Oxfordshire Cricket have sought to remove talent inclusion barriers within the opening phase of the Pathway Programme in 2023-24 with the aim of providing a more equitable and inclusive programme. Our approach to achieve this in 2023-24 has been;

• To increase equity and reduce accessibility barriers by removing participation charges at the point of entry, subsidising the entire cost of the opening phase of the programme so that it is free of all direct costs.

• To ensure our Pathway is accessible and inclusive for both Girls and Boys by removing nomination barriers to allow player nominations to be submitted by any individual, rather than via a nominator as was required in the past. 

Oxfordshire Cricket will be providing in excess of 440 hours of free developmental opportunities to the 850 players who have accepted their place within the opening phase of the 2023-24 pathway programme. In total, Oxfordshire Cricket have scheduled 222 x 2 hour sessions across the Under 11 to Under 18 Age Groups which are taking place between late October and mid-December 2023. Each player invited to attend the opening phase of the programme has been offered 5 x 2 hour sessions that are free of participation charges over an eight week period. 

To enable the opening phase to be free of participation charges, Oxfordshire Cricket will incur a considerable financial outlay with fifty percent of the expenditure covered by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Additional County Age Group (CAG) funding. The additional ECB CAG funding has been offered to improve the accessibility of talent pathways and to reduce the overall programme costs to parents across the ECB defined County Age Groups of Girls’ Under 11 to Under 18 and Boys’ Under 13 to Under 18. To ensure that the removal of phase 1 participation charge is fair and equitable to all ages, genders and stages of development, Oxfordshire Cricket will again be utilising their own Cricket Board financial reserves to support the Boys Under 11 to Under 12s who do not benefit from the additional ECB Funding. 

There are participation charges for future phases of pathway programme activity for those identified and selected to transition through to Phase 2 and 3 and we have committed to deploying further board financial reserves to make these phases more affordable. The aim is to reduce the overall participation costs and we have a player bursary support mechanism in place to help those apply for financial assistance should it be needed via the Player Bursary Application Form

Performance Director, Matthew Barnes said:

“We have opted for a proactive approach in response to the findings of the ICEC report by targeting the reduction of accessibility and affordability barriers within the opening phase (phase 1) of our pathway programme in 2023-24. We have made alterations to phase 1 so that it is inclusive and accessible to all player nominations and so that affordability is not a limiting factor to an individual’s ability to participate.

It was essential that any changes to the opening phase of our pathway programme did not negatively impact our longitudinal approach to talent identification and development. Within Phase 1 we are providing individuals with ten hours of development opportunities that allows for talent to be identified, developed, selected and confirmed and which aids us in making fair, meritocratic and informed player selection decisions.

Our decision to innovate from convention quickly in response to the findings of the ICEC report is evidence of our commitment to ensure that cricket is a game for everyone and the sport of choice in Oxfordshire.”

Pathway Manager, Sam Arthurs said:

“Being able to remove cost as a barrier for participation within our opening observation phase makes our pathway more accessible to aspiring cricketers, especially those from diverse groups. In addition to this, our player bursary support mechanism will help to reduce the cost of participation, for those who require financial assistance, in phases 2 and 3.

Maintaining a longitudinal approach to talent identification and development is incredibly important to us, ensuring that we continue to develop a constant stream of cricketers to populate both the recreational and professional game. With all players being required to attend phase 1, which is 5 sessions (10 hours) in length, it provides all participants equal opportunity to be selected for later phases, whilst also offering developmental opportunities to all those who aspire to represent Oxfordshire at age group level in the Summer.

We are excited about the progressions made to our pathway programme and continue to work toward making cricket the sport of choice in Oxfordshire.”