Justin Welcomes The ECB To See Swindon Academy Cricket Programme

North Swindon MP & Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Sport, Justin Tomlinson, last week invited the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to Swindon, where they met with the team at Swindon Academy to discuss the school's ambition to establish a Cricket Academy.

Swindon Academy are looking to launch a cricket centre of excellence which will aim to develop talented cricketers whilst they still have the opportunity to continue their academic qualifications. The Academy will incorporate the expertise and experience of local clubs as well as utilising the facilities available at Marlborough College, who already work closely with Swindon Academy.

The ECB, who are keen to encourage more state schools offering cricket as a sport, were very excited about the plans for a specialist cricket academy.

Justin Tomlinson MP said: “I am a huge cricket fan so this is a really exciting prospect for me and I am happy I was able to bring together Swindon Academy and the ECB. I certainly hope this will be the start of a positive collaboration which will make the cricket academy a reality. More needs to be done to get more youngsters playing cricket, especially girls and BME communities. It also needs to be on offer in more state schools. Growing up, I certainly wish I had been given the chance to play cricket at school, something which simply wasn’t an option. This is changing and I am glad that Swindon Academy will be helping to play a big part in this.”