Mens high performance review report

F I N A L R E P O R T OUR PROPOSED ACTIONS • Develop an U17s England programme with matches overseas against international opposition OUR RATIONALE Playing international cricket puts players under the spotlight and comes with its own unique pressures and challenges that can be difficult for a player who has not been nurtured into that environment. The U19s has played a positive role in helping future England players acclimatise to these challenges. However, players do not currently get these experiences until they reach U19 cricket, and are not able to benchmark themselves internationally, nor gain meaningful overseas experience, before this level. Football has set the standard of best practice in international sport, with all major nations fielding U17 teams and competing in World and European competitions at this level. Therefore, in addition to the existing U19s, we propose that a full U17s programme is developed. RECOMMENDATION: 8 PROVIDE EARLIER INTERNATIONAL BENCHMARKING Case Study: The Football Association In 2012, The Football Association sought to understand the continued underachievement by men’s England teams in international tournaments. Their analysis focused on the key success factors of leading European and global nations, and identified a range of attributes that these teams had where England were falling short. One of the biggest observations was that these teams excelled in youth age groups. Rival countries consistently demonstrated strong performance at junior levels, gave individual players the opportunity to accumulate matches through age groups, and offered diverse experiences for these teams, playing against different international opposition around the world. The analysis informed a range of recommendations including, crucially, buy in from senior management and board to implement changes to the way that England engaged with clubs, selected players, and developed its games programme. The changes preceded a remarkable turnaround in youth team performance, with England winning the U17 and U20 football World Cups in 2017, as well as U19 European Championships in the same year. Then in 2018 and 2021, England reached their first major tournament semis and final for 28 and 55 years respectively, with the vast majority of the squad having been capped repeatedly at youth level. HIGH-PERFORMANCE REVIEW OF MEN’S CRICKET IN ENGLAND AND WALES 20