Leytonstone Cricket Club’s Sajid Patel has been recognised for his contributions to the recreational game over the last 25 years with the awarding of a national Lifetime Achievement Award from the ECB.
Sajid has helped to grow participation in the region and take community cricket to new audiences since starting his journey in 1998, and has also been the heart of Leytonstone CC for many years.
He began his involvement in Leytonstone, then moved into Waltham Forest, Newham, and Redbridge where he reached out to children and young people through outreach and engagement work using cricket as a theme.
In 2002, Sajid started a league in West Ham Park that engaged a number of new players, and fast forward to 2010 he was involved in changing the landscape of the game, alongside childhood friend Nahed Patel. Together they set up the very first white-ball and coloured clothing league in the region, which was very successful.
In 2012, Sajid helped to establish and launch the National Cricket League (NCL), which has grown to now include 76 clubs/teams competing across nine divisions on Sundays, with the majority of the fixtures being played in Essex and East London.
He is a complete all-rounder in that he is a qualified umpire, cricket Coach, and an accomplished administrator of league cricket. He is a true legend in the Leytonstone ranks and a servant to the game of cricket in the wider Essex region as a volunteer.
