Monthly cricket update from Interim Lead Officer Richard Cox

22 Jan 2023   |   By Kirsty Sockett

22 nd January 2023

Welcome to Volume 1 Issue 1 of the new Herefordshire Cricket newsletter as we embark on a new season and year. Firstly, a belated Happy New Year to all of you and here’s to a successful Summer of Cricket for everyone junior and adult alike.

Over the last few months since September, Herefordshire Cricket has had its periodic reviews from various organisations as part of their assessment systems. This has ranged from a global audit of all things in Herefordshire Cricket by ECB our major funder, to the National Counties Cricket Association discussing our plans for players and promotion of the Herefordshire Senior men’s team for 2023, to our Emerging Players Programme being assessed and we have had an external audit by Adrian Collins, Shropshire Cricket Chair, which we welcomed to help set out some recommendations which will be available for viewing via our media channels.

In between all of this, there has been several changes at Pentland Gardens in the way we operate. Five new Operations Groups have been formed to sit under the Board to transact business issues. These areas cover Compliance, Recreational Cricket, Performance Cricket, Sponsorship and Commercial Operations and finally Finance. The Board now meets bi-monthly. But what does all this mean for the interested Herefordshire Cricket lover. Here are a few soundbites.

·       The Directors and Staff are working together on several projects in the organisation – an example of this would be gaining commercial sponsors to support Cricket in the county and reduce costs. We are also looking at changing the status from a Limited Company by guarantee to a Foundation or Trust to put Cricket at the heart of the community and enhance funding opportunities.

·       On a funding note, we have abolished County Age Group Match Fees for the 2023 season as well as offering a training shirt free of charge to all players this Winter in the squads and expect to go further with this cost reduction process as we assess the Summer. All Teams are back in the ECB Comps for 2023 as well as having Festival Opportunities at Malvern.

·       The Marches League is no longer run from the office but instead as an integral part of the Worcestershire League whilst retaining its own identity within that set-up.

·       But perhaps the most important change is that Clubs have become a primary work-focus with Richard Skyrme returning to the role of Club Development Lead and will be supported by all of the staff on various items as we seek regional meetings and 1-1s with the Clubs. Richard retains his role as the Performance Lead for Cricket in the county. Claire Langford will be supporting Clubs with Safe Hands and also ensuring the Junior Leagues are focussed on delivering match play that assists coaching at Clubs.

·       Chance to Shine and the Champion Schools Programme led by Pete Gale now has strategic links to Clubs and also Pete will lead on Women’s and Girls initiatives around Club cricket.

·       The Herefordshire National Counties Development XI (2nd XI has ceased) will be a team of Herefordshire players only whilst the 1st XI will carry a minimum of 2 local players in the T20 programme and beyond – each game.

·       We are reducing our media handles to one play cricket site and one social media site across the spectrums in order to make it easier for people to follow us – this together with a revamp of the website will make it easier to navigate and to populate more often. Then there is this publication which will be overseen by Kirsty Sockett as we look to reach out to you on a monthly basis with news, views, features, and information, bringing together the cricket community in the county.

·       Perhaps most importantly, given the rigour the game has been through in the last 12-18 months with ‘inclusivity’ being under the microscope we are aiming to ensure the game is safe and compliant for all.

·       The Directors and Staff have taken feedback that Herefordshire’s cricketing fraternity needs to understand what happens at Pentland Gardens and we are therefore coming out to see you formally and informally – look out for the Cricket Awards Evening as well as our Regional Meetings that are being arranged in March.

Of course, we don’t have all the answers, the game has the answers, and you are the game – the readers, the followers, the supporters, the players, the officials, the ground care experts and the volunteers.  Our aim is to work together and provide as many solutions as possible to ensure a stronger future for Herefordshire Cricket.

Finally, as I welcome you to the first issue and as someone who fell in love with Cricket in Herefordshire some 30 years ago as a player in some of the inaugural county matches, I want to thank you for the warm welcome I have had over the last 3 months as Interim Lead Officer for HCL. Much of the time as you can see from the above has been spent behind the desk but as we proceed to the Regional Club Meetings, I hope to meet many of you and listen to your stories in the hope we can support you further for the good of the game. Thank you for reading and enjoy the news …

Richard Cox – Interim Lead Officer.