A new club competition starts on bank holiday Monday (26 May) when Spencer CC take on Sunbury CC at under-19 level in an important ECB experiment – all eyes on Spitfires versus Chieftains in their T20 at Wandsworth.

NatWest are sponsoring a pilot scheme involving four counties – Surrey, Kent, Yorkshire and Durham – in a drive toencourage migration among teenagers into adult cricket. The idea is to be welcomed, because the drop-off rate after the age of 15 has become an alarming pattern for so many clubs.

The decline of cricket in state schools from the 1980s shifted responsibility for development to clubs. Where one under-18 colts team had been the norm, age-group cricket mushroomed from small to under-15 level. The theory was that 16 year-olds could then move into adult cricket, an assumption now shown to be optimistic in the absence of a peer group. Some youths did play weekend adult games and still do, but far too many did not and still don't.

The NatWest U19 Club T20 competition has gathered 61 teams into regional leagues for 15 to 19 age groups across the four pilot counties in May to August, culminating with county finals and then a national final at Leicestershire's Grace Road ground on 1 September.

The ECB say the project offers youth players the chance “to play the game with their friends, access volunteering opportunities and take ownership of their local club – including selecting their own team-name”.
 
Competing clubs are being encouraged to make an event of each fixture and create a vibrant day with coloured kit and music. Marks will be awarded by the opposition to the home club for their “match day experience”, and at the end of the season the team with the best marks will win tickets to the professional NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day at Edgbaston on 23 August.

As part of the project the ECB have devised a Stay in the Game tool-kit to help clubs deal with drop-off among players aged 15 to 19.  The interactive website offers clubs tips to support retention through three key areas - by providing a range of opportunities to play, by recruiting young players and their parents as volunteers, and by creating the right club environment for young people.  

Mike Gatting, heading the project for the ECB, said that in-depth research had shown that teenagers wanted more playing opportunities and that clubs needed to be more “teen friendly”. He added: “This pilot project is designed to do just that, giving this age-group the cricketing experience that they want – fast lively matches, played with and against their friends, a great social atmosphere, and a chance to make their club look and feel different for one night a week.”

Though this ECB initiative focuses on the better players in a limited format, it will be fascinating to see if the scheme is worth extending.

Competition information:
http://ecbu19clubt20.play-cricket.com

Toolkit information:
http://www.ecb.co.uk/development/club-cricket/club-support/stay-in-the-game