Cricket Australia pumps in big money to improve community cricket

The amount has been earmarked for improving the facilities and cricketing experience for players, coaches and volunteers across the country, and six key areas have been identified towards this aim: community-based facilities, additional resources such as 58 new community-facing roles in states and territories, financially rewarding clubs, all-girls competitions and teams, community coaching and investment in technology.

CA's Executive General Manager of Community Cricket, former women's team captain Belinda Clark, said the investment furthers the plan of providing the best participation experiences for the cricket community with a special focus on junior cricket. "Last year we conducted our first national audit of community cricket facilities assessing 7100 ovals, 3500 practice facilities and 3,000 changerooms," Clark pointed out.

"The results of this audit suggest that based on population growth and cricket participation trends, 1,400 additional ovals are required nationwide over the next decade to provide communities with appropriate playing facilities. An extra 270 community cricket facility projects will be targeted annually over the next three years thanks to the additional funding."

A new financial model for a cricket event that will provide direct financial benefits to clubs and reward them to run the programme is also part of the plan.

"With the continued rollout of new and exciting game formats for juniors, the launch of the new Woolworths Cricket Blast programme and record numbers of girls signing up to play cricket, it’s a very exciting time for our game," Clark said. "We look forward to working with cricket community across the country to bring this vision to life."

An additional $12.75m will be pumped into the Australian Cricket Infrastructure Fund with the support of the Australian government as well as the state and territory governments in order to triple the number of community-based projects.

A continued investment of $800,000 has also been planned for clubs to grow all-girls’ competitions and teams. Further investment will also be provided for free community coaching courses that will focus on the importance of the role of coaches in developing a good experience for players.

This comes after a pilot project last year saw the number of coaches taking community coaches programme double.

"In addition to the commitment outlined above, Australia’s players along with the Australian Cricketers’ Association and CA are working on a further game-changing financial contribution to grassroots cricket," Clark said. "We look forward to working with the ACA and players on this important initiative."