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The Birmingham community came together yesterday at Calthorpe Park to celebrate the flagship Not In My Game cricket tournament. The special 20 / 20 style community cricket event was the first in a series of community cricket games to be held across the country over the summer to support the campaign which sends out a clear message; terrorism has no place in sport.

The event was held only a day before Pakistan meet England in the second test match at Edgbaston. The Pakistan team is currently unable to play matches in their home country due to concern for the safety of players following the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore last year.

Former Pakistani captain and leg spinner, Mushtaq Mohammad, the Shane Warne of his era, is supporting Not in My Game and was at the event to meet fans and offer his top tips to local cricketers.

Speaking at the event, Mushtaq said:

“It was great to see so many local people come out today and take part in the Not In My Game tournament in Birmingham. The values of cricket are all about fairness, teamwork and integrity. These are values that we should live our lives by and we should not allow the actions of terrorists to ruin the game we love, that’s why we are here today – to send out a clear message that there is no place for terrorism in our sport communities.”

Ten local teams and over 80 participants battled throughout the day to win some of the great prizes on offer. Captained by Akhlaq Ahmed, The Local Leagues Cricket Club Seniors took home the Not In My Game trophy as seniors competition winners – they also received a cricket kit and signed Warwickshire cricket club shirt kindly donated by Ashram Housing Association.

The Base Boys took home the prize for the junior’s competition and will get to enjoy the action live at the England v Pakistan international test match today at Edgebaston, with tickets kindly donated by the ECB.

In addition to the team prizes, individual prizes were also given for best wickets taken, shot of the day, best catch and spirit of the tournament.

Omar Bakari, spokesperson from Radical Middle Way said:

“The Calthorpe Park community cricket tournament was a fantastic way to kick off a summer of cricket for the Not In My Game campaign. Birmingham was a great venue to host this important event on the eve of the international test between Pakistan and England at Edgebaston, but we urge all communities across the UK to get involved in the campaign back the pledge online and host their own cricket match throughout the summer. Whether a large scale tournament or games with friends and family in local parks or even their back gardens – it is important that we all unite to take a stand against terrorism in sport and make our voices heard that we will not let the actions of a few destroy our love of the game and divide our communities.”

Raja Khan, spokesperson from Sports for Life! Said:

Sport for life! Is one of the organisations that is proud to deliver the Not In My Game campaign. We are working with young people to harness their love of cricket and in turn help inspire their personal and academic development. We encourage all the young people who took part in the tournament today in Birmingham to go on and continue to play the game not only throughout the summer,  but for the rest of their lives. We urge everyone to support the campaign so we can help safeguard cricket for future generations.

See images from the event on the NIMG Facebook page and Flickr and video highlights on our YouTube channel.