Beyond Boundaries HOWZAT Govanhill
Mum of young cricket player reveals her life has been transformed by community cricket projects
A mum has told how her 11-year-old daughter’s life has changed for the better since becoming involved in a series of cricket initiatives in her local community.
Chloe Hughes, of Govanhill, Glasgow, started her journey into the sport in 2021 when she began attending weekly Cricket Scotland Wicketz training sessions, funded by Lord’s Taverners, at Toryglen Regional Football Centre when she was just eight years old.
Following this she took part in an eight-week summer HOWZAT! programme in 2023, funded by Scottish cricket charity Beyond Boundaries, which aims to support disadvantaged communities by providing free tailored cricket-based activities to get youngsters physical activity and help their mental health and social inclusion.
Mum Claire, 50, told how becoming involved in the different programmes has had a ‘huge impact on Chloe’s life’, following a difficult childhood.
Claire said:
“The thing with Chloe is our family went through quite a bit when she was younger. Her stepbrother, Steven passed away at the age of 26 when Chloe was just two. Then her grandparents, Moira and Charlie Hughes, who Chloe had a really close relationship with, also passed within a year or so of each other when she was around five or six.
You think kids are resilient to a lot of things when you’re going through your own grief, and you forget they’re going through it at the same time.
Chloe experienced some personality issues around this time, so in cricket she found a positive outlet to express her grief. It has really brought Chloe on, giving her a focus and has been a positive thing for her health and wellbeing and her fitness levels.”
The HOWZAT! programme is funded by Beyond Boundaries and delivered by Cricket Scotland, with this partnership recently recognised with a global award by cricket’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), for how it supports young disadvantaged and underrepresented people across the country.
As well as taking part in the Wicketz weekly sessions and HOWZAT! programme, Chloe has also started competing in festivals and tournaments.
Claire added:
“There isn’t much out there in terms of youth clubs in this area, so Chloe really looks forward to taking part in these clubs at the weekend. Keeping her active, making friends, it’s been a really good thing for her.
When she’s not doing the training or tournaments, she’s down at the local park playing cricket with friends, so it’s helped her be active and sociable outside of the clubs as well.
The coach is really good with the children and takes a lot of interest in them. All the kids meet up and go to the clubs together.
Chloe isn’t a girlie girl - she’s a bit of a tomboy and I’ve always said that not all girls should be forced into dancing and ballet.
When she comes home from her cricket, she tells us all about it and if the team won and who was there and talks about her friends. She has a real sense of achievement within herself.”
Keith Wilson, Chair of Beyond Boundaries, said:
“It gives us great pleasure to hear the enjoyment and positive impact Chloe has experienced from all the cricket activities she is taking part in.
The work of our charity focuses on encouraging an active lifestyle, improving mental health, social inclusion and self-confidence, so Chloe’s experience is exactly what we are striving to achieve.
Securing extra funding is key to making initiatives such as HOWZAT! possible longer term, and we want to continue to increase the number of young, disadvantaged and underrepresented people in Scotland who can benefit from the programmes that we fund.”
Zain Muhammad, Cricket Scotland’s Wicketz Development Officer for Glasgow, said:
“It’s great to see how well Chloe has progressed. She has a natural talent and is a hard worker. She’s often the only girl taking part in tournaments with kids up to 15 and 16 years old, which takes real courage.
There’s a lack of sporting opportunities in the area, especially for girls, so it’s hard to go out and explore new things. By joining our programmes, Chloe’s been able to make new friends, developing a real sense of belonging as well as building her confidence and independence.
It makes me proud to see how much she’s developed. She’s even been asking about getting involved in volunteering opportunities so she can give back to the community.”
Chloe is going into Primary 7 at Cuthbertson Primary School in Govanhill. She lives at home with mum Claire, dad Chic, 63, and older sisters Paige (30) and Neve (21).
Beyond Boundaries’ HOWZAT! programme, which is delivered by Cricket Scotland, has been running in three deprived areas of Glasgow – Govanhill, Springburn and Pollokshields – since 2021, before being rolled out to Craigroyston, Liberton and Leith in Edinburgh in 2024.
Beyond Boundaries funds programmes that use cricket to transform the lives of young, disadvantaged and underrepresented people across the country. Its work includes supporting cricket clubs in Scotland to open their gates and deliver cricket opportunities tailored to those with disabilities and expanding cricket programmes into some of the most deprived areas in Scotland.
The charity also funds programmes to train female cricket coaches to grow the women’s game, as well as providing accessible, social, cricket-based activities for girls, with a focus on participation and fun.
For more information, please contact:
Roanna Katz:
Roanna.katz@bigpartnership.co.uk / 07846 786 265
Ben Archibald:
Ben.archibald@bigpartnership.co.uk / 07525 814 006