. Throughout that time Matthew and the other boys had the chance to work on all aspects of their cricket alongside the mental part of T20 cricket that is vital in the shortest format. Matthew stated that “the sessions were really helpful because it meant I could train regularly with people around my level, most of whom I didn’t know before. It helped me get my cricket back to where I wanted it to be and opened up some amazing opportunities.”
After completing the winter training each hub had an opportunity to play in some matches and those strong members of the group were put forward to a Southwest MCCF trial from which a team would be selected to go the APEX festival hosted by Millfield School. Matthew was nominated by his coaches at the Wiltshire MCC hub and impressed at the trial leading to him being offered a place in the 15-player squad to participate in the 4-day festival. The Apex festival offers so many great opportunities and experiences for all that attended. Speaking of the opportunity, Matthew said; "We had some excellent training, including a session with Andrew Strauss. Hearing his stories about how he developed and reached the top was inspiring, and having a net with him taught me a lot. We played matches against international sides like Namibia U16’s and South Africa schools, which was a tough but a great challenge.” As per the MCC hubs, the APEX festival offers experiences outside of just playing cricket; “That whole experience was brilliant. I stayed at Millfield School with 15 lads I’d never met and ended up mixing with around 150 players from all over the world. I made loads of new friends and had experiences I’ll never forget—it was honestly the highlight of my year.”
After APEX, because Matthew really impressed his MCCF coaches, he was put forward to more trials to represent the Southwest state school team against other regions around the country. Between these competitions they trained with the Worcestershire coaching staff of which Matthew said “It helped me play more cricket and improve quicker. Being around a squad of people just like me really brought the best out of all of us.”
Matthew has now been invited onto a County pathway programme which means he will continue to get regular training and has a chance to keep improving and in his words; “hopefully come out the other side a better cricketer. A lot of what I have done this year with my cricket has been possible thanks to the MCC Hub”.
Matthew’s dad Richard said; “As a parent I’d really recommend the MCC Hubs to any state school boys or girls. Both Matthew and his younger brother Thomas thoroughly enjoyed the Wiltshire Coaching sessions. The programme gave them valuable winter coaching they otherwise wouldn’t have had, with a focus on short-format skills which they found useful and great fun. They also enjoyed training and netting with boys from across Wiltshire who they didn’t previously know and made new friends and really enjoyed the sessions. His time with the MCC last summer was one of the most enjoyable cricketing experiences he has had, and resulted in another shot at pathway cricket, so it’s been a great success for him.”
About MCC Foundation Hubs
The MCC Foundation is a cricket charity that delivers projects across the UK and around the world. They provide free coaching and match play in order to empower all boys and girls to reach their full potential in the game, to unite and inspire communities, and to promote physical and mental wellbeing.
The Hubs themselves provide opportunities for state school children and have been run across the country for a number of years. From this winter, Wiltshire Cricket will be involved in their running for the second time and we are really excited by the opportunity to grow our partnership with the MCC Foundation.
Specifically this winter we will be providing hubs for the following:
- Girls Under 14s - 1 hub
- Girls Under 17s -1 hub
- Boys Under 13s - 2 hubs
- Boys Under 15s - 2 hubs
For more information about the hubs, please contact Aled Evans:
