Photo Credit: Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation
Gloucestershire Cricket has appointed Laura Charles-Price as Head of Talent Pathways. Laura will begin her new role at the Seat Unique Stadium in November after serving as Head of Women and Girls Cricket at the Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation (GCF) for the past four years.
Laura’s appointment comes after Gloucestershire’s Tier 2 status in the recent women’s cricket restructure, transitioning the girls’ pathway from GCF to Gloucestershire Cricket. She will oversee the development of players in both boys’ and girls’ pathways, including the Academy, County Age Group, and Emerging Player Programmes.
In her new role, Laura will be the first woman in County Cricket to hold a joint Head of Talent Pathways position, leading the strategy to provide a clear path for young cricketers to become professionals.
Looking forward to her new role, Laura commented: “There is so much talent in Gloucestershire across all areas of the game and it is now my job to ensure that, as a county, we provide the environment and opportunities to bring that talent to life.
“What pleases me most is that Gloucestershire has recognised the success of the Girls’ Pathway over the last four years and I’m incredibly privileged to be the first woman to hold this Head of Talent Pathways position at a First Class County.”
“I hope this opens the door for more women to take on leadership roles across all areas of the game, and that it demonstrates that female leadership should not be confined to the women’s game alone.”
The recruitment panel was led by Gloucestershire Deputy Chair, David Graveney, in collaboration with the ECB’s Di Lewis, National Talent Manager & England U19s Team Manager, Alun Powell, National Talent Manager for men’s cricket, and Gloucestershire’s Head of Cricket Operations, Cameron Hastie.
Expressing enthusiasm about Laura’s appointment, Neil Priscott, Interim CEO at Gloucestershire, said: “Laura was a stand-out candidate from an impressive field, and her work on the women and girl’s pathway, aligned with her in-depth knowledge of both the boys pathway and recreational game, made Laura our unanimous choice for the role.
“The ability for counties to produce professional cricketers is perhaps more important now than ever before, and the Club’s objective will be to ensure we’re producing a conveyor-belt of male and female talented cricketers in the years to come. We also need to ensure that we go looking for these players right across the county, from the inner cities to the outer reaches of our borders, and I know Laura will be brilliant at building a structure to succeed in this task.
“The appointment of someone who has been developed at the Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation speaks volumes for our burgeoning organisational relationship, and we can’t wait for Laura to get started.”
