With two jobs and a young family to raise, Shanaz Parvin has plenty on her plate. But that doesn’t stop her devoting every weekend to building the confidence, skills, and passion of young Muslim girls through the power of cricket.
Essex-based Shanaz receives the Connecting Communities Award as part of the Cricket Collective Awards for her tireless commitment to encouraging women and girls from all backgrounds to take part in sport.
Each weekend, she runs Chance to Shine street cricket sessions for girls aged 8-16 at Newham Leisure Centre. She also delivers fortnightly women’s and girls’ coaching at Ekota Academy, and plays in the Ekota Academy women’s team.
When she’s not actively delivering cricket sessions, she promotes volunteering; contributes to local community, cultural, and religious events; and works constantly to bring different people together and achieve their potential.
But Shanaz’s entire cricketing story only happened by chance. She recalls: “One day, I was walking in the park and saw a sign for some cricket sessions at Ekota Academy. I just wanted to get my boys involved and get them away from devices. But once we arrived at that first session, that was the start of everything.”
That was back in 2019. Soon, Shanaz was volunteering to help deliver the sessions. It wasn’t long until she’d completed her Foundation Level 1 and Core Coach courses, as well as an umpiring course. And, from there, she began to deliver girls-only Dynamos sessions as well as a mothers-and-daughters programme.
Shanaz also signed up for the ECB’s Dream Big Desi Women initiative, taking on a role as a Community Champion that saw her spend every Saturday morning at Goodmayes Park, encouraging and training women to volunteer in cricket.
“The more I got involved with cricket, the more I loved it,” she says. “Initially, I just wanted to try to be a role model as a parent. I was given this opportunity and didn’t really think – I just said ‘yes.’
“I had no idea about cricket and I don’t come from a cricketing background, so of course it was intimidating in those early days. But I soon realised it wasn’t about knowing every detail about cricket. It was about encouraging young people’s confidence, getting them involved, getting them outside, and seeing them develop a passion.”
Each weekend, Shanaz is reminded exactly why she does what she does.
“When I see these young girls, and the way they’re so passionate, I feel like I can’t let them down. When someone has that spark, you’ve got to nurture it. For a group of girls like that to be so willing to come and participate, it’s a small sacrifice on my part to turn up and deliver something they’ll enjoy.”
She adds: “In life, there are certain things that give you real satisfaction – and this is definitely one for me. You see their enjoyment, then you challenge them, push them, and show them what they can achieve. It’s so fulfilling.”
Despite that, Shanaz was still stunned by the news that she had won the Connecting Communities Award.
“When I got the email, I had to read it a few times to understand what was going on,” she says. “You don’t expect to be recognised for what you do. You just do it. I didn’t even know I’d been nominated, so it was a huge surprise and I’m genuinely honoured, because there are so many amazing volunteers out there.”
The 2025 season will see another opportunity for the brilliant volunteers at the heart of recreational cricket to be celebrated in next year’s Cricket Collective Awards. Cricket Boards in England and Wales will soon begin collecting nominations for this season. For more information on how you can nominate in your local area, check out your Cricket Board’s website or contact them for more details.
Stay up to date with monthly email updates on the recreational game on news, activities, and stories from across the network in The Cricket Collective Bulletin. Want to know more? Email: cricketcollective@ecb.co.uk