Essex, Kent, Middlesex and Surrey County Cricket Clubs can today (Wednesday 7 December) announce a collaborative venture designed to make physical activity more accessible in the nation’s Capital through the game of cricket.
The four Counties, with the support of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), believe that cricket, in all its forms, is the best game to engage with London’s diverse and vibrant population.
The upcoming project, tentatively titled ‘Cricket 4 London’, intends to use the combined resources and expertise of the four professional cricket clubs to combat the limited availability of physical activity and sport in London’s most deprived areas, especially among children and young people.
After working closely together throughout 2022, the counties have agreed that a more collaborative, joined-up approach across London will help create even more opportunities for the next generation to pick up a bat and ball.
Each of the four counties are already delivering community cricket projects across the capital providing opportunities for thousands of youngsters to take up the game but the belief is that by working together the impact of these projects can be significantly increased.
The ECB are backing the venture with funding which will place four additional Development Officers across the Capital. Recruitment will start immediately, and the new Development Officers will be on the ground and running a variety of local programmes at schools, parks, and other community hubs in 2023.
The plan is to formally launch ‘Cricket 4 London’ in February 2023 and quickly build a network of public, private and third-sector partners – many of whom are already working in parts of the Capital – who can help deliver cricket across London and unlock the enormous benefits sport can provide.
More information will be available in the new year.
