Open trials for the South Asian Cricket Academy are set to be held at Essex Cricket's Leyton Hub, East London in April.
On Sunday 12 April, SACA will be holding an open trial in East London for players to showcase their talents in front of the Academy’s coaching and management group with the opportunity of joining the SACA programme the goal for successful trialists.
The day, being held at the Leyton Urban Cricket Hub, in partnership with Remitly and Essex Cricket, will see five sessions being run from 12 noon by SACA’s team of elite coaches, and applications to join the trial are now being accepted from players aged 16 and above.
SACA has been a huge success story since it launched in 2022, with 18 players to date having now secured contracts in the professional game with first-class counties after progressing through the Academy’s high-performance programme.
East London has a rich history of providing the professional game with talented players, with the likes of Nasser Hussain and Ravi Bopara starting their cricketing journeys in the area, before going on to carve out hugely successful careers in both the county and international games. The hope for SACA is that having recently opened its fifth elite regional hub in Leyton, that this open trial will uncover yet more high-calibre talent that exists within an area that is hugely passionate about the game.
Anyone playing the game to a high level who is interested in joining the open trial is being asked to apply by contacting SACA on WhatsApp, providing their details by no later than 02 April 2026.
· Date: Sunday 12 April 2026
· Venue: Leyton Urban Cricket Hub, Crawley Road, Leyton, London, E10 6PY
· Times: 12:00 to 18:15
· To register: Send a WhatsApp message to SACA on 07707 225 009 with your name, date of birth, a short bio about your cricket, and any video of you playing or training to support your registration.
· Deadline to register: 02 April 2026.
Arfan Akram, Essex Cricket's Strategic Lead for East London, said: "Essex Cricket is delighted to support SACA at our Leyton Hub in East London. The area is rich in cricketing passion and talent, and opportunities such as SACA's open trial give upcoming talent from the area a genuine pathway to showcase their ability in a superb environment.
"We are excited to see players from across East London and beyond come forward, test themselves, and potentially take the next step on their cricketing journey."
Speaking of his high hopes for a successful open trial day in April, Tom Brown, Founder and Managing Director of SACA, said: “Having run successful trial events in the past around the country we know only too well how much undiscovered talent exists in the game that hasn’t yet come onto people’s radar.
“As an elite performance programme looking to generate players for the professional game, we are interested in hearing from players of a higher cricketing ability who can potentially slot into our programme and benefit from the elite coaching they’ll receive in a high-performance environment, with SACA providing them with all the tools they’ll need to realise their potential.
“We are very confident that the talent exists in the area, and we are hopeful that this trial date in April uncovers some real gems who have got what it takes to make it in the professional game.”
For more information on SACA, please click here.
SACA Opens Regional Hub In Leyton click here.
