"My background of having been detected by a Physical Training teacher, Mark Bolland at school, I know the importance of accessing sports at school", said the 39-year-old Chief Executive of Chance to Shine, Wasim Khan to Media Voice.

Wasim who was the first British-born Asian to make his debut for Warwickshire as a left handed opener in county grade in 1995 is the CEO of Chance to Shine is a 50 million pounds national campaign that was set up on a ten-year period tying up with the 39 cricket county clubs.

It was Mervyn King, the Governor of Bank of England, who was instrumental in naming and launching this unique campaign in a private chat with his friends almost five years ago. Since then, Chance to Shine has reached around 800,000 boys and girls and now works through 400 cricket clubs, involving 4,000 state primary and secondary schools throughout the country.

The Brand Ambassador for Chance to Shine is England's very own Freddie or Andrew Flintoff, the dashing Lancashire all-rounder, who has motivated many young ones.

"We have a modest 24 member team in the campaign with eight of the World Cup winning England women's squad working as Chance to Shine coaches, encouraging more young girls to play cricket", said Wasim Khan who sees no difference in heading the campaign to that of captaining a cricket team with equal ease.

Over the years, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) realised that cricket needs to be brought back to the school before it is overtaken by other games and hence the Cricket Foundation, a charity organisation that launched Chance to shine in May 2005. Initially, the Cricket Foundation was skeptical over the scale of the project. But over the last five years, it has been doing yeomen service to reviving cricket by inculcating the value of teamwork, in respecting others, learning to take responsibility of an individual in a collective way among the pupils in the British schools.

The success of the Chance to Shine has resulted in launching another programme, 'Step up to crease'. "This is a way for mobilising the general public; parents of the pupils, cricket clubs and schools to raise 25 million pounds by 2015 and the Government, through Sport England, has pledged to match the private figure", said Wasim Khan whose cricketing idols include the legends of the eighties.

'Beefy' or Sir Ian Botham, the former dominant England all rounder has always remained as Wasim Khan's hero. Wasim Khan, who has his family origins in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), is sad about the present day happenings in Pakistan cricket team. "A thorough review of the structure of the Pakistan cricket needs to be done externally and not internally," added Wasim Khan, who will take part in the London Marathon on 25th April to raise funds for 'Chance to Shine'.

Come 23rd June, England will be celebrating National Cricket Day, where every school will be participating in cricket-based activities in classroom and the playground with a leading cricketer as a coach and as a mentor.

Incidentally this is the single biggest school sport development initiative ever undertaken in Britain and is headed by Wasim Khan, the first British Asian to hold this elite post.

By Cynthia Chandran