There is a widespread public misperception that ALL cricket at ALL levels in England and Wales - indeed throughout the UK - is awash with sponsorship monies and, accordingly, is in prime health.

Whilst, thanks to the commercial investments of, for example, such companies as BSkyB, BRIT Insurance and n-Power, this is certainly true of the professional game, unfortunately it is not so for non-professional, recreational club cricket; i.e. for the literally thousands of different amateur cricket clubs nationwide run by volunteers that represent the heart, soul, life-blood and future of cricket in the United Kingdom.

In England and Wales, for example, apart from a few, highly laudable, initiatives such as ASDA's sponsorship of 'Kwik Cricket' 'for primary school children; n-Power's Urban Cricket initiative aimed at getting young children interested in playing the game; the ECB Trust's A Chance to Shine drive to re-introduce cricket back into selected state schools; and n-Power's sponsorship of The Wisden Cricketer's annual National Village Cup Competition; the fact is that very little from the sponsorship millions received by the England & Wales Cricket Board into the professional game is either ‘ring-fenced’ specifically for long-term investment in the development of, or percolates down directly to support, rank and file heartland levels of recreational club cricket where it is most desperately needed; particularly by those clubs that are struggling to survive, avoid merger, or seeking to set up and develop junior and women's sections to attract into cricket more coaches, players, umpires, scorers and members from their local communities and local catchment area schools that no longer offer cricket as part of their sports or the national curriculum.

FACTS

Throughout the UK:

• the professional game represents less than 1% of all cricket played, while in the non-professional, recreational club game there are c8,800 clubs and 2,300,000 dedicated individuals and their families who actively participate each year;


• faced with ever-steeply rising costs in all areas, the number of recreational cricket clubs - some with a history going back more than 150 years - that are finding it necessary either to fold or to merge is increasing at an alarming rate;
  
  
• schools' playing fields and local authorities' sports grounds continue to be sold off for housing and commercial development;


• women's cricket, cricket for those with physical disabilities, including deaf, blind and partially-sighted players – i.e. CC1, CC2 and CC3 category players - and the Over-50s are poorly funded and under-supported;


• many clubs running large junior sections for Under 9 to Under 17 year-olds are finding themselves increasingly unable to recruit sufficient numbers of relevantly-qualified coaches, umpires and scorers and that - for reasons into which the International Community Cricket Trust is currently conducting an in-depth national study - a majority of their junior section players fail to continue on in the club to play for the senior X!s.

It is specifically to address - and to help recreational cricket clubs overcome the impact of - these problems that the International Community Cricket Trust has been founded as a FREELY and readily available one-stop-resource able to offer them innovative, long-term, practical help and support services.

For more details on how YOUR CLUB could benefit from the activities and support programmes of the International Community Cricket Trust and its subsidiary organisations, go to the On-Side Cricket website, www.umpires.tv, or info@communitycricket.org.uk