ATEEQ JAVID – Q&A

Former Warwickshire CCC all-rounder Ateeq Javid is currently celebrating continued cricketing success in the Birmingham Premier League. Behind his ongoing achievements on the cricket pitch, Ateeq invests a great deal of his time developing young cricketers in inner city Birmingham, particularly in his own neighbourhood of Aston. Ateeq has a longstanding relationship with the Warwickshire Cricket Board, and we caught up with him for a Q&A session to discuss some of the interesting community projects he is working on at present.

I turned professional at 16, and I was always keen to support Ed, Eaton and their WCB colleagues in their community work. That was a big thing for me, and I would always put my hand up if they were asking for players to come to events or present trophies to youngsters.

Honestly, there is no better feeling in the world for me than when I put on that Warwickshire shirt. I feel so grateful and so proud to have had that experience. I worked hard from a young age and used to walk an hour and a half to Edgbaston for training sessions, but I always believed that if I was willing to put in the effort then the rewards would come.

I want to coach and inspire more children from my area of Birmingham to make the same journey I made. I am involved in a number of projects with this aim. I have had a lot of advice from Ed and Eaton. We discussed ideas and I wouldn’t have been able to do what I am doing now without their support.

What community projects are you involved with at the moment?

I have been working with the WCB and KES Foundation recently to help with a programme aimed at providing greater access for young people to cricket facilities in the city centre. I was involved with projects in Camp Hill and Trinity Road in Aston.

There were a number of us, including the former KES Head John Claughton, with a similar mindset of getting more cricket played in the centre of Birmingham.

I am also running my own academy sessions in Aston and surrounding areas to encourage young cricketers. My first aim is for them to have fun and enjoy the sessions. My second aim is for them to learn how to work hard at their cricket, stick at it and for them to see the benefits this will bring. I want to encourage them to develop themselves outside their cricket sessions, for example to practise skills at home, lead a healthy lifestyle, to eat well and sleep well.

When I was younger, my own focus on cricket gave me something positive to do, instead of getting into bad habits and trouble. I made mistakes, everyone does, but I have learnt from them and learnt the importance of having good people around me. I want the youngsters coming through to feel they have something to do, somewhere to go and someone to guide them. I can already see that for some of them these projects have changed their way of thinking and given them hope.

In lockdown I was thinking that although I am still young enough to play at a high level, what can I do to help those coming through to develop? I see the passion for cricket in the parks and in communities, and I want to be involved in building something lasting.

How do you see your community work developing?

I would like to be involved in creating a clear pathway for children in my community, from areas like Aston, to develop their cricket and eventually play for Warwickshire. In my mind, the pathway would look like this;

• Establishing somewhere for young cricketers to be able to play cricket after school,
• Access to a club environment where they are supported,
• Access to gym and fitness facilities,
• The ability to experience different environments, such as being able to see the Warwickshire players training, or a trip to visit an academy elsewhere in the UK or even overseas.

Obviously, with some of this I am jumping ahead of myself already, but the first thing is to get some local structures in place for over the winter when we can’t train outdoors. I am constantly asking myself, “What do I need to put in place to make that pathway? How can we upskill these young people? How can we develop their communication skills, give them energy, passion and confidence?”. I want other children from my area of Birmingham to have the same opportunities that I have had.

With the right support, every child has got the capability to make it, but as the coach you have to find the best way of getting them to work to a good level. Part of this is giving young cricketers broader experience and exposure to different environments. Recently, I have been taking some of my academy cricketers from Birmingham to Hampton & Solihull CC for training so they can experience training and playing in a different environment. The children who have had this experience have really enjoyed it and benefited from it. Their parents can also see the benefits as they are also studying better now as well.

I have been very fortunate to have a lot of support from the cricket community. Paul Farbrace has been supportive of my work with some of the talented local cricketers and Ian Bell provided trainers for my academy players. We also had some sponsorship from Beaners for shorts and bags. And of course, the ongoing advice and support from Ed McCabe and the WCB has been great. I have been very lucky to have a number of heroes in my life, but Ed is definitely up there as one of them.

A conversation with Ateeq Javid is a very uplifting experience. He has the energy, passion and commitment to make a difference to the cricketing landscape in Birmingham. The WCB has been part of Ateeq’s journey, from even before he scored that first century in age group cricket. We are looking forward to continuing working with him to support all young cricketers in his community, and to help develop the next WCCC cricketer from Aston. Ed might even come out from behind the sight screen to watch their first century!