The Lord’s Taverners is the UK’s leading youth cricket and disability sports charity whose objective is to give disadvantaged and disabled young people a sporting chance.
Our mission is to enhance the lives if disadvantaged and disabled young people through sport and recreation.
Our programmes support some of the most marginalised and at risk young people in the UK. We create a range of opportunities for young people from deprived areas and those with disabilities to engage in sport and recreational activities in their local communities.
For more information about the Lord’s Taverners, please visit www.lordstaverners.org
CWC LUNCH 2018
CWC LUNCH 2019
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MEMORIES OF HOSTING PRINCE PHILIP
Following the sad news of the death of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the Cricket Writers' Club recalls the occasion in 1948, when His Royal Highness was special guest at a CWC Dinner with the touring Australian team. According to a history of the CWC written by Alex Bannister (Chair 1960), "the first speeches given by Lord Birkett, the eminent advocate and Don Bradman were broadcast by the BBC and were so captivating that the 9 O'Clock News was delayed." Footage from the dinner via British Pathe is below. READ MORE
CWC STATEMENT ON REPORTERS' NETWORK
Following ECB cut-backs to coverage of domestic cricket, and the governing body's confirmation of plans for the2021 Reporters’ Network so far, CWC has issued the following statement: READ MORE
CWC URGES ECB & COUNTIES TO CO-FUND
Following CWC’s Open Letter of 11th March, the Cricket Writers’ Club has received detailed testimonies stating that a huge drop off in coverage is to be expected as a result of cuts to the ECB Reporters’ Network – the body of reporters who provide the nation’s media outlets with reliable agency-style reports on men’s and women’s domestic cricket. Feedback has been received from an array of cricket specific and general sports media outlets who use the reports, including leading websites, national radio networks, and more than 40 regional titles who wish to retain the level of coverage provided previously. The cuts will result in reduced wordage, no features, minimum quotes, and many games not having a reporter present at all. The following report has been shared with ECB and County Chief Executives. READ MORE.
MARTIN JOHNSON TRIBUTE - by Mike Selvey
He slipped away gently in his sleep on Saturday morning in a beautiful hospice with his family visiting in turns, which is the least he deserved after a year of excruciating, debilitating suffering from inoperable and, because of the delay in proper diagnosis, untreatable cancer of the jaw. His frequent trips (outings to him) to hospitals in Cheltenham, Gloucester and Worcester for tests or to have a stomach tube reinserted, say, earned him loyalty cards. Given his other underlying health issues which included a moderate stroke and emphysema (but not, he noted, obesity given that he hadn’t eaten solid food for a year, had been fed through a stomach tube for much of the time and was skeletal) he thought it a triumph he hadn’t completed his ailment bingo card with covid. By the end, he was, he said, pretty pissed off with it all. He had had enough. READ MORE
CUTS TO DOMESTIC CRICKET COVERAGE
The Cricket Writers' Club has written an open letter to all users and beneficiaries of the ECB Reporters' Network, detailing serious concerns about the cuts the ECB is making to coverage of men's and women's domestic coverage for 2021. The ECB Reporters' Network is the body of journalists engaged by ECB to provide the written-word match reports and features that are read by supporters in their local and regional newspapers, digital/non-digital magazines and websites, including BBC Sport, The Cricketer, Wisden Cricket Monthly and Cricinfo. CWC believes an estimated 70% of coverage will be cut, and reporters will often be expected to write reports on matches they aren’t at. CWC is urging the game to collaborate to find a financial solution, enabling every men’s and women’s professional game to have an eye-witness reporter present throughout the season. READ MORE
ALAN HILL TRIBUTE - by Anthony Bradbury
Alan Hill, born in Yorkshire in 1928, had a lifelong love of cricket and cricketers. That lifetime extended into his own nineties until he died on 5 February this year. His much loved wife, Betty, with whom he had enjoyed sixty years of marriage had died a few days earlier on 29 January. Alan and Betty had no children and were totally devoted to each other. It is fitting that they should pass away within a few days of one another. READ MORE
COMMITMENT TO TOURING
The Cricket Writers' Club remains committed to ensuring members can tour to cover international cricket on site whenever possible. However, the impact of the ongoing pandemic means the BCCI are not allowing on-site access to any media, local or international, during the upcoming England men’s tour of India, except for the host TV broadcaster. This is the same policy as was employed for the IPL. READ MORE
NO MEDIA IN SRI LANKA
The Cricket Writers’ Club regrets that it is not possible for travelling media to cover the upcoming England men’s tour to Sri Lanka due to the global pandemic. CWC regards the presence of reporters on the ground to provide eye-witness accounts to be a fundamental tenet of first hand, accurate, journalism. READ MORE
CWC PLAYER AWARDS
England batsmen past and present, and a world number one spinner were among the winners of the 2020 Cricket Writers' Club player awards, with Zak Crawley taking the CWC NV Play Young Cricketer of the Year Award after a breakthrough international campaign, and Sir Alastair Cook the CWC Championship Player of the Year, in association with William Hill, which in a Covid-19 truncated season reflected performances in the Bob Willis Trophy. Left arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone won the CWC Women's Cricket Award after becoming the number one T20 bowler in the world rankings. Dan Bowser of the England Learning Disability squad was named the Lord's Taverners Disability Cricketer of the Year after starring in a series whitewash of Australia.READ MORE