Oxfordshire Cricket have sought to enhance its  Bulls (Boys) and Falcons (Girls) programmes that provide targeted levelling up opportunities for state-educated children within the pathway programme. The supplementary programmes for state-educated children are funded entirely by the Oxfordshire Cricket Board (OCB) financial reserves and our fundraising campaigns. In 2023-24, we have again invested substantially in the Bulls and Falcons programmes to provide free, and accessible coaching and match play opportunities that help to ‘level up the playing field’ between the independent and state school sectors. 

In the three months prior to Christmas 2023 we delivered 54 hours of Bulls and Falcons provision to 165 state-educated children in school years 6, 7 and 8 who were participants within phase one of our pathway programme. In the knowledge that aspiring state-school girls have even less access to cricket than boys, we scaled the supplementary programmes so that it offered 6-8 hours of additional contact time per player for the girls (Falcons) and  3-4 hours of additional contact time per player for the boys (Bulls). 

As we turn to the New Year, we will again be delivering a Bulls and Falcons programme to all state-educated children that have participated in the 2023-24 pathway programme, within the Under 10 to Under 13 age groups. Through the months of January, February and March 2024, the supplementary support will remain accessible to all individuals, irrespective of the selection outcomes at the conclusion of phase 1 within the pathway programme. 

You can find out more about the Bulls and Falcons programmes on our website HERE.