The launch of a new national competition makes this a big summer for cricket, and for Welsh cricket in particular. Paul Ashton evaluates KKP’s work on the first joint strategy for the future of the game in Wales.
In March 2019 KKP was jointly commissioned by Glamorgan County Cricket Club (GCCC) and Cricket Wales (the national governing body for cricket in Wales) to develop a cricket strategy for Wales that would link both the community and the professional game.
The purpose was to identify the facility needs for the game of cricket across Wales, providing a structure that would enable both organisations to identify and deliver their strategic aims and objectives, enable cricket to thrive across Wales, and enhance the experience of players (at all levels), spectators and volunteers. This first-ever joint strategy between Cricket Wales and GCCC also needed to encompass the essential elements of the overarching ECB Inspiring Generations Strategy (2020-24), which are:
- growing and nurturing the core
- inspiring through elite teams
- making cricket accessible
- engaging children and young people
- transforming women’s and girls’ cricket
- supporting communities.
Cricket Wales and GCCC were keen that the strategy helped to identify opportunities and priorities for future investment, including the role of the ECB as a key partner – anticipating that the ECB would be making increased facilities investment available to reflect the growth of the short-format game and the launch of its brand new competition, The Hundred, in summer 2020.
As well as helping plan and identify priorities for developing infrastructure fit for purpose for the future of cricket, the strategy addressed other key challenges and opportunities facing cricket in Wales, including:
- Wales hosting a franchise in The Hundred competition
- growth opportunity related to new markets and audiences, including female participation
- talent development
- collaborative opportunity, including options to work more collaboratively with other sports
- the planning process in Wales and, in particular options to consider community asset transfer.
With these parameters and expectations agreed, KKP set to work to prepare a facilities strategy to meet the needs of cricket across Wales. The starting point was application of the principles of the Sport England Playing Pitch Strategy guidance, a document drafted by KKP and published by Sport England in 2013. KKP began its work on behalf of Cricket Wales and GCCC by contacting all national and regional cricket stakeholders to start to produce a needs assessment evidence base. This was informed by extensive in-situ consultation with local and regional leagues, officials and grounds associations, area cricket boards and Sport Wales, alongside a wide range of other interested parties.
KKP’s national cricket club survey was completed by 149 of the 185 clubs affiliated to Cricket Wales. This meant that 81% of the nation’s community cricket clubs took the opportunity to engage with the consultation process, inform the resulting evidence base and shape the future of their game.
Cricket Wales’s area managers were integrally involved in strategy development. They are closely connected to local cricket and its development, so their role in the review and verification of information collected was vital. The data was then stored and analysed within a bespoke database created by the KKP data analysis team specifically for this project.
The focus on face-to-face meetings, information gathering and data verification enabled the project group to gain a clear picture and a deep understanding of the present state of the game across Wales and the range of issues that will need to be considered and addressed to shape its future. The team worked collaboratively to develop a set of recommendations and identify a network of key sites for cricket that will underpin development of the game in specific growth areas while also supporting the work and activity of local cricket clubs.
To assist the delivery of the strategy recommendations and any future planning requirements, KKP used data collected during the project to develop an online interactive map. This enables Cricket Wales and GCCC to plan and prioritise actions at a national, regional and local authority level. It will also serve as an essential post-project tool to monitor implementation of future actions and developments.
With the summer of 2020 set to be the summer of The Hundred, cricket fans in Wales and the south west of England will soon be as familiar with the achievements of the Welsh Fire as they have been with Glamorgan. The Cricket Wales and Glamorgan CCC joint strategy should ensure that they have plenty to look forward to in the years to come.
Paul Ashton is a senior consultant with KKP.
Contact Paul at paul.ashton@kkp.co.uk
March 2020