On the 25th of October 2016, I got to meet my super heroes in the field. Excitement kept me awake the whole night before. The whole England and Bangladesh team! Meeting the players was a dream come true. Also meeting Joe Root, my favourite batsman was unbelievable. I couldn’t believe my eyes when we meet our heroes, the Bangladesh cricket team, who carry the hopes of 160 million behind them. To be honest, my highlight of the day was when Alaister Cook received his prize and while he was walking off, he fist bumped into me. I was barely able to stand after that. Couple of days later we went to watch the test match between Bangladesh and England. It was absolutely fantastic. There were ups and down in the whole game. Bangladesh looked in a strong position but it didn't end well. That is the game of cricket. It is unpredictable. Cheering for your home team was great. This whole experience was really amazing for me and these few moments I will always cherish till my last breath,” said Samsad Murtoza, grade- 9, DPS STS School.
Ten students from the DPS STS School attended the two-week Summer School Cricket Programme in the UK where they had many memorable experiences of watching a live T20 Match at Sussex, visiting Lords and Oval cricket field. The students had 25 cricket master classes where they got an English coach to train them and give lessons on cricket. They had the chance to play a match with Sutton Cricket Club as well.
Following this Summer School Cricket programme, there were five students who were invited to the reception event for the English Cricket team at the British High Commission on 25 October 2016. The dinner hosted by Her Excellency Alison Blake in the honour of English and Bangladeshi teams was indeed a great honour for the children who attended the party. Jim Scarth, Deputy Director, British Council along with the High Commissioner were delighted to have these children around and to get them introduced to all the English players and senior officials of the British High Commission. Gathey Batty, the famous and senior English player also spent a very good time with these children along with their coordinator Samira Farhat Amin and was very enthusiastic to know every detail of the Summer School Cricket programme by Oxford International Education Group. He invited all ten students of Summer School Cricket Programme to watch the next test match between England and Bangladesh at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on the next day.
The invited children also met with their heroes from the Bangladesh Cricket Team. They were all over the moon having seen so many world class players in front of them at a time and taking photographs, shaking hands and exchanging words. Cricketers from both the national teams were very generous with their time with these young students and these cricketers also had a great time with these enthusiastic and potential young cricketers The players of the both the teams were very courteous towards all of them and they mingled in a way with the children as if they knew them from before.
The members of the Cricket board and officials also came to know about this new initiative and the Summer School Cricket Programme that Oxford International Education Group arranged in Horsham, UK last summer. Talking about watching a test match live and getting waves from the field from the English players made the day of these children. Hanif Bhuiyan, Chairman, Grounds and Facility provided his own official suite to the children. According to the students, these surreal experiences which they experienced because of the British Council and British High Commission is priceless. "On the 25th of October 2016, I got to meet my super heroes in the field. Excitement kept me awake the whole night before. The whole England and Bangladesh team! Meeting the players was a dream come true. Also meeting Joe Root, my favourite batsman was unbelievable. I couldn’t believe my eyes when we met our heroes, the Bangladesh cricket team, who carry the hopes of 160 million behind them. To be honest, my highlight of the day was when Alaister Cook received his prize and while he was walking off, he fist bumped into me. I was barely able to stand after that. A couple of days later we went to watch the test match between Bangladesh and England. It was absolutely fantastic. There were ups and down in the whole game. Bangladesh looked to be in a strong position but it didn't end well. That is the game of cricket. It is unpredictable. Cheering for your home team was great. This whole experience was really amazing for me and these are few rare moments that I will always cherish till my last breath,” said Samsad Murtoza who studies in grade-9 of DPS STS School.
The coordinator of this Summer School Cricket Programme showed her extreme gratitude to the British Council and the British High Commission for giving them such an opportunity which they can only cherish in the days to come.