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The ACE Programme, which was born at Surrey CCC in 2019, has now achieved its vision to become a fully national programme.

Initially setup within the Club, ACE was spun out into an independent charity in 2020 following funding of £540,000 from Sport England.

After originally setting up programmes in south London, ACE expanded to Bristol and Birmingham in 2021 and has already engaged over 6,000 young cricketers.

A fresh tranche of significant investment from the England and Wales Cricket Board has now enabled the programme to expand to Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Lancashire and Middlesex – meaning ACE will be active in Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Manchester and across north London.

The funding also enables the charity to employ a National Programmes Manager, who will focus on supporting the ACE teams delivering regular sessions across the country.

Since 2019, as well as working with 6,000 young cricketers across south London, Bristol and Birmingham, ACE has handed out over 200 trials, which have led to a total of 109 scholarships for talented young players in the ACE National Academy.

The new programmes will enable ACE to work with tens of thousands more children, identifying further talent and expanding the opportunities available within those cities.

Ebony Rainford-Brent MBE, Chair of ACE and Executive Director of the Culture and Values Board at Surrey CCC said: “Being able to take this programme national is a truly special day. I’m so grateful to Surrey’s early vision and investment, without which we would not be here today.

“At this significant moment I wanted to take the time to recognise the immense contribution of our Director of Programmes, Chevy Green [pictured above], who has been here since day one. He has taken all his experience from seven years at the Surrey Cricket Foundation and used it to play a game changing role with ACE.

“Cricket is in a transitional phase, and we are excited for ACE to continue to play an important role as the game progresses.”