Flicx Pitch user Rohan Handa rewarded with British Citizen Youth Award

Talented Hampshire County performance pathway spin bowling all rounder Rohan Handa has recently been announced as one of only 24 recipients of the 2023 British Citizen Youth Award, which saw him attend the medal ceremony at the Palace of Westminster in London. The British Citizen Youth Award (BCyA) in association with Specsavers recognises individuals aged 18 and under, that positively impact others and highlights the positive aspects of multi-cultural communities, schools and places of education, community groups and charities throughout the UK.

Rohan, 15, who created the YouTube channel “Cricket Nuggets” has been recognised for his cricket work in the community and social media spheres where his “studio” is a home cricket net fitted with a 10m Blue 2G Flicx Skills Pitch built during the pandemic. The aim of Cricket Nuggets is to promote healthy living for all, to inspire, encourage others to keep fit and develop their cricket skills as sport plays a vital role in promoting physical and mental health. Rohan has also sat on the Chance to Shine Youth Advisory board.
Rohan picked up a love for cricket at a young age and has been in the Hampshire County performance pathway since the age of 8. He also plays for his school, Hartley Wintney Cricket Club and Rajasthan Royals UK Academy.

It was the pandemic that prompted the Handa family to build a cricket net to enable Rohan to work on his cricket skills and fitness with the 2G Flicx Pitch set up that also doubled up as a great home cricket studio for Rohan’s video content. As the garden was uneven, it was not possible to train safely so an artificial subbase was constructed, and a fully enclosed cage built. The area was dug out, a wooden frame put in place, limestone chippings compacted with astroturf fixed on top before a 2G Flicx 10m Blue Skills Pitch rolled out to compete the professional set up. This had mostly been a DIY project due to the government restrictions in place at the time with just a local landscaper used to help dig the base.

The 2G Flicx Pitch was selected for several reasons:

• To level out the imperfections of the artificial base
• To make the surface highly sustainable and much more durable than just astroturf
• To create a weatherproof, year-round training facility
• As a training aid, using the colourful skills markings to improve batting and bowling.

“For us the Flicx Pitch has been brilliant” says Dad, “Rohan can train whenever he wants and use the facility all year round. Even with the astro is wet, having the Flicx Pitch on top means you can keep playing safely, the performance of the mat is great and is really good quality”

Vinay Handa

“We love the coloured skills design. For leg spin, off spin and pace bowling Rohan can use the different coloured sections to provide visual aids and for batting train muscle memory on where to place his feet for certain shots. It’s not just a mat … it’s been a great investment in Rohan’s cricket and doubles up as part of his studio too”.

Congratulations to Rohan on this fantastic accolade from the Flicx UK team.