Cricketer to represent England at World Series
An athlete from Burnham has been selected to represent England in the men’s masters action indoor cricket squad.
Glen Forbes, 35 will make his international debut at the Masters World Series 2024 tournament in Colombo, Sri Lanka, this September and, said he ‘can not wait’ to wear the shirt and bat for this country.
South African native Glen first started playing indoor, or ‘action cricket’, a fast-paced version of the traditional sport, in 2006.
After reaching provincial level in his home country, he relocated to the UK some years later where he was talent spotted at a major competition.
“I came to the UK in July 2021 and started playing in Birmingham in events like the British Open and the Masters tournaments,” he said.
“Last year there was a British Masters event where about 80-120 players entered.
“We were split into teams and played six rounds of games. The head of Action Cricket selected the England team from what they had seen on show.”
Glen has a passion for the sport and said that action cricket is growing in popularity, even with high level players who now take on the sport to up their skill level in the traditional game.
He said: “Action cricket is an extremely fast paced version of the normal game.
“Each game you have eight players playing 16 overs. It only takes about an hour and a half to play compared to a whole day.
“It is extremely inclusive.
“Every person has to bat and you bat in pairs.
“Each pair will bat in four overs.
“There are different scoring zones within the net.
“Your score is always live and even if you are chasing a score and you pass it you can still lose technically.
“It is an extremely technical game but very entertaining for people who are watching.”
Between now and July Glen will meet with his 11 England team mates for training camps that will become weekly as the tournament nears.
He will also be working on his personal fitness and is fundraising to support his overseas debut.
Glen has started a crowdfunding page to help with the underfunded aspect of the sport and is ready to raffle off prizes obtained from the world of cricket and donations from companies like Monster.
It will take some work to raise the £2,500 needed but nothing will take away the feeling of playing for the country that he is now a proud resident of.
Glen added: “I can not wait to put that shirt on. I’ve got very, very strong ties to the UK.
“My mother is British and my father was raised here.
“The fact that I get to put on an England shirt and play against people in Sri Lanka is fantastic.
“I still don’t believe it to be honest.”
Glen’s Just Giving page is: tinyurl.com/yc3sfhex