Ashes-winning England captain Michael Vaughan dropped in at Cestria Primary School in Chester-le-Street on Thursday 21 June to have a ‘proper celebration’ of cricket with schoolchildren.
Vaughan was supporting children’s charity Chance to Shine during ‘Yorkshire Tea National Cricket Week’ ahead of the England v Australia One-Day International at Emirates Riverside. He took part in an MCC Spirit of Cricket school assembly where children learned good sportsmanship and the importance of playing hard, but playing fair.
After the assembly, Chance to Shine coaches from Durham Cricket Board ran skills sessions for cricket-mad children, aided by the ex-England skipper.
Speaking at the event, Vaughan said: “What a morning we’ve had with the pupils at Cestria Primary. Yorkshire Tea National Cricket Week is an invaluable opportunity for schools and communities to celebrate cricket. I’ve loved being a part of the coaching today seeing the incredible work of Chance to Shine in action and meeting some very promising young cricketers.”
Fern, 10, was bowled over by the visit saying: “It was so inspirational to have someone who has played for England and has won the Ashes coming to our school. I’ll remember this day for a long time.”
Her brother, Toby, 9, was equally impressed explaining: “We love playing cricket in the back garden with our dad and it’s been unbelievable to have Michael Vaughan here in our playground. My dad’s going to be so jealous!”
One lucky Cestria Primary school pupil, Harry Simpson, was selected to be the official England mascot for the Fourth Royal London One-Day International at Emirates Riverside, helping with the coin toss between captains and meeting all the England team before the match. He even did a commentary stint on Sky Sports after presenter Nasser Hussain gave up his seat for him. Harry, 7, said: “It’s the best day of my life!”
It is the fifth year that Yorkshire Tea and Chance to Shine have partnered on National Cricket Week, bringing cricket-themed activities in playgrounds and classrooms to thousands of schools.
This year, Chance to Shine is working in over 4,000 state schools across England and Wales and will give 400,000 girls and boys the opportunity to play and learn through cricket. This summer, donations to Chance to Shine will be doubled by supporter Adrian Beecroft. Find out more and donate at chanetoshine.org