Spirit of WG Grace inspires search for London talent

On his 56th birthday on 18 July 1904, WG Grace hit the last of his 126 first-class centuries for London County Cricket Club, which he had founded five years earlier "to give experience to many cricketers who could not otherwise get it".

The club folded later the same year but, 100 years on, it is being revived by former Somerset and Leicestershire wicketkeeper Neil Burns.

As the chief executive, Burns will officially relaunch the club at a reception in the City tonight with a brief to identify "talented and undiscovered cricketers" and to raise money for special-needs charity, the London Community Cricket Association.

He wants youngsters who have slipped through the net or those deserving a second chance in the professional game to play alongside county and international players, who can be mentors.

They have two fixtures planned - a Twenty20 match on 31 August against county champions Sussex and a 50-over game against MCC on 8 September. Burns, 38, will then lead a party of talented youngsters and first-class players to South Africa early next year before embarking on a full 2005 fixture list.

He said: "We'll be breaking boundaries by discovering, developing and mentoring people with the potential to become top class in cricket. We are creating the opportunity for them to showcase their talent." Burns, who runs a sports management and coaching consultancy in Ascot, came up with the idea of relaunching LCCC last year after hearing of the Grace link from a friend.

"I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to relaunch a fantastic - and often forgotten - part of cricket history," he said.

Burns has spent 10 months enlisting support for the venture, which he is initially financing out of his own pocket but hopes to recoup in sponsorship.

Steve Waugh, a friend of Burns since their days at Somerset, is hoping it can work alongside his sport and arts foundation for disadvantaged youngsters in Australia.

Burns hopes to take cricket into the neglected inner-city areas and Anglo-Asian communities.

He cites Phil Tufnell as an example of the type of player in mind.

"Phil could have dropped out of cricket when his mother died at an early age," said Burns.

"He was in a bad way and it was only thanks to his father that he attended the Lord's indoor school. Not everyone has somebody like that."

Burns, a former Tottenham and Leyton Orient trainee, points to late developers in other sports like Ian Wright, who only signed professionally with Crystal Palace at 21 but then played at the top for 15 seasons.

"We don't intend to step on the toes of other bodies like Surrey and Middlesex but work with them, supporting ventures outside normal funding streams," he added.