In early 2024, the ECB was one of several national sports governing bodies to sign up to the GLA’s Sporting Internships programme. The programme formed part of an overall strategy from the mayor’s office to get Londoners active, reduce youth violence, and prevent people falling into crime and violent behaviour.
Chris Mankelow, the ECB’s Network Partner (London and East), explained: “When the GLA ran focus groups with young people… a common theme that emerged was the young people saying there was little to no opportunity to work in sport.”
As ideas for the Sporting Internships programme emerged, Mankelow says: “We were very keen that cricket was part of the programme.”
Now, just over 12 months later, Rosina Cotton, Adarsh Sriram, and Callum Forrow have completed their year-long placements in cricket.
They were each offered their placements after attending a recruitment day at Lord’s in February 2024. Two months later, their journeys working in the sports industry began – and all three believe they will take huge benefits into the next stage of their careers.
Adarsh, 22, combined his internship with studying for a psychology degree at St Mary’s University. He spent six months with the ECB and six months with Middlesex County Cricket Club. “I feel more developed, mindset-wise, and more equipped to be proactive,” he says. “I got to be in places where I didn’t think I would ever be.”
As part of his placements, Adarsh spent time helping with coaching sessions at Middlesex’s Indoor Cricket School and has recently completed his Level 1 coaching certificate. He now hopes to use his experience to pursue commentary and performance analysis opportunities across the game.
He says: “I hadn’t coached younger children before, and I was definitely out of my comfort zone. But looking back, it was necessary to do that because I had to start somewhere. I also learned a lot about video production and getting all the different angles and types of footage, which was a real eye-opener for levelling up my own content.”
Rosina, 24, split her year in cricket with spells at both the ECB and Surrey. “I’ve experienced so much being here,” she says. “It’s been a really good privilege and I never thought I’d be doing anything like this. It’s been an amazing adventure.”
At the ECB, Rosina worked with the Communications and Media Team on a range of different campaigns, from the ‘Taste of Cricket’ EDI campaign to a tapeball event in Birmingham, to build towards last year’s England Women vs Pakistan series. She even became a published author, having written about the Disability Cricket Day at Lord’s last year – a piece that was published in The Cricket Paper. She was also recently interviewed for BBC Breakfast about her journey in cricket and the opportunities she has experienced.
She also worked in the Surrey Cricket Foundation, building her leadership skills by doing lots of coaching with both Chance to Shine and the Dynamos programme.
She says: “Confidence is the big thing I take away from this. I have aspirations to do more coaching and I’d like to expand my coaching career in various sports.”
Rosina, who has Feingold syndrome, adds: “People with disabilities don’t often get this sort of opportunity to work in these big organisations. I’ve grown personally and professionally, it’s made me think about what my career could look like, and it’s opened my mind to a lot of things.”
Callum, 21, spent six months with Surrey before joining Kent for another six-month spell. He says: “It was my first job, so I didn’t know what to expect, but it’s been great to see how both clubs operate.”
He adds: “When I started, I just wanted to gain experience, connect with different people, and learn from different people every day.”
Callum also worked extensively in junior coaching, helping to spark enthusiasm for cricket in six different Kent schools in a role that grew his own confidence and communication skills. “I don’t like talking in front of other people,” he says, “so it’s been a learning experience. But, over time, it’s got a lot easier.
“Confidence has been the big learning for me. As you get experience, the confidence grows day by day. That’s been a real benefit for me.”
Despite having no previous experience or ambitions in coaching, Callum’s stint in cricket has transformed his future targets. He is now aiming to complete his Level 2 coaching certificate and has ambitions to find a coaching role within the sport.
The GLA’s Sporting Internships programme runs across all 32 London boroughs, aiming to get Londoners active and provide young people with rare opportunities to work in sport. Everyone at the ECB congratulates Adarsh, Rosina, and Callum for a brilliant year’s work.