Just ACE
In April 2021 I volunteered to collect our new professional cricketer from the airport, Manchester 40 minutes away was my understanding. No, due to some sub-optimal club administration the port of entry was to be Heathrow on a bank holiday Monday. Originally thinking that I could do this errand during the week without being missed I hadn’t yet discussed it with Shannan, my wife.
What had initially seemed hard yakka turned out to be good karma. After collecting Hashen Ramanayake from the airport, we had a two-hour journey home, what a pleasure. Hashen is not only a top-class cricketer but a very decent individual and good company. Over the past 7 months we have become cohorts.
Having finished a successful cricket season in the Derbyshire County Cricket league, and deciding to stay in the UK, Hash moved to Winter in the warmer climes of London. We kept in touch, and he was keen to use his coaching skills over the close season. I had seen the ACE charity talked about on television during the Summer and thought this would be a great channel for Hash to develop and use his talents, he agreed.
The ACE Programme is designed to engage young people of African and Caribbean Heritage who may not otherwise have the pathway or facility to get involved in cricket. ACE has programmes across London, in Bristol and is currently developing in Birmingham. It is chaired by Ebony-Jewel Rainford-Brent ex- England cricketer and currently the UK’s finest cricket analyst. There is also a who’s who list of ambassadors and trustees backing this excellent charity – Supporting Diverse Talent from the Grassroots to the Elite.
We reached out through the website contact page which on other sites can sometimes be fruitless. Within 24 hours a response came back from Chevy Green, Director of Programmes, offering a meeting at the Oval. The communication was informed and engaging straight off the bat. We took up the kind offer and headed to South London. The whole visit from arrival was structured and enjoyable, Chevy is an outstanding human – affable, knowledgeable, empathetic, supportive and a true gentleman.
The day was an absolute delight. Chevy gave us a tour of the ground, which is an unbelievable arena for spectators, players, and all the Surrey employees alike. We talked about the evident strong culture at the club of which Chevy is a shining example and great ambassador both for ACE and Surrey CCC. He told us how the attitude was set from the top by Alec Stewart, Director of Cricket, who gave time to everyone in the organisation and drove a shared mission, all for one and one for all culture. Soft skills were backed up with visual tools – clear and aesthetic objective boards. Walking round with Chevy and seeing how he engaged and how this was reciprocated was heart-warming and a perfect example of how a leader’s credibility, authenticity and tone setting can result in a fulfilling working environment and successful organisation, creating new, outstanding leaders like Chevy – “Moving forwards, taking responsibility, together”.
Find out more about ACE Programme Charity here
