England Stars in Nomination List
Several England internationals are included on the shortlist for the first Talk Home Mobile Asian Cricket Awards (ACA), which will be presented at Lord’s Cricket Ground at a gala evening on Tuesday 7th October. Players from international level down to the vibrant amateur game, up-andcoming youngsters, coaches, media, club staff and unsung heroes will be celebrated at the awards.
Cricket has long been an obsession for British Asians, and that huge interest will be reflected by an audience of more than 500 at the home of cricket next month to find out who will pick up the honours. Among those nominated for the prestigious Talk Home Mobile ACA 2014 player of the year award are England internationals Moeen Ali, of Worcestershire, Essex’s Ravi Bopara and Adil Rashid of Yorkshire.
Warwickshire’s outstanding batsman Varun Chopra also makes the shortlist. A former England star, Isa Guha, is one of three nominees for the Media award, while there is also recognition for Woman in Cricket, Young Player of the Year, Grassroots, Amateur Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Behind the Scenes and British Asian Team of the Year. 
Awards co-founder Baljit Rihal, of Inventive Sports, said: “To host the inaugural Talk Home Mobile Asian Cricket Awards at Lord’s is an absolute honour. I can see no better setting to celebrate the achievements of British Asians in the game.
“The support we have received from The England and Wales Cricket Board and The Club Cricket Conference in putting together this event has been tremendous – it’s a real statement of intent from the cricket authorities to show their commitment to the British Asian community.
“Our hope is that the awards will become a momentous event in the awareness and development of British Asians in the game. The event will be a great opportunity to bring together decision makers and people who we expect to make an impact in cricket.
“We have worked extremely hard to introduce an event that is the first of its kind in the UK. Our philosophy is to promote cohesion amongst the Asian cricket community whilst also celebrating the diversity of our country.”
Statistics gathered by the England and Wales Cricket Board’s Inclusion & Diversity team show that South Asian adults are six times more likely than white adults to be involved in cricket.
The Talk Home Mobile Asian Cricket Awards aim to improve awareness of the positive impact made by Asians within the British cricket industry and to engage with organisations and individuals to help increase participation.
“The Asian Cricket Awards looks set to be an outstanding celebration of Asian excellence in cricket,” said co-founder Jas Jassal BEM. “We’ve had some inspiring nominations, reflecting the valuable contributions made.
“There is no doubting the level of talent among British Asians, from grassroots to the professional game.”
The judging panel for the Awards includes former England captain Mike Gatting OBE, the Rt Hon. the Baroness Warsi, ex-England player Min Patel and Wisden editor Scyld Berry.
2014 JUDGING PANEL & AWARD CATEGORIES
The judging panel for the 2014 Talk Home Mobile Asian Cricket Awards at
Lord’s Cricket Ground of Tuesday 7th October 2014 is:
The Rt Hon. the Baroness Warsi (former senior minister of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs)
John Barclay (former president of the Marylebone Cricket Club)
Tony Matharu (chief executive officer of Grange Hotels)
Min Patel (former England cricketer)
Mike Gatting OBE (former England cricket captain and managing director of the England & Wales Cricket Board’s cricket partnerships)
Anjum Layla Illamdin (founder of Basic Human Rights UK)
The Lord Noon MBE (founder Noon Products)
The Lord Patel of Bradford
Jane Hannah (ECB national volunteer and participation manager)
Scyld Berry (cricket correspondent, Sunday Telegraph; editor Wisden)
The panel will select from the following shortlists:
Grassroots (sponsored by Diageo)
Gopi Raj (England Tamil Cricket League),
Omar Chaudhery (Sandwell Cricket League),
Saba Nasim (Essex Cricket Board; StreetChance).
Amateur Player of the Year (sponsored by Sky Express)
Bilal Mohammed (Uxbridge CC),
Simran Panesar (Warwickshire U19s),
Kyme Tahirkheli (Yorkshire U15s).
Professional Young Player of the Year (sponsored by Air India)
Ravi Patel (Middlesex, England Lions),
Kishen Velani (Essex).
Woman in Cricket
Sidra Khan (Lancashire),
Salma Bi (Worcestershire),
Bhumika Doshi (Lancashire).
Coach of the Year (sponsored by England & Wales Cricket Board)
Qasim Ali (Lancashire South Asian Talent Search, England Physical Disability Squad),
The late Numan Shabbir Syed (B.M.E. DevelopmentCentres director).
Media (sponsored by Getty Images)
Isa Guha (IPL TV presenter, former England bowler),
Mihir Bose (author, London Evening Standard, BBC),
Nikesh Rughani (BBC Five Live, Sky Sports, BBC Asian Network).
Behind the Scenes (sponsored by International FX)
Yasin Patel (groundsman Batley CC),
Amjad Aziz (vice-chairman Birmingham Cricket League – Parks League),
Sajid Patel (founder, National Cricket League).
Asian Cricket Club of the Year (sponsored by Waitrose)
London Tigers (inner-city London),
Attock CC (Birmingham),
Manningham Cricket Club (Bradford).
Inspiration
Naz Khan (chairman, Attock CC),
Soyfur Rahman (founder, StreetChance),
The late Farid Karolia (founder Mount CC, former chairman Batley CC).
The Founders – Lifetime Achievement Award
This award will go to a person from the British Asian community who has made an outstanding contribution to the sport of cricket.
Professional Player of the Year (sponsored by Talk Home Mobile)
Moeen Ali (Worcestershire and England),
Varun Chopra (Warwickshire),
Ravinder Bopara (Essex and England),
Adil Rashid (Yorkshire and England).
