Nasa Hussain used to dream of playing for Yorkshire and although he fell short of that ambition he has achieved the next best thing — to work for the County of his birth.
Until a few years ago, Hussain, 50, was a taxi driver but now, as groundsman at the revived Park Avenue ground in Bradford, he is an integral part of a hugely exciting, ambitious project that partners are determined will leave a long lasting legacy of community cohesion and sporting excellence.
In late 2015, Yorkshire announced the plan to redevelop Park Avenue, a ground which hosted first-class matches for more than a century until 1996. It was also the home of the now defunct Bradford Park Avenue FC.
The £5.5 million project, which completed in 2019, is a collaboration between ECB, Sport England, Yorkshire CCC and Bradford Metropolitan District Council.
The long-term plan was to transform Park Avenue into a state-of-the art new sports complex including a 3,000-seater stadium with the capability to host international women’s and disability cricket as well as county matches.
Hussain was a good cricketer himself and his medium-pace swing bowling (“I’ve been described as a dibbly-dobbler”) helped Undercliffe win the Bradford League back in the 1990s.
His enduring passion for the game led him to assist with the redevelopment of facilities at Karmand CC in inner-city Bradford. It was there that he established a connection with Richard Robinson, the former Yorkshire cricketer who is the groundsman for the Leeds/Bradford MCC University club. Robinson has become Hussain’s mentor and opened the door for an unexpected second career.
“I’ve worked at Morrisons from 16 for about ten years and then got made redundant,” Hussain says. “l was a taxi driver for almost the next 20 years. Now I’m employed full-time by the Yorkshire Foundation. I’ve said to Mark Arthur, the Yorkshire chief executive, that as a kid you dream of playing for Yorkshire, then you realise you’re not good enough but now at the grand old age of 50, I’ve achieved a dream of sorts – to be employed by them!”
Hussain has even had the rare honour of playing at Park Avenue, for Bradford Schools and then later in a charity match, He recalls: “We got changed in the old pavilion where the likes of Geoffrey Boycott and Len Hutton had been before us, then we walked down the steps which the studs had grooved so much it was almost dangerous. All the terraced seating made it feel like there were
thousands of people watching, when in fact there was barely one man and his dog.”
Park Avenue was where Boycott made his first-team debut for Yorkshire in 1962 against the touring Pakistan side and where Bradford-born Jim Laker took 8 for 2 in an England Test trial in 1950, skittling the Rest of England for only 27.
Hussain dreamed of playing for Yorkshire long before any player of Asian heritage had done so. “In them early days when I was 14 or 15 going for trials with Yorkshire Schools, it was difficult.” he says. “My dad worked nights in the mill so it was difficult for him to come and watch. He didn’t drive either so that was a problem. There was also the perception that Yorkshire was not accepting [of Asian players]. To be honest, though, there was never anything else other than Yorkshire for me.”
While the Yorkshire side now regularly contains Asian players, Hussain feels the new Park Avenue facility will have a huge impact on the local Communities. “Yorkshire has made huge strides already at Headingley with things like the multi-faith room, the no-alcohol areas and hosting the Quaid-e-Azam final. But the Park Avenue project shows that there are people in executive areas of cricket who care about the South Asian community.”
“It is a flagship project and is at the heart of a diverse community with the mosque providing an amazing backdrop”
The project has been backed by ECB board member Lord Patel of Bradford, who has also played at Park Avenue. He says: “Critically, it offers cheap and affordable access to sport in an area where low incomes and lack of facilities have deterred participation in the past, and helps bridge religious divides within local South Asian communities.”
Andrew Watson, executive director of the Yorkshire Cricket Board, adds: “The redevelopment is a great attempt at developing a fantastic community sporting complex in the heart of Bradford. It is a focal point within the community and encourages mass participation by all, in a fully inclusive environment.”
Yorkshire CCC CEO Mark Arthur says: “We’re proud to have played our part in winning local authority approval for this initiative which is also supported by the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation. Everyone at Yorkshire recognises what an important role this project has played in helping us build stronger connections with the local South Asian community in Bradford and creating a very special sporting facility in an area where there is a long-established cricketing tradition.”
Hussain’s thoughts are turning now to the sort of pitches he wants to produce at Park Avenue. “l like to see fast bowlers getting the ball through and batsmen get value for their shots,” he says. “So I’d like a nice fast outfield nice quick pitch – though it’s not easy to make!”
“We used to laugh at groundsmen who would get angry and protective about their pitches. Well, that’s me now! ‘You don’t need to be walking on there… you don’t need to be playing football on there.’ I understand now because I know how many hours it takes to stripe the outfield or make the pitch good. But there’s great satisfaction in it.”
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