Keeping Doors Open: The Story of KCF’s City Cup Squad

Kent Cricket Foundation’s City Cup marked its first season with a perfect record, winning all four matches against Cricket East, Middlesex, Essex and Surrey to close out the campaign unbeaten.

The programme was launched in Kent this year, after running successfully in other parts of the country, to address a well known issue in the game: players aged 16 to 25 falling out of cricket at a stage when dedicated coaching and development opportunities can be harder to come by. Many end up training alongside adult sides, while others face barriers around cost, confidence, or simply not knowing where an opportunity like this exists.

“Clubs don’t always have the capacity for dedicated training at that age, so players often end up training with the adults,” said Prashant Sinai, who leads the programme. “Many had lost hope, having been told too often that if you’re not in a county academy by 18, your chances are over. When that hope runs out, we don’t just lose a player, we lose a future coach, a grounds person, someone’s reason to stay in the game.”

The Foundation’s South East London Manager, Christian Rice, who oversees participation and engagement, has been working to connect with communities outside traditional cricket structures across South East London: “We wanted to bring the City Cup to Kent because we have a wide range of communities and leagues playing here with huge talent on offer, and we wanted to try and showcase this talent that otherwise might slip through the net”.

Assessment sessions were run, and a squad of 25 was selected on character as much as ability, with training beginning in July at Catford Wanderers CC. Kent Cricket supported the project with official kit for the squad throughout the season.

“It was the character of the group,” said Brian Berthoud, a Level 3 coach who joined the programme in its early days. “There was ability, but more importantly, they wanted to learn, improve and back each other. Our job was to create an environment where they felt trusted enough to take risks, make mistakes and express themselves.”

Of the players, Ishayu Nath was ever present, regularly among the players who stayed behind after sessions finished. He joined the programme looking to be pushed.

“My main motivation was development as a cricketer, a chance to surround myself with and compete against players that would need me to be better than what I am,” he said.

Omari Lowers Jones, named captain after standing out from the very first trials, was a driving force both on and off the field. Against Middlesex, with the opposition cruising at 39 without loss, his decision to bring part time off spinner Bradley Kingston into the attack alongside leg spinner Noah Youngs turned the game, reducing Middlesex to 51 for 8.

“This City Cup season has equipped me with a confidence I will carry throughout my cricketing journey, and has given me memories I’ll hold long after I stop playing,” Lowers Jones said. “There aren’t many opportunities outside of county cricket that offer quality coaching and games after the age of 16. Having these visible initiatives opens doors for individuals who may think their cricketing days are over.”

There were standout individual performances throughout the season. Abhishek Rathod steadied the innings against Middlesex after a top order collapse to 95 for 8, guiding the side to 168 for 8 with support from Zakirullah Oriakhil.

In the final against Surrey, Aayush Aiyar backed up an earlier half century against Essex with a century, while Umair Baqar, usually the side’s strike bowler and rarely required to bat, was promoted to No. 4 at half time and responded with a fifty, including a scoop for four off Surrey’s opening bowler.

Beyond the results, the programme has already begun creating pathways for its players. A number of the squad’s older players will return next season as mentors while quite a few others have signed up to coaching courses. One player has been asked to register for a trial tournament with a European national team, and others are heading to university or club cricket having made significant progress over the summer. In one of the more unexpected outcomes, Rathod has been selected to join filming for a big budget Bollywood cricket biopic!

The Foundation will look to build on the City Cup’s first season in 2027, continuing its work to keep young players in the game at exactly the stage many are at risk of leaving it.

If you are interested in the 2027 programme, contact prashant.sinai@kentcricket.co.uk or register your interest on this form.