ACE Bristol Academy scholars have been hard at work refining their cricketing skills this winter.
From Grassroots to the Elite
The ACE Programme was founded by Ebony Rainford-Brent and launched by Surrey County Cricket Club in January 2020 in response to the decline of Black British professional players by 75%, and less than 1% of the recreational game. The ACE Programme is designed to engage young people of African and Caribbean heritage and a talent search was launched.
The ACE Programme stands for African Caribbean Engagement Programme and the charity aims to support diverse talent from the grassroots to the elite, inspiring the wider game to support reconnecting the Black community with cricket.
Engagement
ACE’s mission is to create meaningful pathways into the world of cricket for young people from all backgrounds, with dedicated programmes designed to support individuals at every stage of their journey; from discovering the sport for the first time to developing skills, connecting with coaches and progressing toward competitive opportunities.
Engaging with communities at a local level is key and for ACE Bristol, our dedicated ACE Development Officer, Cameron, has built trusted relationships with many schools in targeted areas of the city where he delivers cricket as part of the PE curriculum, introducing the game, building new skills and inspiring new players, supporting the Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation’s mission to get bats and balls into more people’s hands.
To keep the flame of interest in cricket ignited in children and young people from their school engagement, the ACE community hubs provide a free soft ball cricket offer all year round which children are signposted on to. These hubs offer fun, local cricket sessions led by expert coaches to build skills, confidence and personal development, forging new friendships with likeminded people. Their summer hub will start after the Easter holidays, which is supported by Bristol West Indies and Phoenix Cricket Club at their ground at the Rose Green Centre.
ACE Bristol also provides free holiday camps within the community and has collaborated with Bristol City Council to deliver an annual HAF programme targeting children on Free School Meals, which supports the Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation’s purpose of improving lives through the power of cricket.
Unique to the ACE Programme is their Academy, designed to support African and Caribbean players to thrive in cricket, offering trials for eligible players to join, develop their skills in a talent setting and build their confidence within the game.
ACE Academy Bristol
The ACE Academy is the elite pillar of the ACE Programme, which in Bristol is supported by the Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, where talent is nurtured after it has been identified. The ACE Academy in Bristol consists of players aged between 9 to 23, predominantly of African Caribbean heritage, who have the ambition of being professional cricketers, which has assisted the integration of the Gloucestershire County Age Group Pathway with participants from an African Caribbean background.
In Bristol, this has taken the shape of talented players training at the Bristol Cricket Centre at the Seat Unique Stadium, having access to top-of-the-line equipment such as the Merlyn and Trueman bowling machines from Bola. At present, there are 12 scholars involved in County Age Group programmes from the ACE Academy Bristol, with the ambition to increase that number every year.
ACE have 7 Academies across the UK, which provide the core for selection into ACE’s playing XI. Each of these Academies provides a strong foundation for selecting teams all over the country. With over 50 showcase fixtures planned for the 2026 season, every location is critical for the success of the programme.
What have we been up to in Bristol this winter?
This winter, ACE scholars started training in October. Outside of the normal breaks in the school calendar, their skills are being developed on a weekly basis. The ACE scholars have trained at two different facilities this year; E- ACT MA Sport and Fitness in South Bristol and 22 Yards Cricket Centre in Gloucester.
Cameron Jeffers, ACE Development Officer for Bristol said:
“This winter has been extremely productive, and I’m very pleased with the progress we’ve made. Due to facility availability, we’ve trained at two different venues throughout the year. I’d like to sincerely thank our parents and scholars for their flexibility and patience during these transitions.
Training at different facilities has been a valuable experience for our players. Each venue offers unique bounce and movement characteristics, challenging the group to adapt to varying conditions. The way the players have consistently risen to — and often exceeded — expectations in these different environments is a real credit to their growth and development.
We’ve continued to take a player-centred approach in everything we do, ensuring everyone is supported to play their game to the best of their ability. Through regular video analysis, players have also developed a deeper understanding of their strengths and areas for improvement. As a result, every session has been purposeful, with clear, player-driven outcomes supported by our coaching team.”
A bit of sunshine in a very rainy February!
Over the February half-term, two of our players represented their county on the other side of the world! Max Edmund, a young left-arm seamer and middle-lower order batter in our program, has recently concluded a tour to Sri Lanka with the Wiltshire U15’s squad.
Max, who’s been with us for 3 years, recounts his experience:
“The tour to Sri Lanka with Wiltshire was an amazing experience and something I’ll never forget. Playing in foreign conditions challenged me a lot, especially in the heat. Throughout the tour I felt like my bowling improved, and I was proud to take 7 wickets across the matches. One of the best moments was captaining the side in the final game and finishing the tour with a strong win.
“Off the field, visiting schools through the Pranav Foundation was just as important. We donated cricket kit to three underprivileged schools and seeing how much it meant to the students felt rewarding and grateful, it also made me realise how lucky I am with the resources and facilities around me. It showed how much cricket can unite people all around the world.”
Our second scholar, Karthika Reddy, has just returned from a tour of Dubai with the Gloucestershire U18’s squad. Karthika is an off-spinner who can also score some handy runs in the middle/lower order.
Karthika, has been part of the ACE programme for two years:
“Our cricket tour to Dubai was a massive step up and offered me my first experience of being fully immersed in cricket. Emirates Cricket U19s and Academy teams were a quality opposition, and a huge highlight for us was playing under lights.
“There’s a special kind of pressure and excitement that comes with a day/nighter that you just don’t get back home. We rotated through a demanding mix of 50 and 20-over fixtures, but the tour was well paced, and we had a good time to recover. From some very short beach volleyball rallies to hunting down Dubai chocolate, the downtime was just as important as the cricket for keeping the energy up.
“Personally, the volume of batting against spin was exactly what I needed to test my technique on slower decks. I also spent a lot of time working one-on-one with Jon and Gaz, which really helped my bowling rhythm. By the end of the trip, I felt I’d finally locked in a consistent pre-match routine, which has definitely made me a more composed player.”
Now that winter training has concluded, keep up to date with us throughout the season on social media. We will be travelling around the country, applying our skills and enjoying our cricket.
