Stanfords – the 2022 Junior sponsor for Catford & Cyphers Cricket Club!

Stanfords are enormously proud to be 2022 seasons sponsors of the Junior section of Catford & Cyphers Cricket Club. It was an exciting proposition that we leapt at and caught with both hands when the opportunity came up.

Over the past few years Community Sports Clubs have had a torrid time. With little support, and funding, sports clubs up and down the country have needed their local club heroes that are passionate about sports, educating and growing the game to step up. But many clubs across all sports are still paying the price of the pandemic and the Lockdowns.

During this time Catford & Cyphers have taken an opportunity to develop their Junior Section and in 2021 really started to thrive. Cricket isn’t an entitled sport, like football it can be played in the park with a few sticks a ball and something to club at it with. It isn’t a gender biased sport either, as the England Women’s team have proved by reaching the second successive World Cup Final.

All sports should be a happy place for Children and an escape to get outside and meet friends, play team sports, and have fun whilst developing healthy skills and relationships. The benefits of being involved in a local club at a community level are massive when growing up; it brings together children from diverse backgrounds, to compete and develop skills of teamwork and leadership. More needs to be done to introduce girls into sport too by celebrating women who achieve, and at Catford & Cyphers girls and boys from different backgrounds and ethnicities bond over the fun and enjoyment that Asher, Matt and their fellow coaches bring to every session and the Team’s success on the field!

In inner cities and London there are fewer chances for cricket to be played, whether it be finding a Club or affording to play. Taking a leaf from Rugby’s Kyle Sinckler and recognising opportunities should be there for everyone to play sports; we invited Matt and the team to select 2 young players that we could support through the 2022 season so that they could focus on getting to practice and improving their game. We are incredibly proud of the Club coaches’ decisions of the young players they have recommended and can’t wait to see how they progress with both Bat and Ball this year!!