By Charles Randall
25 November 2014
A major nationwide consultation process within recreational cricket is to be launched in an attempt to reverse a decline in playing activity, the ECB disclosed at the Club Cricket Conference lunch at Lord's this week.
Paul Bedford, the ECB officer for non first class cricket, made an impassioned plea for support from the Club Cricket Conference and National Cricket Conference in a brief speech. He said there was a “significant challenge” ahead, referring to the recent ECB survey that seemed to show that the number of players was on the wane at club level.
“The ECB are going to ask clubs to get behind a plan this winter,” said Bedford, a former CCC representative player. “We are going to provide some leadership and we need everyone's help to turn the tables.”
By coincidence only the day before Bedford's speech the Club Cricket Conference, through their development officer Gulfraz Riaz, had already taken a significant step in this direction with the formation of a national body representing the interests of South Asian cricket. About 50 Asian community and league leaders attended a meeting at Edgbaston and agreed to inaugurate the National Asian Cricket Council, appointing an interim committee.
Early in 2014 Riaz brought together 11 Asian leagues in the south east, forming a group of representatives to meet regularly under the banner of the South Asian Cricket Leagues Forum. The success of this initiative led to the Edgbaston meeting, attended by delegates mainly from the London area, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Midlands and Bristol.
Wasim Khan, due to take over as Leicestershire's chief executive at Grace Road in January, gave an inspiring keynote speech. He said this was a unique opportunity to provide the ECB with solutions rather than expecting the ECB to come up with solutions, and he saw the new National Asian Cricket Council as important in the process of integration, not segregation.
More than three years ago the Club Cricket Conference realised that there was a large number of ethnic clubs, with probably thousands of players, outside the ECB umbrella without access to grants and resources widely available to established cricket clubs. Without input from the Asian community, the number of active players in England and Wales could never be accurately counted.
Bedford gave no detail of what the ECB had in mind, though he explained later why he faced a busy winter. “Plans are only just being formulated,” he said. “We have lots of ideas about what could be done, but we want to test them first with people in the game before committing.”
Bedford said the ECB intended to work closely with leagues and they were planning a series of meetings in England and Wales throughout the close season with all stake holders in the recreational game, including clubs, players, umpires and coaches. The ECB have given themselves a sizeable task, and time is not on their side. This looks like being the biggest investigation into non-professional cricket for 10 years, since David Dolman published his “strategic plan” for all cricket. His revealing 2004 report for the ECB should provide a point of reference this winter.
At the Conference lunch Bedford paid tribute to the outgoing ECB chief executive David Collier, who had increased resources available at club level. His legacy included the Cricket Force scheme with NatWest – an attempt to inspire members to work at their own club facilities – and the OSCAs awards lunch to honour the contributions made by so many club volunteers. Collier is due to become the CCC president in 2015, the centenary year.
With access to Collier's experience and enthusiasm, the Club Cricket Conference – and the new National Cricket Conference under the guidance of Simon Prodger – are well placed to assist Bedford's work. There will be no easy answers.
The new charitable arm of the CCC, the Club Cricket Charity, expects to play its part with support in areas not well served by mainstream grants, most notably park cricket, which often means ethnic cricket.
Robbie Book, a trustee of the charity, said: “This group of cricketers, under the radar of the established cricket family, play the game in leagues and family teams on poor - and becoming more difficult to find - local authority pitches because they do not have the financial resources to do otherwise.”
Book added these cricketers had no clear way of improving facilities and safety in the way league clubs could and he hoped the charity could help fund coaching and ground-sharing with clubs. The pooling of playing resources, he said, would be a win-win for both groups. But the park aspect was one of many ways that the Club Cricket Charity could help the amateur game.
Lunch guests bought a large number of The Reluctant Umpire, a short book of tips for players roped in to stand when no umpire might be available. The entire £10 cover price went to the charity.
Almost 450 people attended the lunch at Lord's, fewer than 2013, but it was as usual a very enjoyable occasion while people in the club scene caught up with each other socially. Funds were raised to help keep the Club Cricket Conference financially secure, with thanks to the generosity of the diners and the main sponsors Akzo Nobel. Further valuable support came from Fuller, Smith & Turner; Daylight Signs; Everett MacLeod Limited; BIRA; Beavis Morgan LLP.
The CCC announced details of the centenary two-week tour of Barbados and Grenada on 5-19 November 2015. Flexible good-value supporters packages are being arranged by Smile Group Travel, with prices starting at £1,345.