CRICKET

Springburn Cricket Scotland Wicketz Hub, 2019.

WHAT: The Spirit of Cricket for the Common Good is a Officer leads the Wicketz Hubs. partnership with GCU and Cricket Scotland. It has involved OUTPUTS: 105 Wicketz sessions were delivered in the three establishing a free grass roots cricket club for children in an Hubs in 2019-20 and this included 15 life skills workshops. 159 area of North (Springburn) where cricket is not widely children were engaged across these sessions. There was also an played and an adult indoor Tapeball league. In 2019-20, Project inter hub competition and 104 taster sessions in schools with Glasgow saw the Wicketz Hubs, supported by the Lord’s a further 345 children. Taverners charity extended to two further diverse areas OUTCOMES: Over the course of the three years, this of Glasgow. partnership with Ammar has allowed GCU to engage with WHY: Cricket Scotland’s ambition is to diversify its core base. more communities, to offer more volunteering opportunities To engage with Black and minority ethnic, migrant and refugee for our students and has given the students the chance to play communities in Glasgow through sport. The Wicketz hubs were cricket and made links with the work of Cricket Scotland and established to remove barriers to participation that the BAME our research. It has led to other initiatives such as the Diabetes community in Glasgow had identified. awareness sessions and screening for type 2 diabetes in WHERE & WHEN: Wicketz Hubs run weekly on Thursdays during 2018. Through the participation initiatives of (Springburn), Fridays () and Sundays (Govanhill) the Wicketz Hubs and Tapeball League, more young people and throughout the year. adults are now playing cricket in Glasgow, improving their health WHO: The partnership is driven by Ammar Ashraf, Cricket and wellbeing and expanding their social connections.o Scotland Engagement Officer and Nauman Javaid, Development GCU Student Cricket Team with coach Ammar Ashraf of Cricket Scotland, 2018.

The Wicketz hubs addresses the care. The team did fun activities like in playing cricket but this had to be challenge of getting young children active drawing pictures, running around with cancelled due to the COVID-19 lockdown but they are also about the wider health stickers instead of formal interviews. but we hope to resume this and students and wellbeing of the young people and Generally speaking, the main sort of delivering life skills sessions to the the social aspect. As a result of outcomes of the project were primarily Wicketz Hubs and Cricket Scotland’s the partnership: confirming that brokering is something partnership at our Community Science • SHLS Sport and Exercise Psychology that happens and therefore that this events in the new academic year. are working on a student placement is an important health inequality as COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC agreement with Cricket Scotland well as of course engaging with lots of ENGAGEMENT GOALS: performance players. different people. The impact of this is 2. Community Engaged Learning; • Cricket Scotland Community to highlight this as in issue and also to 4. Sustainable Engagement. Development Officer supported help the team shape and apply for any SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT a Psychology student with their relevant funding for future projects. GOALS: research into refugee/asylum seeker One of the researchers said 3. Good Health and Wellbeing; access to mental health services. 10. Reduced Inequalities; The Development Officers at the Hub “my experience the cricket hub 17. Partnership. facilitated access to the children at were very friendly and welcoming LINKS: and I would absolutely recommend two of the Project Glasgow training • Common Good First. sessions in October for SHLS other teams at GCU to work with Safeguarding Heathcare Infections them if they are doing something that • Lord’s Taverners Wicketz Hubs. Preventions researchers to gather might be fun and interactive for the • Evening Times article about more information around child children and young people there.” Project Glasgow. language brokering (times when INTO GCU had set up Saturday social • Wicketz Hub Residential. children translate/interpret for their cricket in the ARC for their International • Sport Scotland article. family and other adults) in health students who had expressed an interest

CONTACT: Susan Grant, GCU CPE Coordinator [email protected] /[email protected] gcu.ac.uk/theuniversity/communityandpublicengagement @GCUEngagement

Glasgow Caledonian University is a registered Scottish charity, number SC021474. GCUCPE_11/20