Mens high performance review report

I believe we have an opportunity in the coming decade to create the greatest ever era of men’s cricket in England and Wales. While this high-performance review was commissioned on the back of another heavy away Ashes defeat for England Men, the recommendations don’t just serve England. They come together to create what I believe is best for all concerned in Men’s Cricket in England and Wales; England teams, counties, players, coaches, and fans. We have set a clear ambition: for England to be the world’s best team across all formats within five years, for a sustained period of time. Underpinned by a thriving domestic game. It is my view that the only way to orchestrate such a period of success is to create a truly aligned high-performance system across the whole of England and Wales. This document sets out what we believe to be the fundamental changes required to achieve our ambitions and ensure that we continue to evolve a vibrant domestic game in the face of huge change and upheaval in global cricket. Although many will focus on the recommendations around how we structure and schedule our domestic cricket, I would like to encourage people to consider our proposals as a holistic package – only with full alignment and commitment as a game will we achieve our ambition. I am acutely aware of both the passion and strength of feeling around our domestic game. What I can guarantee anyone reading this review, is that our proposals for the domestic game are based on evidence as to where the gaps in the domestic game lie, both in standards and intensity, as well as firm principles around what high- performance systems require from their competitions. SEPTEMBER 2022 FOREWORD - SIR ANDREW STRAUSS What is clear is that the current schedule is not optimal and must change. Our proposals would safeguard first- class cricket, improve the quality of the first division of the County Championship as well as offering more during the heart of summer. They would improve the narrative of competitions such as the One Day Cup and the T20 Blast. They would improve links between the T20 Blast and The Hundred. They would address some of the concerns about the volume of cricket being played by reducing demands on multi-format players and ground staff as well as giving more opportunities for first-class cricket to be played throughout the season. Overall, we aim to raise both the standard and intensity of all our competitions; a positive for players, fans, and the whole game. Ultimately success lies in the execution rather than the review itself. Support and buy-in is needed from the First-Class Counties on domestic game recommendations, while we look to the ECB to review and implement the rest. I look forward to discussing these proposals with the game over the coming weeks and I appreciate that the First-Class Counties will want to consult their players, members, staff, and other supporters. I firmly believe that if the game comes together, we will be able to achieve remarkable success on the field and create heroes in the process. If we want that to happen, in the face of a rapidly changing landscape, we need to act together now. Andrew Strauss HIGH-PERFORMANCE REVIEW OF MEN’S CRICKET IN ENGLAND AND WALES 3