First Change Ashford Hubs play friendly match

Kent Cricket Community Trust run two First Change programmes in Ashford. The teams competed in a nail-biting, friendly match on Wednesday 13 March 2024. As the Ashford Hubs are two of the Trust’s most wildly attended programmes, it was a great opportunity to get the young people to test their skills. Millbank, a Refugee and Asylum seeking Reception centre, donned the blue First Change shirts to represent their centre. While Ashford College’s ESOL team sported Trust endorsed white shirts.

With a sense of pride in their teams, the young people were eager to get the game started. Ashford College won the coin toss and chose to bat first. They were particularly keen to test their batting skills against Millbank’s fast bowlers. Ashford College posted a respectable 38 runs with a loss of 8 wickets.

In reply, Ashford College put some of their best bowlers forward. And with some excellent acrobatic fielding, Millbank had their work cut out for them. However, in the end Millbank managed a win by 1 wicket with an over to spare.

The match was a wonderful opportunity for the young people to reconnect with old friends from the centre, make new ones and show off their impressive skills. Although fiercely competitive with each other, the teams shook hands and enjoyed dates and oranges together after the match.

A big thank you to the coaches who made the day possible. Thomas Waters, who coaches both groups, umpired the game extremely well. While Matt Fagg acted as our judicious scorer. We are looking forward to more matches in the future, especially as the sessions move outdoors for the summer.