Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced investment of £35 million in grassroots cricket facilities and widening access to the sport within state schools, in the latest move by the Government to get one million more young people physically active by 2030.
The investment, to be delivered over the next five years during which England and Wales will host the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, includes a major capital programme that will see 16 state-of-the-art all-weather cricket domes built outdoors within host cities across England.
These will allow for participation in cricket throughout the year, connecting school, community and talent programmes. Each dome will be built within diverse communities where figures have indicated low levels of physical activity. It follows the first cricket dome opened by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in Bradford.
The Government’s investment will also deliver an extension to the ECB and Chance to Shine charity’s free, in-school cricket programme for every single school child in inner-city locations within the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup host cities across England. This will have a particular emphasis on children from lower socio-economic groups building on existing investment from Sport England.
As part of this funding, £14 million will go to three charities. Chance to Shine is dedicated to delivering accessible cricket into schools and local communities, Lord’s Taverners have a focus on access to cricket provision for children with special education needs and disabilities, and ACE engage young people of African and/or Caribbean heritage.
The total investment is expected to deliver around 2,500 pieces of new equipment to every school involved in the programme, and help to get 930,000 pupils playing cricket over the next five years.
The news coincides with the start of the men’s County Championship season today, the imminent start of the summer term when cricket is traditionally played in schools, and comes while the England Women are competing against New Zealand and ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup being hosted by the UK and Ireland in 2030.
