Essex Cricket Stars Take on the First Bus Battle of the Buses Challenge
First Bus East of England was delighted to host two exciting Battle of the Buses events, welcoming star players from Essex Cricket and key figures from the Department for Transport, who stepped into the driving seat to experience the skills required to be a bus driver.
At the first event, Eva Gray, Cordelia Griffith, and Kelly Castle from Essex Cricket’s Women’s team took on the challenge. All three showed impressive skill, but it was Eva Gray who emerged victorious, showcasing her natural ability behind the wheel.
Then it was the turn of Essex Cricket’s Men’s team, represented by Matt Critchley and Paul Walter. After a closely fought competition, Paul Walter secured the win and achieved the best overall score from Essex Cricket across both events.
Also participating in the event were Department for Transport Minsters, Lord Peter Hendy and Simon Lightwood MP. The challenge offered them the unique opportunity to experience the intricacies of bus driving for themselves, and gain insight into the rigorous training undertaken by First Bus’ drivers to ensure passenger safety and service reliability.
The cricketers were first asked to take a short theory test, before getting behind the wheel. The course, created by the First Bus Essex training school team, put drivers’ skills to the test with a series of carefully designed challenges. Participants navigated a demanding route that included some tight turns, a controlled roundabout manoeuvre, and the ultimate test of precision—a reverse parking challenge. Each driver was scored on safety, accuracy, and control.
The Battle of the Buses challenge is designed to highlight the skill and expertise required to operate a modern bus safely and efficiently. With a strong emphasis on precision, awareness, and control, the competition gave participants a first-hand experience of the dedication and professionalism of First Bus drivers.
Eva Gray, Essex Women’s Vice-Captain and all-rounder, said: “It was so much fun. Starting with a challenging theory test to jumping in the driver’s seat for the practical test was great.
“I was rooting for Kelly and Cordelia when it was their turn but secretly, I think we all wanted to beat each other to be crowned the best bus driver on the leaderboard.
“I never thought I’d have the opportunity to drive a bus so I’m really thankful to First Bus, I’ll be keeping an eye out around Chelmsford for the Essex Cricket bus.”
Paul Walter, Essex County Cricket Club all-rounder, said: “The Battle of the Buses challenge was a lot of fun. I didn’t realise how tough driving a bus would be, it felt like something out of Top Gear, with the leaderboard, obstacles and the First Bus Stig.
“We’re all naturally competitive and it’s always good to get one over a teammate. I also really enjoyed going head-to-head with Critch [Matt Critchley], I’m looking forward to seeing how Kelly, Cordelia and Eva got on.
“Thank you to First Buses for having us down for the day.”
Piers Marlow, Managing Director of First Bus East of England, said: “We were thrilled to welcome players from Essex Cricket and Ministers from the Department for Transport to our Battle of the Buses events. This challenge is a great way to showcase the skill required to drive a bus while also engaging with the wider community. Congratulations to Eva Gray and Paul Walter for their victories, and a big thank you to all participants for taking part.”
First Bus is gearing up to share all the action from the Battle of the Buses events on its social channels. To catch every moment, follow @FirstBusEast on Instagram and @FirstEssexBus on Facebook.
For more information on First Bus services, visit www.firstbus.co.uk.
Notes to editors
About First Bus
At First Bus, we’re on a mission to grow bus usage – so we’ll get behind initiatives that move people out of cars and onto the bus.
We’re one of the UK’s largest bus operators, transporting more than 1.5 million passengers a day. Our local bus services serve more than 25% of the population of Great Britain and over half of the UK’s top 15 most populated urban areas.
We are a leading operator in the majority of our local areas, including major urban centres such as Glasgow, Bristol and Leeds.
We have proudly launched our First Bus London operation and now operate 83 routes in west and central London from 10 garages serving 180 million passengers annually.
The combined operation now manages a fleet of over 5,750 buses across the UK.
Transforming our business for the better, we’re putting our people and customers at the heart of everything we do. That’s why we’re the UK’s largest national bus operator to achieve real Living Wage employer status, cementing our position as an employer of choice in the sector.
First Bus is committed to operating a zero-emission bus fleet by 2035. We will have over 1000 zero-emission buses in operation across our UK fleet by the end of 2025.
We’re passionate about giving back to the communities we serve, which is why we’re helping local businesses to progress their decarbonisation journeys – giving them access to our charging hubs while our buses are on the road.
We also operate, Specialist Passenger Solutions, First Travel Solutions, York Pullman Bus Company, Lakeside, Ensignbus, Anderson Travel - and the Aircoach network and Matthews in Ireland.
First Bus is a division of FirstGroup.
Find more information on our website here: https://news.firstbus.co.uk/