Have your say to the ECB!

ECB offers cricketers a chance to have their say on recreational game

With the eyes of the sporting world firmly focused on the battle for the Ashes this summer, in partnership with the Lancashire Cricket Board (LCB) and Lancashire County Cricket Club (LCCC), ECB today launched its first ever national survey of recreational cricket throughout England and Wales.

The survey will give club cricketers a unique opportunity to have their say on all aspects of the recreational game, influence its future development and take part in a competition to win Investec Test Match tickets. Additionally the LCB will give 5 lucky individuals that complete the survey a signed Lancashire County Cricket Club bat.

Devised as part of the ECB’s new strategic plan, Champion Counties, the survey is designed to give ECB a greater understanding of how best to serve the needs of recreational cricketers at all levels.

The findings will support ECB’s wider plans to invest more than £96 million into community cricket over the next four years across all its 39 County Cricket Boards in England and Wales.

David Collier, Chief Executive of ECB said: “It’s vital that our recreational game continues to grow so we can nurture the next generation of potential England stars and maintain cricket’s position as the nation’s number one summer sport.

“There’s never been a better time to be involved in cricket with more opportunities to play the game than ever before for girls, women and disability cricketers as well as men and boys.

“That’s why we want to hear from players of all ages, as well as anyone actively involved in local cricket clubs including coaches, umpires, scorers or volunteers about how we can make our club game even stronger going forward.”

Bobby Denning, Assistant Director / Head of Development of the Lancashire Cricket Board said: “The National Cricket Playing Survey will provide us with insights on whether or not our recreational cricketers’ experiences meet their needs.

“This is the first time a survey has been conducted on this scale and our actions from the findings will contribute towards more people playing in more teams more regularly. We ask that all players in all formats of the game use this opportunity to have their say. We would also like to hear from anyone interested or involved in local recreational cricket and encourage them to complete this online survey.”

Mike Watkinson, Cricket Director of Lancashire County Cricket Club added: “It is important that we have the right balance between the aims and objectives of recreational cricket and the needs of its cricketers. The survey will provide valuable feedback to support this process.”

Entitled ‘The National Cricket Playing Survey’, the online questionnaire takes approximately ten minutes to complete and can be accessed at: www.ecb.co.uk/playingsurvey.

By completing the survey you will be entered into a prize draw for ten pairs of tickets to the Investec Test Series against India in 2014 and additionally the LCB will give 5 lucky individuals a signed Lancashire County Cricket Club bat.