Photo Credit: ECB
More than 230 new all-weather cricket pitches have been installed across England and Wales with more on the way, benefitting over 900,000 people.
- 900,000 people benefit from major investment into recreational cricket facilities
- More than 230 new all-weather cricket pitches installed in parks in towns and cities through partnerships with KP Snacks and the London Cricket Trust. Another 40 due to be completed by end of the year, with six more nets facilities ready in urban areas by spring through IG partnership
- Investment into urban areas is part of a £32 million ECB injection into recreational game facilities across the last five years
- Hundreds of other projects funded across England and Wales, including more than 100 pavilion upgrades and schemes to improve facilities for women and girls
Hundreds of thousands more people have been given the chance to play cricket on their doorstep in towns and cities across England and Wales thanks to a major investment in new and improved facilities.
More than 230 new all-weather pitches have already been installed in urban areas, with another 40 on course to be completed by the end of the year.
The new pitches have been installed to make it easier for people to play cricket in urban areas, as part of the sport’s commitment to becoming the most inclusive team sport in England and Wales.
Working with partners such as KP Snacks, IG, Sport England and the London Cricket Trust (LCT), all-weather pitches and nets facilities have opened up access to cricket to hundreds of thousands more people in areas which have traditionally lacked access to cricket.
Over the past four years, the ECB has awarded £55 million in grants, with £32.2 million invested in the recreational game and £22.8 million to the professional game. To drive equity in the sport, the ECB has invested £12.7 million specifically to enhance women’s and girls’ cricket and a further £4.9 million dedicated to improving equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in the professional game.
Investment in the recreational game has varied from major projects such as the all-weather cricket dome at Bradford Park Avenue to much smaller initiatives such as clubhouse and pavilion improvements at hundreds of cricket clubs with support from Sport England.
A key partner in the drive to make cricket more accessible has been KP Snacks, whose Everyone In community pitches programme aims to fund the installation of 100 non-turf cricket pitches across the UK by 2025. This initiative focuses on urban areas with significant demand for cricket facilities, in communities which do not have access to existing high-quality, year-round facilities. The all-weather pitches can be used by grassroots players of all standards, from club cricket, through to those picking up a bat and ball for the first time.
As of September 2024, KP’s work has led to 58 pitches being installed, spread across 19 different local authorities in locations ranging from Newcastle and Leeds to Cardiff and Southampton. By the end of the year, up to 10 more pitches could be installed, with the overall project on track to deliver 100 pitches by 2025.
The ECB has also worked with the London Cricket Trust, which has successfully installed 94 non-turf pitches and 15 new net facilities in London’s parks since its creation in 2018, in line with its core mission of bringing cricket back into public spaces. This initiative has been instrumental in creating opportunities for communities across the city to engage with the sport.
The Trust is a charity formed by Essex, Kent, Middlesex and Surrey County Cricket Clubs which works closely with the ECB to ensure that everyone in London has the opportunity to play cricket, get active and meet new people in their local community.
Meanwhile IG’s ‘Net Gains’ campaign raised £300,000 during the joint 2023 Ashes and is already being invested into six new net facilities across the country. The five-lane training centres are being constructed across the six Ashes venues and are expected to be fully functional by Spring 2025.
Following their contract renewal, the trading and investments company has agreed to contribute a further £1m, joint with the ECB, into grassroots cricket and providing high quality facilities across the UK.
ECB Director of Facilities, Bruce Cruse, said: “The combined efforts of the ECB, IG, KP Snacks, the London Cricket Trust and many of our other delivery partners across the country are helping to ensure that cricket is accessible to all, bringing the game back to communities that have historically lacked the necessary facilities.
“By targeting urban areas where the need for facilities is highest, we are not only expanding access but creating long-term opportunities for people from all walks of life to engage with the game.”
Kevin McNair, Marketing Director at KP Snacks said: “At KP Snacks, we recognise we have a responsibility to our consumers and communities, and we are proud to be championing healthier lifestyles for them. Throughout our partnership with The Hundred, we’re aiming to help thousands of families become more active and we’re building on this with our new community pitch initiative which invests in local communities and improves access to cricket.
Ian Harris, Trustee at London Cricket Trust, said: “Since 2018, we have worked relentlessly to put cricket back into London’s parks. The progress we have made – over 100 installations of non-turf pitches and new net facilities – is testament to the achievement of cricket authorities working in partnership with local authorities. Our evidence shows the facilities are well and widely used; proof, if proof were needed, that demand for sport, in particular cricket, is growing, especially in underserved communities.”
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Name of Author: ECB
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the national governing body for cricket in England and Wales, formed on January 1, 1997. It combines roles from the Test and County Cricket Board, National Cricket Association, and Cricket Council, and integrated the Women’s Cricket Association in 1998. Based at Lord’s Cricket Ground, the ECB oversees all levels of cricket, including national teams for men, women, and various disability categories.
