Young cricket coach says award was 'great surprise'

An Oxfordshire cricket coach who has received an award for his work said he loves giving young people the same experiences he had growing up.

Ben Cross, 22, has been coaching at Banbury Cricket Club since he was 15.

Last month he was awarded young cricket coach of the year for Oxfordshire by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

Mr Cross, who has been playing the sport since he was eight, said the accolade had taken him "by great surprise" and he was "very grateful" for the nomination.

"My dad was my coach growing up, he was the one who got me first into cricket," he said.

"I moved over to Banbury Cricket Club when I was 15 and they were running a summer camp.

"I volunteered to help out coaching and since that day. I've never looked back".

Last summer, he coached the under 15s team and they managed to make it to the Oxfordshire finals day.

He said: "That was my first time coaching a proper team before that I'd only done individual coaching, but last year that was a massive success.

"I wasn't originally set out to coach that year, it so happened that one of the under 15s coaches had to go to surgery.

"He asked me if I wanted to take his place and the smile on my face when he asked me - I don't think I've ever smiled as much in my life.

"I'm very thankful still to this day for that coming about."

He was recognised by the ECB annual Cricket Collective Awards, which celebrate volunteers "at the heart of recreational cricket".

Mr Cross said he wanted to continue building on the confidence he had gained and "pushing my team along in their confidence as well".

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