Johnners Trust
About Us
Each year the Trust awards grants, known as Johnners Scholarships, to talented youth cricketers in county or regional age group pathways in England and Wales who need help to meet the costs and demands of travelling to training or buying the necessary kit needed to fulfil their potential at county and regional level and upwards.
The Trust also awards grants to Blind Cricket England and Wales to support Visually Impaired cricket.
Awards are funded by :
- Regular or one-off donations from supporters of The Johnners Trust
- Funds raised at our annual fundraising event, The Johnners Trust Dinner, usually held at Lord’s each autumn
The Johnners Trust was formed in 1995 in memory of the late BBC Test Match Special commentator Brian “Johnners” Johnston. It was founded by Brian’s widow Pauline Johnston, and was originally known as The Brian Johnston Memorial Trust. Since 1999 the Trust has been administered by the Lord’s Taverners.
Notable former Johnners Scholars who have gone on to achieve international careers include Ben Foakes, Heather Knight, Tymal Mills, Ebony Rainford-Brent, Adil Rashid and Anya Shrubsole.
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How We Help - In Their Own Words
Ebony Rainford-Brent (1998, 1999, 2001)
I received back to back Johnners Trust scholarships when I was 14 and 15, and they were equipment grants specifically. I was in the Surrey pathway and was able to us the money to get fully kitted out. Previously, I’d been using a 2nd hand bat from Brixton market which wasn’t even the right size for me. For my mum, it would have been too much to invest in cricket to pay for kit at that stage, but without the gear, when you’re at that age, you can’t really progress. At training, I remember a lot of people used to bring their own balls to practise. So just to have my own balls in my bag was a big deal.
Tymal Mills (2011)
I was on the academy at Essex, so 17, 18 years old, when I received my grant. I was living in Suffolk so it was a good hour and a half to two hours journey to Chelmsford, and I had to take public transport to get there. The Academy Director at Essex applied on my behalf for a Johnners Scholarship to help with my transportation fees for bus and train travel. Public transport can be expensive, and when you’re travelling two or three times a week, those bills add up. So it was a massive help when I was young and trying to put the effort in to make my way through into the professional game, and I’m sure it played a big part in getting me where I am today.
Cricket isn’t always the most accessible sport, and in my instance, travel was potentially an obstacle. I didn’t grow up with a lot of money, I grew up in a single parent household and those costs of getting the train and buses to training twice a week really added up. Without help, I don’t know if I would have been able to afford to have done it for a couple of years. The Scholarship removed an obstacle that could have potentially stopped me playing cricket otherwise.
Notable Johnners Scholars
Each year the Trust awards grants, known as Johnners Scholarships, to youth cricketers in England and Wales who need help to meet the costs and demands of travelling to training or buying the necessary kit needed to fulfil their potential at county and regional level and upwards.
Ebony Rainford-Brent (1998, 1999, 2001)
Jenny Gunn (2002, 2003)
Adil Rashid (2003)
Anya Shrubsole (2005, 2006, 2007)
Heather Knight (2007)
Ben Foakes (2009)
Reece Topley (2010, 2011)
Tymal Mills (2011)
Grants for VI Cricket
The Johnners Trust meets annually at the start of the cricket season to consider and award grants based on applications made by Blind Cricket England and Wales (BCEW).
Grants fund an annual Development Festival and help to fund the BCEW Women and Girls Development Programme.
See below to read more about our support and work with BCEW.
Grants for Individuals
The Johnners Trust meets annually at the start of the cricket season to consider and award individual grants (known as Johnners Scholarships) based on applications made by players’ county or regional coaches.
Applications for the upcoming season must be received by April 1.
If you are a coach at a First Class County, National County or the women’s Regional structure and know a player who would benefit from a grant, please write a letter on County/Regional headed paper addressed to David Graveney c/o The Johnners Trust, and email the letter to davidgraveney@hotmail.com
In the letter, please describe the skills and potential of the player, their age and what pathway they play on. Please indicate the challenges faced by the player and/or their family, and what a grant would help with.
If you are a player and would like to be considered for a grant, please speak to your county or regional coach who can apply on your behalf.
When funds are awarded, the Trust receives feedback from the player midway through the season as to the use and impact of the grant.
Donate Today
Your donation will help us grant more Johnners Scholarships to deserving cricketers. See below to make a one-off or monthly donation to support our work to with talented youth cricketers or our partnership with Blind Cricket England and Wales.
How to Support Our Work
To find out more about the Johnners Trust and keep up to day with all our news and events, please subscribe to our bi-annual newsletter.
Become a Supporter – set up a regular donation of £50 per annum (less than £5 per month) to have first opportunity of purchasing tickets for the Johnners Trust Dinner, historically held in the Long Room at Lords in Autumn.
Make a one-off Donation – we are grateful for all support, and would invite you to subscribe to our newsletter to read about the difference your support has made.
Leave us a Legacy - The Johnners Trust is always extremely grateful when people remember us in their will. The work of the Trust will continue to benefit young talented cricketers and the VI community due to your generosity.
Our Trustees
Jonathan Rice - Writer on cricket history, and former Chair of the Lord’s Taverners
Barry Johnston - Book editor and audiobook producer, and son of Brian Johnston
Alison Mitchell - International sport broadcaster, and Test Match Special commentator
The Lord’s Taverners - Corporate Trustee
More details on The Johnners Trust can be found on the Charity Commission website here
Lord’s Taverners and The Johnners Trust
The Johnners Trust is administered by the Lord’s Taverners as its Corporate Trustee. The Lord’s Taverners assists The Johnners Trust with its activities in order to achieve its aims.
Contact Us
The Johnners Trust
C/O Lord’s Taverners
Fivefields, 8-10 Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1W 0DH
Telephone: 020 7025 0000
About Johnners
Brian Johnston was known as ‘Johnners’ to millions of cricket fans around the world. For nearly fifty years he was the voice of cricket on BBC television and radio. When Brian died in 1994 at the age of eighty-one, the Daily Telegraph described him as ‘the greatest natural broadcaster of them all’ and the Prime Minister, John Major, said, ‘Summers will never be the same.’
Read more here