Bristol cricket hero spends day at Lord’s as special guest of MCC president
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Heather Booth di Giovanni, from Bristol, was chosen from hundreds of nominations across the country to be one of 11 MCC Community Cricket Heroes for her outstanding contribution to grassroots cricket and her community.
Speaking about her day, she said: “Today has been a wonderful day.
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Hide Ad“For me amongst the many wonderful things was to meet another Community Cricket Hero who was also here today because I learnt so much from him.


“I have to say, I was astounded, overwhelmed and very emotional to be invited here today.
“To spend my day in the President’s Suite was so amazing, there were so many interesting people to speak to, it is an amazing view and it was just absolutely wonderful.
“I would like to say thank you to the people who nominated me, I had no idea they were nominating me and it showed me how much the work I have done is appreciated.
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Hide Ad“I think a lot more people would start volunteering if they realised how wonderful it is, it is the most joyous thing to do and the most rewarding thing I do – after looking after my grandchildren.”
From 2017, Booth di Giovanni organised for Bristol Afghans CC to compete in the North Somerset Sunday League but following the British withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, she then set up a team for young Afghan refugees.
She hauls the club kit bag on the bus to training and matches, raises money to pay for the coaches and liaising with foster parents and social workers due to restrictions on the movement of refugees whilst also making an impact to other Afghan refugees around the country - helping word new regulations that allowed them to play cricket while they were waiting for asylum status to be processed.
The campaign, which launched last year in March by MCC alongside The Cricketer magazine, was relaunched for its second year to again encourage the cricket community and the public to submit nominations for their community cricket hero - from volunteers who go above and beyond for their cricket club and community, to coaches who are inspiring people on and off the pitch or players who have overcome adversity to play or help the game.
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