Washwood students visit the home of Warwickshire cricket!
Dave Inman, PE Teacher at Washwood Heath Academy, chuckles when he realises the final of the 2022 WCB / Deloitte Day involves two of his most competitive Year 9 cricketers facing each other on opposite teams – Yousaf on the New Zealand team against Ayaan for the Pakistan team (the team names having been chosen to reflect the participants in the upcoming Commonwealth Games). When asked who is going to win, both boys answer confidently in unison, “We are going to win!”.
After some power hitting from both sides, the final is won by New Zealand. The nature of the competition, with each team containing two Year 9 pupils from each of the five participating schools, means that every school attending has winners at the end of the day long tournament. Much more importantly, however, is the fact that the pupils have the opportunity to play cricket, to mix with girls and boys from other schools as part of a team, and to meet some inspiring Deloitte volunteers and WCB coaches. This summarises the aim of the WCB / Deloitte Day – to promote social inclusion and provide opportunities to young people in Birmingham.
Keeping the cricket tradition alive
Returning to Dave Inman from Washwood Heath Academy, he is delighted for the school to be involved in an event which helps continue the strong cricket tradition in his school. “There is a big tradition of cricket at Washwood Heath. A few years ago, the school reached national finals and just before Covid our U16 team won their indoor league. At lunchtime in the playground, I can guarantee every bin is being used as a wicket. There is always an endless number of balls flying onto the roof. Amongst our students today, the boys are confident, the girls less so. The boys are all in our cricket team, but only one of the girls has played before. The other girls are sporty and it’s good to see them enjoying a different sport and making new friends. The girls at our school love the Glow in the Dark cricket organised by the WCB. Anything that comes our way from Edgbaston, we try to get involved with it.”
Looking forward to Summer 2022
One of the Washwood Heath pupils attending the WCB / Deloitte Day is going to be a baton carrier for the Commonwealth Games. Dave Inman describes how Ocean has grown in confidence after being nominated as a baton carrier. “Ocean is naturally shy and wouldn’t put herself forward, but she is now confident enough to have made a speech about her role in front of our local MP. It’s great how events like today and the Commonwealth Games are giving our pupils confidence. I have seen our girls today participating really well, after initially being quite shy.”
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