As the Chairman of the National Asian Cricket Council (NACC), it gives me great pleasure to present to you our inaugural newsletter. We aim to provide all the latest, relevant information about the plethora of activities and projects that the NACC supports across the South Asian Cricketing Community (SACC) in England & Wales.
The NACC journey started in November 2014 – its origins stemming from the work commenced by the Club Cricket Conference (CCC) in 2012 which has been well documented. It is therefore important to acknowledge the role the CCC has played in helping establish the NACC which today stands as the ECB’s key advisory body for the SACC in England and Wales.
Although the impetus was provided by the CCC the real drive towards the formation of the NACC was from the SACC themselves. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to our Board members who are represented in Lancashire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Bristol/Wales, North East London/Essex, North West London/Home Counties and Sussex who from the outset have played an important role as volunteers in ensuring a body such as the NACC is established, for it to be a voice for the SACC and one that represents them on the cricketing map in England and Wales.
In May 2018 the ECB launched its South Asian Action Plan which was welcomed by the NACC as an extensive, extremely insightful and comprehensive action plan. It was important that the ECB consulted the SACC up and down the country and with the NACC being in a position to facilitate and offer extensive advice into the preparation and delivery of this action plan. It could finally start to address a whole number of issues that the SACC have had going back decades. The NACC values and appreciates our status with the ECB and almost two years on from the launch it is particularly pleasing seeing the shoots of this hugely important strategy taking shape at a fair pace.
Our role and work are still very much in line with the ECB’s South Asian Action Plan, but it is equally positive to see our partnerships with a number of County Boards up and down the country develop into very meaningful projects. The NACC can complement and support the work the County Boards are striving to do resulting in an open and meaningful understanding of the NACC’s role which can cement the vital work that needs to be done and by truly understanding each other’s roles. We can strive to reach all the aims and objectives that have been highlighted in the ECB’s South Asian Action plan.
I am sure the SACC may well have matters that need to be aired and we remain a body that is connected with the Community up and down the country and are always available to listen, understand, and offer our full support on various matters on or off the pitch.
The NACC are also the fourth equal partner of the National Cricket Conference (NCC) which was established in 2015 to engage directly with supporting and advising on policies and initiatives for the recreational game. The original three member associations were the Club Cricket Conference (CCC), Midlands Club Cricket Conference (MCCC) and the League Cricket Conference (LCC). We are proud to hold three positions on the NCC Board, in line with the other three associations as we collectively work to fulfil delivery streams to the grass-roots game.
During these most challenging of times with the COVID-19 pandemic I have spoken to some twenty-two South Asian League representatives in the last week and it certainly highlighted the fact that this incredibly important member of the cricketing family requires greater connectivity and understanding with the key cricketing stakeholders in their region’s. This unprecedented time has given us the opportunity to now collectively work together with the ECB, County Boards and Local Authorities in ensuring that the needs of the SACC are fully understood and are supported.
In finishing, I would like to offer my sincere appreciation to Mohammad Bobat and to Dr. Samara Afzal for their insightful and incredibly important articles. We certainly will be hearing more in the future from both, as well as regular guest articles and interviews from key South Asian cricketing figureheads/role-models; current or past players or ones that hold senior positions within cricket administration, as well as local community champions/volunteers who offer so much to the South Asian cricket community at grass-root levels.
We sincerely hope you enjoy the read and please do contact us directly if required via info@nacc.co
