Surrey County Cricket Club has formed a groundbreaking partnership with The Prince's Trust - the Prince of Wales's charity which helps disadvantaged young people make a success of their lives.

Starting in mid-January, a group of unemployed young people from Lambeth will take part in a twelve-week personal development course based at the AMP Oval. This pilot project is the start of The Prince's Trust Cricket Initiative, which hopes to link most of the major county grounds with The Trust over the next twelve months. The project is supported by PricewaterhouseCoopers, whose executive box at the AMP Oval will form the base for The Prince's Trust team. It will be led by a team leader from Lambeth College.

The course is based on teamwork in the community, but the association with Surrey County Cricket Club will use the power of cricket to encourage the young people to join the course, stay on it and get a job at the end. A similar initiative involving The Trust and professional football clubs has shown that a higher proportion of the participants go on to get a job than on similar courses, which are not linked to the sport.

Marcus Ward of The Prince's Trust said: "We are delighted that Surrey County Cricket Club have agreed to host this pilot project. We believe that it will make a real difference to the lives of the young people from Lambeth who participate in it."

Paul Sheldon, Chief Executive, Surrey County Cricket Club stated: "We are extremely pleased to have been chosen by The Trust to host this pilot. It will strengthen our links with the local community and demonstrate that cricket can be a real power for good."

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