Photo Credit: Cricket NSW
It was a cricket season in New South Wales that will be remembered for a long time.
From an official participation (and Census) perspective, the 23/24 community cricket season officially finished on 15 April.
At last count, over 56,000 5-12-year-old cricketers signed up to play the game during the season, a testament to cricket’s strong popularity in NSW.
This season has been one of significant growth in the Cricket Blast segment as Cricket NSW (CNSW) seeks to drive the growth of the sport from the ground up.
Cricket Blast, which is Australian cricket’s entry level program, has had its best season ever, with over 32,000 participants, 63 percent up from last season.
This growth has been driven by four key factors:
- A targeted approach to establish programs in areas of higher need and/or opportunity.
- A greater focus on staff delivery to support the work of volunteers in clubs.
- Partnerships with other providers have allowed cricket to further its reach.
- A Cricket365 mentality to genuinely leverage off the summer of cricket also sees cricket more available in the community all year round.
Crucially, club-delivered Cricket Blast programs are up almost 13 percent, showing the clubs provided wonderful support to growing cricket among the age groups where it mattered the most.
Retention from Cricket Blast to Stage 1 junior cricket is a big priority to ensure the progression of our next generation of cricketers from the entry level space to the competition environment.
Junior Cricket also experienced growth this season with significantly more clubs opening their registrations earlier than usual and allowing parents to register to help clubs get set up on the back of the Men’s and Women’s Ashes.
Senior cricket registrations across the state remain steady overall with participation growth evident in shorter formats and more tournament-style competitions. This is reflective of changes in the community sport landscape and current trends identified in research.
With over 12,500 girls playing cricket this season, there were also more 5-12-year-old girls participating than ever before This has also been driven by really strong Cricket Blast participation and the portion of the 5-12-year-old girls’ participation has grown from just over 19 percent last season to 22 percent of total participants this season.
Whilst there is still some calibration, manual entering of non PlayHQ data and cross referencing to be done to finalise the official Census, this result is a strong one in building the base for the sustainable success of the game.
Martin Gleeson, General Manager, Community Cricket Experience, said:
“The excellent results for this season reflect the strategy and attention on the important 5-12- year-old market and the collaboration that can be achieved when a community comes to play and love cricket as a whole. There are many positives from this season and we are looking to build on what we have achieved in the 2023-24 season from the next moment onwards.
“None of the above is achievable without the tireless work of volunteers in clubs who do so much to provide opportunities for people to play our great game. Thank you for your commitment, tireless effort and passion for the sport, it is greatly acknowledged and appreciated.”
Name of Author: Cricket NSW
Cricket NSW, officially the New South Wales Cricket Association, is the governing body for cricket in New South Wales, Australia. Based at Sydney Olympic Park, it oversees the New South Wales Blues, New South Wales Breakers, Sydney Thunder, and Sydney Sixers.
