2022 ANNUAL REPORT

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY CRICKET CLUB 2022 ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 60 50 years, work commitments had finally allowed her time to become a member in 2018. She had been given great support by the stewards and by members of the club’s com- munications team who had assisted her by putting the Annual Report into specialist software which made it accessible for her. Ms Pursehouse then asked MandyWright (Community and Development Manager) to give a short presentation. MsWright began by saying that the community and development team’s mission was, quite simply, to grow the game at the grassroots – and they were now 12 months into their new five-year plan to achieve this. With all the activities of the former Nottinghamshire Cricket Board now coming under the umbrella of the county club, the past year had provided the opportunity to use these closer working relationships to support participants across the county. And despite the continuing effects of the pandemic throughout 2021, her team had been able to regain the momentum they gained during a remarkable 2019 – and MsWright felt they were now able to look forward with optimism to 2022. Clubs and leagues remained at the heart of the recreational game – and with participation levels in 2021 ten percent higher than those of two summers ago, MsWright believed that the sport was in great shape at grassroots level. The job of MsWright’s team was to support those clubs and leagues as they continued to grow – whether financially, through helping them to access grants and funding, or with training and expertise. Almost £150,000 had been chan- nelled into Nottinghamshire’s recre- ational network in the last year, with total investment over the past two summers reaching £1m. Her team and its partners had also ensured that clubs had completed safeguarding training to ensure they could provide a safe, welcoming environment for everyone. MsWright observed that those clubs simply could not operate without the tireless efforts of their volunteer workforce – and every year her team were humbled by the stories of dedication and commit- ment they heard from across the county. With the right skills and knowledge, MsWright believed that those volunteers could help to push the game forwards. In the past year, her team had delivered courses to over 150 coaches, 32 officials and 55 young leaders – with ever-increasing proportions of these being women, or from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. If cricket was to continue to grow at the pace experienced in the previous few summers, transforming the women and girls’ game would need to be at the heart of her team’s efforts. Hundreds of girls had already been introduced to cricket within the county boundaries since the start of 2021, whether in the ECB national programmes, All Stars and Dynamos, in new soft and hardball teams and sections or in the new MCC Foun- dation hub inWorksop. With an ever-increasing number of female professionals in the country, and withThe Hundred providing both exposure and a pathway to the top of the game, the cricketing journey for women and girls was described by MsWright as being clearer than ever before. Elsewhere, MsWright’s team had trained 50 new female activators from a South Asian Background through the ECB’s City Programme, backing up previous work with the Haydn Road Community Cricket Club to encourage increasingly- diverse inner-city audiences to get involved with the game. MsWright stated that work to engage children and young people had continued in earnest too. Whether captured by watching their heroes on the Trent Bridge turf – as so many were when they visitedTrent Bridge during the final championship game of the season – or whether participation had laid the foundations for their future involvement, it was crucial that the club continued to inspire the next generation. MsWright revealed that the club’s community & development team had returned to primary schools once lockdown eased to deliver Chance to Shine sessions, while children who thrive on competition were well catered for by age-group leagues and cups from U9 to U19 level. And just as cricket should be a game for those of all ages and back- grounds, MsWright believed that all abilities should be catered for too. She revealed that the club now operated threeWicketz hubs across the city to cater for young people of any skill level from disadvantaged backgrounds, while it had taken Table Cricket into nine schools and established two Super 1s hubs to provide a route into the sport for those with disabilities. Simply put, MsWright continued, each and every one of the club’s initiatives were designed to help broaden cricket’s reach within Nottinghamshire communities. As her team moved into the second year of a five-year plan, their priorities would be to focus on recruitment, retention and reconnection.