I am delighted to be asked to write a short piece for the NACC newsletter on a project the ECB are launching in collaboration with the NACC, Yorkshire, Lancashire and Leicestershire. This project has been a while in the making due to the pandemic, but we are now in a position to launch the Community Talent Champion scheme.
Before I get into the scheme itself I wanted to provide some background…
Winning cricket matches for your country, it’s what we dream of. For some though that dream is harder to see and touch due to the traditional way we have gone about some of our identification processes of young people. We must do more to identify and develop those players of potential who may not have the opportunity be seen in the traditional clubs and league structures. We have to do things differently to unearth the talents like Lasith Malinga or Haris Rauf who were spotted playing tape ball cricket.
ECB figures currently have 33% of cricket in this county being played by South Asian cricketers, however, currently only 4% of professional players are South Asian. We have to do more to identify and develop these players. This isn’t a ‘politically correct’ project, its simply a matter of helping find and develop players to win games for England. The wider and more diverse the talent pool is the better it will be, that’s just simple economics. More players to pick from, more quality, better performances, more wins.
I guess you are thinking how? How can we change the system that has been in place for years?
We believe that in collaboration with local communities we can give every young person with the passion and talent the opportunity of playing professional cricket and even go on to represent their country.
This is where the Community Talent Champion role has come from. Working in collaboration with the ECB, the NACC and three counties (Yorkshire, Lancashire and Leicestershire) we are starting a programme to have individuals from within the South Asian community responsible for identifying young players with potential and then linking them with the county talent pathway and academy. This exciting role will be to establish links with different community groups, to observe players, identify talent, recommend players to the county and work to ensure these players get every opportunity to show what they can do.
We will shortly be advertising for these roles within the three counties and I hope you can help spread the message. However, the challenges we face won’t be solved solely by 3 people. We need your help as well. The more people looking for young people with potential and supporting them to achieve their dreams the better.
Let’s hope this summer will be safe, sunny and that players from a diverse background get the opportunity to show what they can do and get a step closer to achieving their dreams.
LINKS
Lancashire: https://cricket.lancashirecricket.co.uk/media/17288/ctc-job-description-lancashire.pdf
Yorkshire: http://www.yorkshirecb.com/news/vacancy—community-talent-champion-31910/
Leicestershire: https://www.leicestershireccc.co.uk/recruitment.html
