After being diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS), former Herefordshire and Mid-Wales league cricketer, Ally Edwards, was forced to retire from his job at the University of Oxford in 2019. A further diagnosis of osteoporosis exacerbated his situation.
“Through COVID and my illness, I wasn’t doing a lot,” he says. “I wasn’t active, I wasn’t socialising outside of my family, and while my illnesses meant that I had to exercise, in reality I wasn’t exercising well and I certainly wasn’t enjoying it.”
By January 2022, Ally was keen to find a way to change his situation. Then he saw a poster produced by Worcestershire Cricket advertising a new Walking Cricket initiative. Ally said: “I’d played local league cricket all my life, but it was one of the things I’d had to give up when I became ill. But I knew I had to exercise more, so I went along to see what it was about.”
It was a decision that changed everything.
“First of all, Elsa-Marie (Evans), Worcestershire Cricket Community Development Manager, was brilliant. There were people from all walks of life, from old league cricketers through to five women who’d never been on a cricket pitch before. Elsa-Marie did an incredible job getting everyone socialising and working at the same level.”
Ally soon found his confidence returning – both in sport and his personal life. “You’re doing all this close fielding and bowling and, both physically and mentally, it’s great. In fact, by May 2022 I felt well enough to go for a job interview.”
Ally got the job and has been working part-time ever since, giving him a renewed sense of purpose and direction.
“Discovering walking cricket changed my life,” he says. “I suddenly realised I could walk most days unaided. I now do my best to walk everywhere, sometimes with a walking stick for support. Whilst there are still days where I feel I can’t do anything; on the days that I do feel better, I love going to cricket and I love going to work. It’s turned a corner for me and given me a new lease of life.”
Ally’s diagnoses still create challenges, but he says Walking Cricket is now embedded in his long-term routine. “I’m currently not well enough to go more than once a month. But when I do go, I have an amazing time. I love the atmosphere. It’s such a positive, social and supportive environment, and I love being part of a team again.”
As the person responsible for organising and running each group, Elsa-Marie has witnessed the transformative effect of getting people active and social again. She said: “We’ve gone from nothing to having over 100 participants taking part across five different sessions. We’ve also hosted a women’s only festival where we had 20 women who’d never played cricket before.
“Ally’s story is exceptional. He’s such a great guy, and it’s fantastic that the project has had such an enormous impact on his life. Several participants from the various sessions now go out together for curries, hold social events, and have generally built up a real network of friends. Some of these are people who don’t see anyone else. Walking Cricket’s impact has been genuinely amazing and I couldn’t be prouder to be part of its evolution.”
For other initiatives that are Raising the Game in communities across England and Wales, please visit www.ecb.co.uk/about/equity-diversity-and-inclusion/raising-the-game.