The first time Cole Pearce came to Lynnfield school in Hartlepool, the children didn’t know who he was or what he wanted. Pearce was carrying a bag crammed with plastic stumps and bats, and when the kids saw it one asked if Pearce was going to teach them tennis.
Lynnfield is close by Victoria Park, home of the town’s football team, and if the kids there played anything at all then that was the sport. Pearce is a wicketkeeper himself, and a good one. He played for Durham’s second XI, came through their academy with Ben Stokes. But he didn’t mention it. There was no point. Most of the children didn’t even recognise a cricket bat, let alone know who used them.
Related: Street Elite uses neets to take sport from stadiums to estates
Continue reading...