The Wicket - August Edition

Dear Club Leader and Volunteers, 
 
I hope this finds you well. Thank you for your leadership and all you do for the game, not least during these past two busy and challenging seasons navigating the pandemic.
 
As you know more than anyone, Clubs and Associations are the lifeblood of our sport – indeed there are now 3,731 clubs across 428 associations in Australia, a testament to the passion, dedication and hard work of players, match officials, volunteers, and staff across the cricket community.

Given your instrumental role, we are excited to share with you the new five-year strategic plan for Australian Cricket – Where the Game Grows.

Over the past twelve months, thousands of people from all parts of the cricket community have contributed feedback that has informed development of the new strategic plan, which sets out clear priorities to take the game forward and ensure a strong and sustainable future.
 
One of our four key strategic pillars is Participation Growth. Here, we aim to:

• Double the number of registered 5–12-year-olds playing cricket today by 2027 (to 210,000), which includes quadrupling girls registered to play to 60,000, contributing towards an overall registered participation target of more than 850,000.

• Increase registered female participation to 140,000 by 2027, and increase our female volunteers by better catering to their needs.

• Continue to work with all governments at every level to make cricket accessible in the community and ensure facilities cater for great experiences and future growth in our sport.

Please CLICK HERE to visit the Where the Game Grows website, where you can find full details of the strategic plan, including a booklet, video and one-page summary.

Please also feel free to share with your club and/or association and other stakeholders as you feel appropriate.

Thank you again for everything you do for the game. We look forward to working together to unite and inspire everyone to love and play cricket and in so doing make cricket a sport for all that makes Australians proud.

Yours,
 
Nick Hockley CEO
James Allsopp Executive General Manager Community Cricket and Capability

Cricket Australia

Now's the time to Woolworths Cricket Blast!

 
Off the back of two COVID interrupted seasons there is no better time to recruit participants, parents, and volunteers who have been inspired by the talent of our State & National players!
 
With no upfront costs, and nationally supported marketing and resources - why not run a Blast program in Season 22/23?
 
What do you need to run a Woolworths Cricket Blast program:
 
Equipment. You have that from last season! Your club will accrue credits for any participants that register, which means you can purchase more if you need! And if it’s your first time, you’ll be able to redeem an equipment kit to get your started.
 
A coordinator. Do you know someone who is organised, friendly and engaging within your club? They don't need to know how to play cricket.

Activities. We provide you with all the content for each week of your program, with electronic resources and videos to help run a great Blast program.
 
A time & a date. Now is the perfect time to run a program, whether its 4 weeks or 8 weeks. We have options that can work for your club.

Contact your local Cricket Manager or cricketblast@cricket.com.au to find out more information.

Updated Child Safeguarding Policy to Help You Keep Kids Safe
 

Australian Cricket’s National Child Safety Working Group is proud to launch the updated Safeguarding Children & Young People Framework for season 2022-23!

The recent round of updates – while not significant – strengthen cricket’s alignment with state and federal legislations and standards, set clearer responsibilities across Australian Cricket and detail a more inclusive code of behaviour. The updates have been endorsed by the boards of CA, the T20 World Cup 2022, and all 8 state and territory associations.

The Framework is made up of three core documents:

• Commitment Statement for Safeguarding Children & Young People.

• Policy for Safeguarding Children and Young People.

• Looking After Our Kids Code of Behaviour for Affiliated Associations, Clubs & Indoor Centres. 

It is strongly recommended that affiliated Associations, Clubs and Indoor Centres commit to re-endorse the Policy, re-appoint a Child Safety Officer and promote the documents at the start of each committee cycle. The benefits of this are:

• Keeping Children and Young People safe.

• Maintaining good governance by keeping child safeguarding top of mind at the beginning of each season.

• Maintaining eligibility for a range of Cricket Australia funding programs.

Support for volunteers

A brand-new resource, the ‘Child Safety Officer (CSO) Toolkit’, contains tools and templates to support and empower the CSO role. A community of practice for CSOs will be launched to support volunteers through education and peer to peer learning. We have also re-designed the Looking After Our Kids Action Plan which details 5 core action areas to associations and clubs to endorse and implement the Framework.

The Framework can be found HERE

Best Wishes,

Cricket Australia