The mission here is to achieve consistently high levels of success on the international stage, within the framework of the ICC in a manner which develops a strong sense of national pride in the England representative teams. The main aim is to provide a high quality, structured management and coaching regime delivering training and development opportunities to select potential England players at all levels.
Provision for Female Competitors
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is formed with the woman's Cricket Association (WCA) to run the provision for female competitors in cricket. County Boards and County Development Officers are taking the lead in encouraging and promoting women and girls cricket. These responsibilities and programmes have had an effect on the increase of women's games. There has been an eight per cent rise in the number of clubs, resulting in a 19 per cent rise in the number of women playing cricket since 1998.
There is a strong league structure from county, through regional to the National Premier League with an annual system of promotion and relegation. Some clubs play evening league cricket and others concentrate on weekend fixtures. Also, there are many tournaments for women to enter and more and more sponsors are getting involved with women's cricket as they are starting to rise and have an excellent market in attracting people.
Provision for Disabled
Disabled cricket was originally developed by an organization called the CFPD over 10 years ago. Most countries have a team and compete in their own competitions. Disabled cricket is played to the full laws of cricket however there are no fielding restrictions and a player in a wheelchair can ask for a runner. Disabled cricket is becoming more popular and England sent a team to the disabled world cup in India last year.
The ECB's aim is to ensure that people with disabilities in England have the same opportunities as fully able cricketers and that players with disabilities achieve the highest standard of playing excellence that their ability allows them to. Disabled people of all ages and all forms of disabilities are encouraged to participate in cricket. Although, Disabled people are being encouraged to participate in cricket, there is lack of information about the number, ages, gender, and location of disabled people who may play cricket or whom may be interested in playing the game. Also, disabled cricket currently lacks the structure, finance and other resources to achieve with all potential players. Therefore, a 5-year plan has been formed by the ECB.
In this plan it includes:
· To increase the number of people with disabilities participating in cricket.
· This objective includes participation as umpires scores, administrators and
· Groundsmen as well as active players.
· To improve the skill and standards of all those participating in the game by
· Monitoring performance and identifying talent.
· To provide the opportunity for cricketers with disabilities to attain success at all levels up to and including, international competitions by organized programmes of competitive matches, leagues, tournaments, championships, and international matches.
· To ensure the provision of appropriate facilities in terms of access, equipment, pitches, and support services to enable the game to be played safely and successfully at all levels and in all forms.
Analysis
The cricketing schemes and policies of the ECB mean that there is good involvement for girls and boys and that the game is being spread to inner-city areas. The access for facilities is excellent and there is many clubs, which means that people can play cricket whenever they like. Also, the points above such as the provision of male and female are excellent and they provide opportunities to play cricket.
The funding of cricket is very good. Many additional bodies give money and help with the grassroots development in cricket. The national strategy contributes well to the structure of cricket as it provides a guideline to participants and enables them to progress further.
Coaching
The ECB is under the direction of its Performance Department from which it runs a National Coaching Scheme that enabled to equip coaches with the necessary skills to deliver high quality coaching programmes at all levels of the game.
This scheme is managed from the ECB Coach Education Office at Edgbaston.
Here are diagrams from the ECB illustrating all the different stages of coaching that are offered to all coaches want to progress their skills to a higher level as shown on this hierachy:
The National Coaching Scheme:
Level I- This is the entry point into the national coaching scheme designed to equip coaches with the key skills and knowledge required to introduce and develop cricket amongst young people in an environment of safety and enjoyment.
Level II- This level builds on the content of level I and introduces video analysis of batting and bowling as it reviews a range of sports science issues and develops communication skills relevant to working effectively ‘in the nets’.
Level III- Covers the technical, tactical, physical, mental and lifestyle Management aspects of all key elements of the game whilst developing a range of interpersonal skills required to work effectively with talented players on a 1:1 basis.
Level IV- Is aimed towards those coaches who are currently working or aspiring to work in the elite arena. These coaches are likely to be working with first class county teams as their head coaches.
Level V- This level is an indivually tailored scheme where training needs analysed and is a continuous programme for coaches who achieve outstanding results at level IV, and are able to demonstrate a track record of success in the first class arena and aspire to work in or are currently coaching at international level.
These different courses are supported by a range of coach development workshops which address key specific issues and bridge the gaps between Levels I, II and III (inclined development).
Promotional/grass root schemes
The promotional and grass root schemes that are provided by the ECB range from so many organisations within the ECB. The ECB commits 11% of its broadcast revenue to funding grassroots cricket. Over the past four years, the Cricket Foundation, which supports grassroots development activities, has spent over £12 million supporting local clubs, coaches, teachers, and parents to enable youngsters to play cricket. Also, the government’s announcement that £750 million from the ‘New Opportunities Fund’ will be allocated to upgrade and refurbish sports facilities in schools. The investment is urgently needed and the ECB is keen to work with local authorities in helping to determine where the money is sent.
The first one promotional /grass root schemes is The ECB Cricket Factory as this setup will provide a new approach to engaging young people into the sport.
The ECB Cricket Factory provides a platform to allow young participants to perform a variety of cricket activities and challenge all the key basic skills: batting, bowling, throwing, catching and cricket related movement.
As all of these activities provided for the youngsters can be accessed by all participants from 4-18 years as each challenge can be modified to suit each individual’s level of skill or cricket experience.
Supported by local ECB coaches, the aim is to give all participants a positive and fun experience that will encourage them to take up the sport, and provide them all with information relating to where they can go on to play and watch cricket in the future.
The ECB Cricket Factory Tour is a public demonstration of the new ECB Long Term Athlete Development process giving young people the opportunity to experience the game at the right level for their particular level of skill, providing a positive learning process from the playground to the Test arena.
The next scheme provided by the ECB is ASDA kwik cricket which is added to provide an opportunity for all the kids who are interested in the sport.
ASDA Kwik Cricket is a simple game for all boys and girls aged from the years of 5 and upwards.
It is the result of many years of detailed product development and research by the England and Wales Cricket Board in consultation with cricket coaches, , education authorities, teachers and children.
This ASDA Kwik Cricket section shows you how the game is played with examples of different formats, and gives details of the Awards Scheme to test the children's skills as they develop.
This next scheme provided by the ECB is also a very effective for everyone to get involved for certain circumstances and make english cricket a higher standard in the near coming future.
Inter Cricket was designed for boys and girls who, for reasons of facility or ability, can't play hard ball cricket.
It bridges the gap between Kwik Cricket and the traditional hardball game, increasing levels of participation in the game, particularly amongst 12-14 year old children.
Backed by NatWest, this major ECB grassroots initiative is ideal for use in secondary schools and clubs.
Inter Cricket can be played in the playground or on grass, indoors or outdoors; it therefore underlines the ECB's commitment to promoting the game to, amongst others, inner city areas and ethnic minorities.
Kids @ the wicket also is relatively new initiative provided by the test sponsors npower to get kids all excited about cricket and to get involved into it. Through this special initiative, groups of U13s can watch an international match from a specially reserved seating area – the Kidz@thewicket!
On arrival at the Kidz@thewicket Welcome area, all children receive Kidz @ the wicket goody bags containing an energising cricket activity pack, called ‘Sticky Wickets’ tis is therefore designed and mapped to the National Curriculum by Key Stage 2 teachers and based on the ECB’s HOWZAT! 1st Innings and also the kids can receive a cap, T-shirt, giant foam hand and pen.
The last initative by the Ecb that I want to refer is Urban cricket. Urban cricket is also a new scheme provided by the ECB ensuring that the grassroots of english cricket are sound and are a godd foundation for young kids to take part in cricket for.It is aimed for children aged between seven and 12 years old, the ethos of Urban Cricket is simple - get out there and play.
The project aims to introduce the game to a new young audience and to encourage children to actively participate in sport in a fun and learning experience way.
The principle behind Urban Cricket is simple – the chance to play the game anytime, anywhere. And there are 60,000 Urban Cricket kits, which will be made available to youngsters across the UK.
Regional and National Competitions:
The regional and national competitions which consist in within the ECB’s structure can push an indivual to their best ability as it is very well organised and are good foundation’s for beginners in cricket to take part in competitive cricket as well the more advanced cricketers looking to forward their skills to the next and highest level possible.
Liverpool Victoria County Championship - The County Championship is currently sponsored by financial services company Liverpool Victoria. The teams competing in each division in 2007 are as follows:
As of 2006, the bottom two teams in the first division at the end of the season are demoted to the second division for next season. Likewise, the two top finishers from the second division are promoted to the first division for next season, giving them a chance to win the county championship.
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– is a domestic county competition which is the newest from of the game which consists quick fire 20 overs for each team. Most of the standard rules of cricket are retained, but the emphasis is on fast scoring and fast moving cricket. There are limits on fielding positions, and the boundaries are shorter, to encourage aggressive batting. The competition format as the first stage involves counties being split up in to three divisions within Britain into eight counties. This form of the game is becoming a better more enjoyable game which has now been regularly played between international teams to promote the sport and to help in the development within the grassroots of England to produce better elite cricketers in the long run.
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- a domestic 40 over one day competition where there are two divisions consisting of these teams
Division 1 teams in 2006:
- Durham Dynamos
- Essex Eagles
- Glamorgan Dragons
- Lancashire Lightning
- Middlesex Crusaders
- Northamptonshire Steelbacks
- Nottinghamshire Outlaws
- Sussex Sharks
- Warwickshire Bears
Division 2 teams in 2006:
- Derbyshire Phantoms
- Kent Spitfires
- Gloucestershire Gladiators
- Hampshire Hawks
- Leicestershire Foxes
- Somerset Sabres
- Surrey Brown Caps
- Worcestershire Royals
- Yorkshire Phoenix
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-The ECB Trophy is a competition in the . It is one of the four tournaments in which the eighteen counties compete each season. They are joined by teams from and . The competition has previously been known as the C&G Trophy (2000-2006), the NatWest Trophy (1981-2000) and the Gillette Cup (1963-1980). The competition is currently named after the , because no sponsors were forthcoming when decided to end their association with the competition after the 2006 season.
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championship – based on a championship involving the first class 2nd teams and now also the MCC universities. In 2001, this 2nd 11 trophy was introduced to allow the young players to come through and push for the 1st team spot and improve the English cricket standard all the way to the international level.
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– At the recreational level there are many factors which are introduced within kids scheme within the city where facilities and access are a problem for these areas.
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- There are six centres - at Cambridge, Cardiff/Glamorgan, Durham, Leeds/Bradford, Loughborough and Oxford - will each receive £65,000 per annum and will be known as MCC Universities for the duration of the investment. The ECB combined these University Centres of Cricketing Excellence in October 2000 to provide talented and aspiring young cricketers who wish to further their education with unrivalled opportunities to develop their cricket at university and then can develop to the first class counties where they can gain a county contract.
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The minor counties are the counties of that are not afforded status. The game is administered by the Minor Counties Cricket Association within the confines of the . Minor counties do play with first class counties in the qualifying rounds of the C&G trophy to bridge the gap and help the younger players to go through the main counties to strengthen English cricket.
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ECB U17 County Championship- The frizzell u17 county championship is the gap between 2nd team county cricket and minor county cricket between the junior county cricket where any 2 day games take place. The U17 format take place between counties from all over the country which are first class and minor counties
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ECB U15 County Championship – This form of cricket is also similar but is only a maximum 120 over fromat where minor counties and first class county boys take the field competitvely with compettitve leagues in place
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ECB U13 County Cup – The u13 cup is for the very talented juniors where they are now being accustom to being play competitve good standard cricket at their age as this cup allows minor or first class counties to play in round robin matches and then a competitive knockout system to the finals.
Doping Control and testing:
Here are the main rules and regulations which consist within the ECB’s Anti-Doping Regulations policy.
The ECB is very strict on these matters as they do not accept any form of illegal and banned substances to be used as performance enhancing substances and to therefore be cheating their way to success very unfairly
Guidelines for Anti doping Regulations are:
Lawfully players who have prescribed medicines may contain a prohibited substance and it is the players responsibility to ensure that they don’t take it. The ECB is determined to ensure that drugs do not enter cricket and intends to use all possible powers to achieve this. The Discipline Standing Committee wishes every Cricketer to know that the guideline penalties as laid down by WADA is the benchmark which it recommends to Disciplinary and Appeal Panels set up under the system – these include by approach of example a two year suspension for a first offence of using any of the stimulants, narcotic
Analgesics or anabolic agents with a life ban for any subsequent offence. It follows that anyone using a prohibited substance is likely to suffer very serious penalties including being banned from playing for very long periods.
A refusal or failure to take, or interference with the process of taking, a DCT is as serious an offence as if a DCT were taken and demonstrated the presence of a, prohibited substance. A Cricketer who asserts that his failure to take a DCT was 'reasonable' will have the onus of proving that to the Disciplinary Panel which hears his case .The ECB has the power to require a cricketer to take a DCT other than in the random circumstances previously provided for, that is, to 'target' test a Cricketer. This is a power which the ECB will not exercise unless the circumstances demand it, but the ECB will not hesitate to use it in appropriate cases.
Throughout the world in cricket there hasn’t been a substantial amount of banned substances taken permantly by performers but however there have been couple of incidents very recently with two international players. The two players are from the Pakistan national cricket team and they are Shoaib Akhtar (fast bowler) who recorded the fastest delivery bowled over 100mph and Mohammad Asif another top class fats bowler coming into international cricket as a future star. The two players where the first 2 Pakistanis to be banned from an illegal substance which was the performance-enhancing substance nandrolone as the ban period was for Shoaib Akhtar 2 years and Mohammad Asif for the 1 year. The drug scandal started from the drug tests taken out by the PCB and not the ICC so it was not compulsory for the ICC to be involved. The suspension for the pair of them shows the complexity and the no policy enforced very strictly by the ICC to the rest of the cricketing world.
Performance Pyramid
EXCELLENCE
PERFORMANCE
PARTICIPATION
FOUNDATION
The ECB has helped me through every step through to the performance level in this stage of my cricketing career. Like everyone else who takes part in physical activity you have to start off at the Foundation level (the base of the pyramid) where all the basic movement skills and a positive attitude to physical activity through many different activities at school which start to develop at a young age. I personally encountered cricket at the foundation level was going to different schools PE programmes and learning other cricket skills just through playing experience at home with different family members. The next level up is the participation level which youngsters start to choose what to take part in and the level of commitment to physical activity increases. Through the various activities they take part in they can get enjoyment and socialise well to create many friendships. At this level competition, performance and the levels of participation increase. I choose to develop in two main sports which were cricket and football as I enjoyed the two the most through playing at school and joining local clubs outside of school. Throughout school activities extra curricular and curricular I created friendships and as well as improving my overall health and fitness. My health and fitness improved through more physical activity in and out of school including running regularly for 5 minutes a day most weeks.
Extra curricular activities like the school cricket team and playing for my cricket club helped me to progress my skills and to go on to the next stage which is the performance stage. At this point I took forward my stronger and more competent sport which is cricket and play for a higher up club in the region and to play representative cricket for Hertfordshire at u12, 13,14,15,16 and 17’s. Also within the county level I have also had different county trials at Northamptonshire and Middlesex along with representing a combined minor county academy who train in the winter and play matches against first class 2nd teams in the summer .On the performance pyramid diagram it shows different coloured circles to represent where I am at the moment and where I want to go. The blue circle which is on the line nearly towards the excellence level represents where my cricket is at and the green one is where I want to end up as full time professional cricket player most likely only at the domestic first-class level. However the representative cricket which I have played so far and some years to come has helped me to progress as a cricketer and this is through the governing body ECB through many different schemes and the overall structure of English cricket from a young age to the elite level. The ECB has provided all the equipment available for every club and county and also provide for the counties structural leagues and fixtures against first-class and minor counties. The ECB also provides qualified coaches, umpires, scorers and good facilities which are very important as you move up the performance pyramid. I am committed to the sport as I train regularly and receive regular specialised coaching sessions from my county cricket coach on a weekly basis. The representative cricket at Hertfordshire has also helped me to play good quality men’s cricket and to adapt to different sorts of players, pitches to improve my game. The Excellence level is the most elite level where elite performers represent their country in national and international competition. They will be fully committed to the sport and will train full time and receive financial, administrative, medical and personal support. This level is very hard to get to as you have to be very talented and have to stand out from the rest in your sport.
ECB has helped me progress through its much organised structure and development that has been put in place from the foundation to performance level. Also another factor which has helped me progress from foundation to excellence are coaches, teachers, parents, access and facilities. The coaches that I have helped through my career so far are those involved with me at any early age and those involved with me at the performance and excellence level which are at club, district and county coaches. All of these factors have shown me to refine my skills, improve as a player and to progress with confidence which has shown through every stage in the performance pyramid up to the excellence level. My parents I have helped in a way that travelling to matches and going to training during the winter and summer through far way distances which hasn’t hindered me to reach the level I am at. Also the facilities which have been provide to me are have helped through using good cricket equipment, good cricket grounds locally with my club and around the country playing for the county.