Category Archives: Uncategorized

So the County Grants* scheme is already closing to new applicants in one county and never really opened in another.  What’s the story in your patch?  It’s the age old question: what comes first, facilities or people?  How are ECB and County Board priorities* aligned with yours?  Regardless, now more than ever it will takeContinue reading “Latest update”

As we see in the results of the Sources of Revenue Survey in images, (ranking revenue sources by income band) very few clubs thrive mainly on the basis of membership subscriptions and match fees. In any case, cricket objectives dependent on recruitment and retention of players means spreading the considerable costs of playing beyond the playersContinue reading “Where is your revenue generated?”

Club cricket in England and Wales is at a watershed. As many clubs deliver on past participation and growth strategies, the ECB appears ready to walk away from further material support as the big challenges to clubs’ ability to thrive in future get too hot – and potentially expensive – to handle. The Cricket ClubContinue reading “The state we’re in: club cricket at a tipping point”

The website Members’ Portal was launched in 2023 and over 600 members have already registered. All you need to do: 3. Then simply register for access to the Portal here at the same time as completing the survey You will get acknowledgement but your registration still needs to be approved.  It says within 24-48 hoursContinue reading “Members’ Portal live”

Unsurprisingly, over 80% of Network members say funding and finance issues are amongst their highest priorities. And, within that number, nearly 50% say they are planning significant facilities investment in the near future. So what do we know: The Network’s Breakfast Club is a fortnightly ‘drop-in’ roundtable discussion on Thursdays, 9.30-10.30am : More details onContinue reading “Do you need to invest in new facilities?”

This is the final version of an article in the June edition of The Cricketer. It concludes a series of articles – you can find using the back tab at the bottom of this and previous pages – reflecting Network discussions on current critical issues suggesting the club game is at a tipping point. Recreational cricketContinue reading “The state we’re in”

“I recently bumped into a lad who recognised me from the programme years ago.  He said I’d helped lift his aspirations; he’d been to university and now had a good job.  These stories make it all worthwhile,” says Tariq Ali.  “The MBE (for services to the community) is special but it’s making a difference inContinue reading “Old chestnuts and new models”

This is the final article published in The Cricketer in July 2023. The rather longer polemic on which it’s based including analysis of the challenges in reversing the decline of state school cricket and possible prescriptions, woven in to the findings from the ICEC report, can be found here The long awaited ICEC report is as critical ofContinue reading “A manifesto for change”

The recent spate of county compulsory affiliation drives is accompanied by imposition of a raft of ECB policies many feel inappropriate for the recreational game including the General Conduct Regulations (GCRs). The following article published in the The Cricketer in May 2022 reflected pushback by some clubs and leagues at the time resulting in a dilutedContinue reading “One rule fits all”