Grass-roots and state school cricket to receive £35m government investment

The government has pledged £35 million of investment over the next five years into grassroots and state school cricket.

The funding will see 16 state-of-the-art all-weather cricket domes built outdoors within cities across England that will host games at two T20 World Cups held in England: a women’s edition in 2026 and men’s edition in 2030.

The domes will be built within culturally diverse communities where “figures have indicated low levels of physical activity”. This follows the launch last year of the first of these domes, in Bradford:

Trailblazing all-weather cricket dome officially opens in Bradford

Three cricket charities – Chance to Shine, the Lord’s Taverners, and the ACE (Afro-Caribbean Engagement) Programme – will share a £14m funding boost in a bid to help the game reach more state schools, where the game has withered in recent years. That investment is expected to bring “2,500 pieces of new equipment to every school involved in the programme, and help to get 930,000 pupils playing cricket over the next five years”.

The chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, Richard Thompson, hailed “a seminal moment in enabling the game to invest significantly in areas that up until now have not had the support they deserve”.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “I first experienced the magic of cricket watching Hampshire play at my local ground in Southampton as a child.

“For young people watching their first match today, the draw of getting outside and enjoying the game is just as strong, particularly as we look forward to hosting the women’s and men’s T20 World Cups.

“There remains huge potential to grow the sport even further and open it up to everyone, from all backgrounds and in all parts of the country, building on the great work of organisations such as ACE and Chance to Shine.

“That is why I am so proud we are making a major £35 million investment in grassroots cricket today, to widen participation in schools, encourage health lifestyles and provide world class, all-year-round facilities for local communities.”

The announcement of the investment coincides with the launch of the new county season but also, more curiously, on the same day that the cross-party Culture, Media and Sport committee released its latest report on equity in cricket, following the game’s latest appearance before the committee in February, which included evidence from the ECB, the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (which delivered a report last year) and from Colin Graves.

The report states that the ECB should “keep a close eye on progress to ensure Yorkshire continues going down the road to reform” following Graves’s return as chairman, and ensure there is no return to “‘business as usual,’ that allowed a culture of discrimination to take root and thrive at the club” until former player Azeem Rafiq shared his experiences.