A YOUNG CRICKET STAR is hoping to raise funds for the trip of a lifetime. Wrexham youngster, James Claybrook has been picked as part of the English Cricket Board's 16-man West of England squad, and will tour some of the Caribbean’s most famous cricketing hotspots – if he can drum up enough cash to make the journey.
The trip to the Caribbean is for sixteen of Britain’s finest young cricketers and will cost £32,000. Each person, therefore, needs to raise £2000 to make his dream come true, and progress to the next phase of his development as a potential first class player of the future.
Dad, Peter, himself a keen cricketer said James, who now plays for Brymbo, started playing at an early age,
“He started playing cricket when he was about 4 years old, he was picked for the Welsh under 11’s, as an all-rounder. He played in the national festival at Loughborough and was playing cricket with the fifty best boys in the country – it was his performance there that won him selection for the ECB tour”
As part of the Caribbean tour James will visit Trinidad, Guyana, and Barbados in the space of eighteen days on a trip his father describes as the ‘opportunity of a lifetime’. James was selected as opening Batsman for England but is also a skilled bowler.
Peter Claybrook said the selection by the English Cricket Board has followed years of hard work, “Obviously we’re very happy for him, it’s a great opportunity and has come out of years of hard work and effort.”
Peter also feels that North Wales is now starting to be recognised for producing talented young cricketers “It is standing out now, and people are starting to take notice of us really.”
The dream trip to the Caribbean is however, dependent upon James getting sponsorship, and his father is making an appeal for support, “The total cost of the trip is £32,000 and each individual player will need to raise £2000 of that. We have got fundraising events lined up but we would also appeal to local businesses to help with donations or sponsorship”
The trip to the Caribbean is for sixteen of Britain’s finest young cricketers and will cost £32,000. Each person, therefore, needs to raise £2000 to make his dream come true, and progress to the next phase of his development as a potential first class player of the future.
Dad, Peter, himself a keen cricketer said James, who now plays for Brymbo, started playing at an early age,
“He started playing cricket when he was about 4 years old, he was picked for the Welsh under 11’s, as an all-rounder. He played in the national festival at Loughborough and was playing cricket with the fifty best boys in the country – it was his performance there that won him selection for the ECB tour”
As part of the Caribbean tour James will visit Trinidad, Guyana, and Barbados in the space of eighteen days on a trip his father describes as the ‘opportunity of a lifetime’. James was selected as opening Batsman for England but is also a skilled bowler.
Peter Claybrook said the selection by the English Cricket Board has followed years of hard work, “Obviously we’re very happy for him, it’s a great opportunity and has come out of years of hard work and effort.”
Peter also feels that North Wales is now starting to be recognised for producing talented young cricketers “It is standing out now, and people are starting to take notice of us really.”
The dream trip to the Caribbean is however, dependent upon James getting sponsorship, and his father is making an appeal for support, “The total cost of the trip is £32,000 and each individual player will need to raise £2000 of that. We have got fundraising events lined up but we would also appeal to local businesses to help with donations or sponsorship”
A fundraising night at Brymbo Sports and Social Club has been arranged on Friday, February 8th and tickets are available from the Social Club.
Anyone wishing to sponsor James directly can contact Peter Claybrook on 0797******.
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Comment – Cricket Story
One of the Wrexham Evening Leader’s sister papers is the Flintshire Evening Leader. Its chief reporter, Steve Graves, wrote an article about a Flintshire boy who had been selected to tour the Caribbean by the English Cricket Board, and now needed to raise sponsorship money.
There was also a boy from Wrexham who had been selected – James Claybrook – and I was given the task of contacting the boy’s father and producing a similar article but with the Wrexham angle. Mr Claybrook proved initially difficult to contact and so once again I had to begin to write the story without the quotes. The Editor was keen to have this story for a page three as there was a good picture of James being awarded his first England cap. I left a number of messages on Mr Claybrook’s mobile and eventually he called the office. I wanted to differentiate the article in the Wrexham paper from the one in the Flintshire Evening Leader so I tried to ask some different questions. I focussed on the boy’s interest in cricket - when it had started and how he had got himself selected.
The angle of the story was that the boy had been chosen for this amazing trip but might miss out if he didn’t raise the money. It was basically a call for sponsorship for a local boy done good.
Though I attempted to approach the story from a different angle I found that I was limited on an item like this. I wanted to emphasise the family’s happiness at James’ success and their pride, but ultimately the purpose of the article was to help raise the profile of the fundraising campaign.
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