ECB Coaches Association links Hitting the Seam 39 | Page 8

SUNNY’S
SHINING
Chance to Shine’s first county cricketer, Sunny Singh, is far more than a
product of the charity’s award-winning programme. He’s a living example
of talent getting an opportunity.
Twenty-one-year-old Sukhjit ‘Sunny’ Singh
made his County Championship debut for
Warwickshire when they took on Somerset on
19 May 2017. In doing so, he became the first
county cricketer to have come through the
Chance to Shine programme.
His journey to the county circuit has, however,
been less than straightforward.
When Sunny was 10, he moved with his family
from the Punjab in northern India to Handsworth,
Birmingham. He arrived speaking no English and
struggled to integrate until he began to engage
with cricket.
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Hitting the Seam Issue 39
In 2009, Warwickshire Cricket Board’s Eaton
Gordon was delivering Chance to Shine sessions
at George Dixon Academy – Sunny’s secondary
school. Gordon noticed Sunny’s enthusiasm for
the sport and enjoyment of the sessions and
suggested he join Eaton’s own side
Handsworth CC.
“My feeling inside was as if I was doing
it myself, as if I was walking on to the
field. It made me feel 10 miles tall.”
– Eaton Gordon (right)