OUR GOVERNANCE
Lee Phillips, Chair of Trustees
Cricket team I support:
Essex and England
Involvement with young people and cricket
Having been born and raised in East London, I have fond memories of watching Essex cricket matches as a child together with my father and grandfather which sparked a passion for the game.
I currently enjoy spending weekends watching my children participate in cricket, football, tennis and swimming.
For the past 25 years, I have actively mentored diverse and underrepresented young people interested in careers in finance working with partners such as SEO London, Rare Recruitment and Generating Genius.
Why I joined PC as a trustee
My passion is helping to develop a society that is fair to all people regardless of their backgrounds and I truly believe that charities such as Platform Cricket play a vital role in this respect. Our mission is to inspire children to be active through cricket which we believe can be an agent for social change in some of London’s most disadvantaged and marginalised communities. Sport has always been an important part of my life and Platform Cricket allows me to blend two of my passions together.
Chris Dunne, Trustee
Cricket team I support:
England
Involvement with young people and cricket
I was a teacher in Inner London for the whole of my working life, and for the last 21 years I was the Principal of a neighbourhood secondary school in Tower Hamlets, serving the poorest electoral wards in England.
Experience and expertise/ specialisms that you bring to Platform Cricket
In 2004 my school applied to become a Sports College and was then selected by the government to host one of 500 national School Sports Partnerships, providing a base for a team of specialist coaches promoting quality sport to all the children in Tower Hamlets primary and secondary schools. Managed by Chris Willetts, who is now the CEO of Platform Cricket, it rapidly became an award-winning and internationally renowned multi-sports foundation, with academies established in a range of sports, including cricket.
Why I joined PC as a trustee
I am a passionate believer in the power of sport to influence and change young people’s lives for the better, having repeatedly seen at first hand what high quality teachers and coaches can give to children in the inner city, many of whom have had very few advantages in their lives.
Josie Jones, Trustee
Cricket team I support:
The Southern Stars (AKA the Australian Women’s cricket team) & the Oval Invincibles
Involvement with young people and cricket
I have played sport my whole life and now have 3 active and sporty children. I am an avid advocate for grassroots sports and have a particular passion for getting more women and girls into sport. I played cricket briefly growing up mainly because it was hard to access as a girl; those young years are so crucial in imprinting sporting behaviours. I want to give other kids more opportunity.
Why I joined PC as a trustee
I truly believe in the power of sport to imprint patterns for life at an early age. The opportunity for Platform Cricket to inspire a generation of kids to love cricket and be motivated by sport more generally is really powerful. I love that it can provide a platform for children in many inner city parts of London which don’t always have access to beautifully manicured cricket grounds or expensive equipment. I’m excited to be part of a charity whose mission is to create sustainable change.
Keith Deane, Trustee, Charity Secretary and Chair of the Finance Sub Committee
Cricket team I support:
West Indies Men & Women; Surrey CCC
Involvement with young people and cricket
I am told my first exposure to cricket was when I was in my pram when my father used to take me to his matches. My memory does not go that far back, however I have been a lifelong cricket fan and participator and lover of most sports all my life.
I am passionate about young people fulfilling their potential and improving their outcomes. I try to harness that passion in my role as Chair of Governors of a local secondary school.
Why I joined PC as a trustee
I am a firm believer in the power of sport to develop good physical and mental health, and build resilience, social skills and confidence in young people. I am also an advocate of pro-actively promoting the interests of under-served communities and redressing the imbalance of opportunities for those communities.
Platform Cricket has given me the opportunity to work alongside like-minded individuals who share my motivations. It is an organisation that has consistently delivered positive experiences and opened sporting pathways for young people through the power of cricket.
Mike Maddick, Deputy Chair
Cricket team I support:
Durham was my nearest senior county team growing up as Northumberland play minor counties. I get to an England test match every year, generally with my family who all enjoy cricket. As I live in Surrey, I’ve ended up following Oval Invincibles during the Hundred.
Involvement with young people and cricket
I work for a children’s charity, have been a youth worker in my distant past, and coach Rugby at Dorking RFC. Sport is a huge part of my life and I see what a positive impact sport can have on children and young adults. While I haven’t coached cricket formally, my three children all still play and when they were younger, I would help out with warm up, bits of organisation and umpiring.
My eldest son captains his school second team and he makes it very social and inclusive. I love that he’s brought players back to the game who dropped out in previous years because they have fun and don’t take it seriously. My daughter plays for her school team and its been so good to see the massive expansion of women’s cricket in recent years.
Why I joined PC as a trustee
Having loved and played sport all my life, I recognise what it has done for me and my children in terms of confidence, fitness, social skills and mental health. Not all children have had the access to sport and the support I have had through my life, so I am passionate about creating the best possible access for others, regardless of background and location.
Platform Cricket is remarkable in making cricket accessible to a hugely varied group of children in inner city London, who are not well provided for. In terms of measurable impacts, it provides access to cricket as an activity, for thousands of children of diverse ethnic and social backgrounds. It actively encourages the entry of girls and boys into the game and a development pathway for those with talent to stay in the game long term.
Sport can be a very positive and powerful influence on lives, and Platform Cricket delivers that to a cohort of children who would otherwise be excluded. That’s why I got and stay involved.
Kirti Patel, Trustee
Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Kirti moved to the UK with parents and siblings at the age of eleven. She attended a secondary school in Essex and University in London.
Kirti has worked as an accountant for Unilever, then Thomson (now Thomson Reuters) and subsequently for UBS. Volunteering commenced in 2006 through UBS community volunteering service, supporting children to read English and solving maths questions at a school in Hackney.
Kirti lived in India for 3 years where she supported an upcoming kids’ orphanage, and on her return to the UK resumed volunteering sessions in Hackney. She has lived in Tower Hamlets since 2010.
In 2020, Kirti became a call companion with Re-Engage, a charity that supports elders in the community who live alone.
With her volunteering Kirti hopes she is making a small contribution to the 3rd United Nations Sustainable Development Goal – “Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages”
David Tilstone, Trustee
David has spent the last 18 years working in an investment management position within Macquarie Bank’s Real Assets Division. He is responsible for Portfolio Strategy & construction across a number of funds invested in the renewable energy sector. He has led a number of high profile transactions across various European countries and had on going board level responsibility for the strategic direction of those companies giving him a wide range of financial, strategic and management experience.
More recently he has participated in the fund raising of a €1.6 billion global renewable energy fund where he has primary responsibility for the performance of that fund.
Prior to joining Macquarie David spent 12 years in the energy industry across a variety of commercial roles in large Utilities. He graduated from Warwick University with a degree in Pure Maths and holds an MSc in Operational Research and an MBA.
He lives in London with his wife and three children and is a keen cricket lover though more in support of his children than himself these days!
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Each week our coaches identify a PLAYER OF THE WEEK from the 3,000+ children we work with, as a recognition of their talent, efforts or improvement.
This week's PLAYER OF THE WEEK Award goes to
Treyvon from White Horse Manor Junior School (Brigstock Site) in Thornton Heath, Croydon.
Treyvon applied his great athleticism to this term's cricket sessions, he has a great attitude and is a star all-rounder in the making.