ECB Recreational Cricket
A change of strategy and focus
ECB has initiated a major change by
introducing Cricket Unleashed – a
game-wide strategy for cricket. This is a
first-time collaboration of the game’s
stakeholders, united in addressing the
challenges facing the game, including
the decline in participation which, if left
unchecked, threatens the long-term
future of the game.
Why?
day; that it takes too long; and that
they have to travel too far, often for no
result. Now they expect action to
address these concerns.
Neither is cricket inspiring its next
generation, barely making the top 10
for interest among primary school
children. Three in five don’t mention
cricket when asked to name 10 sports
that interest them, and fewer than 1 in
50 say cricket is their favourite sport.
Cricket is only just clinging on to its
position as our national summer sport.
We have only 844,000 players (down
from 908,000 in 2011) who only play an
average of seven weeks in the summer.
Children playing cricket is vital to the
future of the game. 77% of adults
currently playing the game or following
it had played cricket by the age of 16.
Fewer and fewer cricketers would
recommend the game to family and
friends. They tell us that Saturday
cricket starts and finishes too late in the
Vibrant clubs that provide an inclusive
offer to a more diverse community will
be key to cricket being played, watched
and loved by more people.
What?
As a result of the Cricket Unleashed
strategy and the insight detailed,
changes have been made to ECB’s
Cricket Partnerships department.
Working with the county cricket
boards, a full review of resources
to create ‘one unified workforce’ has
been undertaken, with clear
accountabilities at the centre,
regionally and at county level.
A restructure in line with Cricket
Unleashed to deliver the ‘More Play’
strategy has resulted in a new
department title – Participation and
Growth – and a clear ambition to put a
bat and ball in more hands than ever
before.
This has led to a significant change in
shape of the Participation team, with a
learner centre and more roles at a
regional level to drive the significant
growth opportunities across our four
focus areas:
•
Kids – Inspire the next generation
to take up a lifelong association
with the game.
•
Clubs – Support the growth
ambitions of clubs through
creating outstanding experiences
for all.
•
Community – Diversify our
participation base to ensure cricket
is at the heart of our communities.
•
Casual – Provide more
opportunities for people to play
social versions of the game.
How?
The ambition for these growth areas
must be supported by the right
resources, marketing and systems, to
help grow the game as well as drive
efficiencies and ensure the game’s
long-term sustainability and relevance.
The first steps of the restructure were
to appoint a Participation and Growth
leadership team (see page 11) to work
with Matt Dwyer (Head of Growth and
Participation), followed by the
recruitment of their new teams to
support each manager.
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