MEET THE TEAM

On March 7th 2026 the first full project team to visit Brazil will meet up somewhere in a South American airport terminal and spend two weeks doing…..well, you’ll need to bookmark this blog and follow Team Brazil to find out……..

As is usual with a CWB project the Team met a few weeks in advance to meet for the first time, determine who is who, what is what, and who does what!

Back Row [L-R] Yolls, Maz, Pledge, Tigger, Dr. Begg
Front Row [L-R] Mango, J, Boothy, Jo

Full Name: Yolanda Harris
Nickname: Yolls or Big Y
Occupation: Retired Project Manager in Banking sector
Best Cricket experience(s): Umpiring England Visually Impaired men’s team, watching Anna (daughter) score her first fifty, score her first century, play for England, umpire her first international, umpire her first test match and meet her after she had been to Buckingham Palace as county league champion!
Favourite chocolate bar: Crunchie
If you could have any job for just one day, what would it be? The person that opens the door of 10 Downing Street. I think you would get a lot of gossip…… 
Why Brazil? I have been on 6 CWB trips in the last three years – twice each to Nepal, Rwanda and Uganda. Brazil is an exciting country to visit with its reputation for vibrancy and passion and it will be great to bring CWB cricket to the children as well as get a chance to learn a little about the place. And my daughter has put in an order for more coffee beans to get her through her day in the NHS!

Full Name: Marilyn Smith
Nickname: Maz
Occupation: Town Planner
Best Cricket experience(s): Captaining MCC Women at Lords
Favourite chocolate bar: Cadburys Dairy Milk.  The really big bars, and lots of them (yes Maz! – Ed)
If you could have any job for just one day, what would it be? Call me crazy, but I kind of love what I do now -part time council work, part time cricket volunteer
Why Brazil? I’ve always wanted to go there, I’m really interested in their development of women’s cricket and I’m intrigued by their development.

Full Name: Daniel Pledger
Nickname: Pledge
Occupation: Senior Research and Evaluation Consultant
Best Cricket experience(s): Being in the crowd for West Indies vs USA in Barbados at the last t20 World Cup. Listening to Rally round the West indies live in Bridgetown on a Friday night is a bucket list moment I never knew I had.
Favourite chocolate bar: Tony’s Chocolonely Original 
Why Brazil? I’ve never been to South America. Brazil looks to be a fantastic opportunity to visit somewhere new while supporting CWB at the same time, especially exciting as it’s the inaugural team project to the country.

Full Name: Sian Williams
Nickname: Tigger
Occupation: Nurse since I was 17. Teaching and Learning MSc.  to share and facilitate the education and learning for great practise for nurses and Drs. Now aposentada / jubilado
Best Cricket experience(s): Playing with the children and coaches enjoying what cricket offers
Favourite chocolate bar: 80% dark pure chocolate
If you could have any job for just one day, what would it be? To work as a vet with big animals [see team photo above! – Ed]
Why Brazil? What a big country, let’s get a taste of the food, culture and people and see what we have in common and what we can share.

Full Name: Sara Begg
Nickname: Doctor Cricket
Occupation: Perpetual student/CWB Head of Social Impact
Best Cricket experience(s): Watching the girls who started in Nepal as Cricket Changemakers boss running sessions unaided.
Favourite chocolate bar: Kinder Bueno ‘cos I can kid myself its 2 chocolate bars for one
If you could have any job for just one day, what would it be? Assuming I would also be good at the job, I’d like to fulfil my childhood dream of being a fire fighter.
Why Brazil? To build on the great relationship we have started developing in the fact-finder mission this summer, and in particular the new Cricket Changemaker group there!

Full Name: Thomas Manning
Nickname: Mango or Twomble
Occupation: Data Protection and Digital Operations Manager
Best Cricket experience(s): Winning an ECB OSCA for the best All Stars Programme in England which led to our Club making ICC Cricket World Cup adverts with Ebony Rainford-Brent, Michael Vaughan and Phil Tufnell.
Favourite chocolate bar: Dairy Milk [How is this even a question?]
If you could have any job for just one day, what would it be? Presenter on Match of the Day
Why Brazil? Pele, Zico. Josimar, Ronaldinho and I’ll go in goal. What a 5-a-side team that is. Only the one weak link…… Aside from the football history I’ve never experienced South America or the issues faced by the young in Brazil so I’m interested to learn, understand and support the sustainable delivery of sporting alternatives to what could otherwise be dangerous life choices.

Full Name: Jonathan Mulcahy (tis Irish!)
Nickname: JM or J [just don’t call me John!]
Occupation: Retired Banker
Best Cricket experience(s): watching my son Ollie (when he as 10) take 4 wickets in 4 consecutive balls
Favourite chocolate bar: Crunchie [recent convert courtesy of Yolls – see above]
If you could have any job for just one day, what would it be? Speaker of the House of Commons (in the style of Basil Fawlty!)

Full Name: Lee Booth
Nickname: Boothy
Occupation: CWB Head of Delivery
Best Cricket experience(s): Coaching Rwanda Men at the World Cup Qualifiers in Namibia (and then the week after in South Africa where we beat Uganda for the first time).
Favourite chocolate bar: Tough call but for pure bar format chocolate I would pick a Picnic
If you could have any job for just one day, what would it be? I would love to walk in Brendon McCullum’s shoes for 1 day, imagine getting paid all that money to go play golf.
Why Brazil? I first met the Brazil women’s team in Rwanda several years ago and was instantly impressed with how at all levels they are not only trying to produce a winning team but also ensuring that cricket can be used for social good.