The South Asian Cricket Academy (SACA) are holding an open trial for their men’s programme, only the second time that they have organised an event of this scale
It's a windswept Sunday in early April and the Leyton cricket ground in East London is a hive of activity. The Grade II listed pavilion, erected in 1886 and Essex’s official headquarters until 1934, evokes a bygone era. But it’s at the adjacent indoor cricket hub that I find 120 triallists hopeful for a bright cricket future.
The opportunity to join the SACA programme, encompassing elite level coaching, and the possibility of joining the pathway to becoming a professional cricketer, is what today is all about.
Since SACA’s inception in 2022, their success at producing a conveyor belt of professional cricketers, 18 to date, on a shoestring budget, has bucked the trend of many other grassroots cricket initiatives. Dr Tom Brown, SACA’s managing director is in the thick of it; today amongst other tasks, he’s helping to set up the sponsor’s stand, as well as introducing the event to a slightly apprehensive group of trialists.
East London, with an established South Asian community, has always appeared to be a natural base for SACA. Brown explained why it’s taken a relatively long period of time to arrive here.
“We're just limited by resources. We can't be all over the place everywhere at once, we prioritised the Midlands in our first year and a half, but since then we've been national, and we've been growing at every opportunity we can.
“We're here now and we're really excited to see the talent that's from this area. Before today, we have got ten or eleven already from this area, they've been pulled into other hubs around the country, and they've made the journey, but this time we're coming to them.
“The cricket bit's easy because there's so much talent, it’s then servicing all that talent. We've just launched a second team this year, which we had to get funding for. Whilst we do have ECB support, we aren't a multi-million pound organisation. We are a non-profit and the entire programme is free to the players. We can't help everybody, but we're doing the best we can.”
A total of 500 budding cricketers applied for the East London trial, a rigorous screening process involved each applicant whatsapping a short video illustrating their batting or bowling ability, along with their cricket biography. Lessons have been learnt from a previous open trial at Edgbaston, so that in Leyton a higher volume of individuals get the chance to net in front of SACA coaches. Brown emphasises the stiff competition faced by the triallists.
“We reserve the right to pick all of them or none of them, and they've got to prove to us that they're better than what we already have. Sometimes it's actually harder to get into SACA than it is to a county second team because the counties sometimes have a remit to look within their own hubs, but we're a national programme.
“We're almost in a position where we'll start to become the bad guys because we can't help everyone. We only have a finite amount of resource. Some players here would have probably walked into SACA's first XI three years ago, they might not even get through this trial because the standard’s improved so much.”
Although today is focused on the men’s programme, Brown describes his “vested interest” in the women’s game owing to his partner being a professional female cricketer while Brown himself is a scout for the England women’s team. Consequently, SACA have recently begun a women’s programme which currently consists of a squad of 15 that is expected to expand.
As with many of SACA’s activities, organising today’s trial has only been possible by leveraging various longstanding relationships and a dollop of goodwill. Essex have been a long-term SACA partner and have run numerous community programmes from the Leyton cricket hub. Arfan Akram, Essex’s strategic lead for East London, describes the club’s involvement.
“Once the date, the timing, and the criteria were set up, it was a very easy sell. Today you're going to see in excess of 120 young people. And that doesn't happen unless you've got that trust and confidence with the local community.
“We're going to see some of the best players across East London and slightly further out. Guys that we would know and have already been part of our pathway and have had a long or short existence with us. This will hopefully give an opportunity for a local boy who might have gone away and developed his own game over the last few years.”
Perhaps surprisingly, some of the triallists have travelled to Leyton from other parts of the country, highlighting the importance of today’s event. Abdullah Tabriaz, a tall 25-year-old spinner, is one such.
“I came down the night before, especially for the trial. I've got family in London, so I stayed over last night. The talent on display is really impressive. Everyone in that room has the ability to play at a higher level. So being in that competitive environment alongside a lot of players who have the same mindset as you, the same sort of ability, really brings the best out of you.
“As you can see today, people have come from all over Yorkshire, Leeds, and Bristol for myself. So I believe wherever SACA hold a trial, people will attend it,” says an out-of-breath Tabraiz immediately after his trial.
East London-based Imon Ahmed hasn’t had to travel very far. The 29-year-old, currently playing in the Herts Premier Division and in Essex club cricket with Roding Valley, a thriving local cricket club, echoes the thoughts of many fellow triallists with his assessment of the day.
“I found out about the trial through my club’s whatsapp group, and I was encouraged to apply by other teammates. I think it went well today, I didn’t get any edges or play a loose shoot. Let’s see what happens.”
