Northampton cricket coach enjoys memorable day at Lord's as an MCC Community Cricket Hero

Navneeta Gahonia, from Northampton, was chosen from hundreds of nominations across the country as one of 11 MCC Community Cricket Heroes for her outstanding contribution to grassroots cricket and her community.

Commenting on her special day at Lord’s, she said:

“It was an incredible day and experience and something I will remember for a very long time.

"It’s so important to recognise grassroots cricket and the amazing work that people do up and down the country and it’s great to see the MCC do this through their Community Cricket Heroes campaign.”

My own passion is girls cricket. I love seeing the girls that I coach develop, form friendships and take joy in each other’s successes. Whilst there is always more that can be done, opportunities for girls to play are improving all the time and I think the girls’ game will continue to go from strength to strength.”

Gahonia is a volunteer support coach for Northamptonshire County Cricket Club’s U11 Girl’s pathway and got into cricket coaching after her two daughters took part in the ECB’s Allstars and Dynamo’s junior cricket programmes.

Her work to help settle the girls in the new, more competitive environment of county-level cricket has been instrumental in her making a difference in the girls’ cricket community. She has a particular focus on supporting the mental wellbeing and general welfare of her players.

This year’s MCC Community Cricket Heroes were chosen by a special panel which included former England international Claire Taylor. The campaign, now in its second year is run by MCC alongside The Cricketer magazine and encourages the cricket community and the public to submit nominations for their community cricket hero - from volunteers who go above and beyond for their cricket club and community, to coaches who are inspiring people on and off the pitch or players who have overcome adversity to play or help the game.