The Ian Jackson Award for Services to Cricket

The Ian Jackson Award for Services to Cricket

2025 Winner: The ACE Programme

The Cricket Society's Ian Jackson Award for Services to Cricket is our 'Spirit of Cricket' Award and goes annually to an individual or group who, through their distinguished endeavours and commitment to cricket, have met the mission and spirit of The Cricket Society. Recipients of this Award are chosen by the Executive Committee of The Cricket Society. 

The award commemorates the memory of Ian Jackson, a former Chair of The Cricket Society, who died suddenly in 2008 after only a short period as our Chair. Ian had a strikingly enthusiastic attitude to life, with his love for and commitment to cricket shining through. 

The 2025 award honours The ACE Programme, a pioneering charity committed to 'Supporting Diverse Talent from the Grassroots to the Elite', which seeks to broaden access to cricket for under-represented communities across the UK. 

Launched initially under Surrey County Cricket Club in January 2020 and later incorporated as an independent charity, ACE was created to reverse the decline of Black British players in the professional game. 

Operating now in multiple cities (including London, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield), it runs community hubs, school programmes, academies, talent-identification pathways, and workforce development initiatives to nurture cricketing potential in African and Caribbean communities and other under-represented groups. 

In just a few years, ACE has engaged tens of thousands of children in free cricket training, supported the emergence of professional players from under-served backgrounds, and challenged systemic barriers in the sport. 

Most notably, three ACE graduates have already reached the professional level: Troy Henry (who debuted for Sussex), Amy Wheeler (contracted with the Blaze), and of course one of today’s award winners, Davina Perrin.

The Cricket Society Committee believes that The ACE Programme perfectly embodies the ideals behind the Ian Jackson Award and we are proud that ACE have accepted this honour.

Chevy Green, Director of Programmes at ACE, accepted the Ian Jackson Award from Guest Speaker Alec Stewart OBE at The Cricket Society’s Annual Awards Lunch at the Union Jack Club, London, on Thursday, 6th November. Chevy and ACE graduate Amy Wheeler were interviewed by Cricket Society Chair, Peter Hardy.

In the photograph above are, from left to right, standing: Chevy Green (ACE), Georgina Mackenzie (ACE), Patricia and Danica Perrin (Davina Perrin’s parents) and Amy Wheeler; kneeling: Vincent Bell (ACE).