In 2010, Chance to Shine celebrated its fifth birthday and the major milestone of delivering cricket to one million children.
Lord Mervyn King, the charity’s co -founder observed, “Eventually, we’ll have the first Chance to Shine cricketer who plays for England, but it is not really about that. When that happens, there will be thousands in the crowd who have also been brought to the game by Chance to Shine.”
And sure enough, on Monday 27th June, 2022, Issy Wong and Lauren Bell made their debut against South Africa, before Georgia Davis followed with a debut against Ireland in autumn 2024.
Yesterday was another momentous occasion, with Issy and Georgia facing off for the Warwickshire Bears against fellow former participant Ryana MacDonald-Gay of Surrey, in the first ever women’s T20 Blast final. Everyone is so proud of all three participants and everything they have done for the women’s game since they started playing in our programmes.
It was especially significant for Georgia, who captained the Bears, her home county. Although her side couldn’t quite get over the line against Surrey in the final, it will surely be a day which sticks long in the memory.
Georgia had her love for cricket sparked when Chance to Shine delivered a session at her school. Community coach Kelly Evenson noticed her talent as a natural bowler. After just one session, she attended a trial at Warwickshire and was placed on a talent pathway. Soon after, she told us, “One day, I want to play for England and Warwickshire.”
Georgia’s debut for Warwickshire came aged just 15, and soon enough she became an ECB qualified coach and started delivering Chance to Shine Schools programmes, including some at her old school, Moor Hall. It was these experiences, along with a short spell in the police force, which helped her appreciate the joys of the game.
Professional contracts and international honours followed, taking two wickets on debut in an ODI against Ireland in September 2024. Speaking before the 2025 season Georgia said, “I wouldn’t be playing cricket if it wasn’t for Chance to Shine. It had never really crossed my mind – I’d never played cricket before.”
“There’s no better feeling than doing something that makes you get out of bed in the morning and cricket absolutely does that for me. I did quite a tough job before coming into cricket and I think about what I do now and I think, wow. That is just incredible.”
Away from her personal story, Georgia highlights the widespread impact that cricket can have on young people, which include social skills and resilience. “It was a massive stress relief for me in anything that I did. You make so many friends. I wouldn’t have nearly any of the friends that I have now if it wasn’t for cricket.”
“You have more bad days then good days, you’re not going to score a hundred or take five wickets every single day. You learn to be okay with this and that it’s not going to happen all the time. You can take that into anything that you do.”
Just five months after her international debut, Georgia became captain of her childhood county, Warwickshire, in the first edition of the revamped women’s county competition. “It’s extra special that I’ve been here since I was 10 years old. It’s exciting and something I’m really proud of,” she explains. “I’ve never really played any other county cricket apart from for Warwickshire, so to be captaining is so special.”
As the Charity strives to introduce more young people to the game, the incredible impact of school cricket sessions continues to light the spark of inspiration for a generation of young cricketers.
