Oxfordshire Cricket is pleased to see the recently announced ECB Roadmap for Cricket’s Return to Play in England which is subject to government approval on the 22nd of March. However, we are seeking further clarification from the ECB on the full extent of Cricket’s Return to Play guidance, in particular, the specific ratios permitted for coaching.

We will provide a further update as soon as we are in a position to, with the aim to cover the detailed guidance at our next Club Webinar.

Oxford Sports Council is delighted to invite clubs/organisations to apply to our 2021 recovery fund. The fund aims to allow your club to try out creative new ideas to support the development of your club and kick start activity by driving new members to your activities.

Applications open on 22 nd March and close on 30th April 2021. Clubs can apply for £500-£1500 with decisions being announced in mid-May. We are hoping to support a large number of clubs/organisations.

There is no formal application form, however, applicants are expected to complete the boxes in the attached document with enough information to allow us to judge the merit of funding the project.

Important Information

Important Information

We can only fund clubs/organisations based in Oxford City.

The application needs to be for new activity/or a refresh of an activity which was stopped due to Covid.

We do not fund contributions to salaries for full or part time staff but could contribute to an hourly payment to coaches to deliver taster sessions.

We will not fund long term venue hire but would consider one off hire of facilities for taster/ have a go events.

You could use funding for publicity materials, small gifts as incentives to volunteers or new members or refreshments for open days.

Please ask if you have any questions or would like to have an informal chat about your project/ idea before submitting an application. Email – [email protected]

Due to the potential risk of transmitting Covid only electronic applications will be accepted.

The deadline to join this seasons new girls competitions is on 31st March and we are encouraging clubs to get in touch to confirm their entries.

What are the formats?

Under 11 Softball League. This will be an 8 a side pairs competition with fixtures being given a ‘play-by’ date rather than a play on date, so clubs can liaise a date that best suits them and fits around their ground availability. Currently 7 teams have entered this competition.

Under 13 Softball League. This will also be an 8 a side pairs competition with fixtures coming with a play-by date. Currently 5 teams have entered this competition.

Under 15 Hardball League. This will be an 8 a side 16 over hardball comp. Fixtures dates will be flexible to fit around your ground availability. We currently have 3 teams entering this competition.

We have had a fantastic response to our first ever girls competitions but want to ensure everyone has the opportunity to enter a side if they feel able too. We are also keen for clubs to ‘merge’ if they don’t have enough players for a team so we want to hear from clubs who feel they are in this position so we can potentially work with other similar clubs to put additional teams together.

Please contact Women & Girls Officer Ed Wilson on [email protected] or on 07814272681 before 31st March to get your entries in or ask any questions you may have about the new competitions.

Oxfordshire Cricket is delighted to announce that we have partnered up with Hartwell PLC for the 2021 season which will see them play an important part in supporting our County Men, and T20 club finals day. Furthermore, they will be a key partner in supporting us with our delivery of highlights packages for County Men fixtures that are streamed.

Established in 1919 in Oxfordshire, Hartwell PLC is a leading automotive group representing Ford car and commercial vehicles. With eleven locations based across the UK. They assist customers with their motoring needs and have built a reputation for providing exceptional customer service and the highest quality vehicles. It’s this reputation, and the loyalty to their customers, that has seen their centenary in 2019.

In addition to the wide variety of new cars that they offer, they have a comprehensive stock of used vehicles for sale across their network. These include models from a range of franchises, and which can suit a variety of needs. Whether you’re looking for your very first car at an affordable price, or need to upgrade your existing vehicle to accommodate your growing family, they can help.

As part of the partnership and subject to COVID restrictions, Hartwell PLC will attend a range of events throughout the year where you will be able to see some of their vehicles on display and speak to members of their staff. Players, clubs, officials, families and the wider cricket community will be able to use or reference Oxfordshire Cricket when they speak to anyone at Hartwell which will enable them to access any offers or discounts that are available. Another benefit of the newly announced partnership is it enables Oxfordshire Cricket to continue developing the sport throughout the county, whether it be projects in the local community, supporting clubs or continuing to produce elite-level cricketers.

Nick Pinhol, Marketing and Commercial Manager at Oxfordshire Cricket said:

“We are delighted to be starting a new relationship with Hartwell PLC for the 2021 season which will see them be a key partner with Oxfordshire Cricket. Their reputation for providing exceptional customer service and the highest quality vehicles is impressive, especially given their connection to the Oxfordshire community. Particularly in these difficult times, we are delighted that Hartwell PLC will be joining us, and we look forward to working with them”

For more information on Hartwell please visit their website at https://www.hartwell.co.uk/ or follow them on social media:

Twitter: @Hartwell_co_uk
Facebook: @hartwellplc
Instagram: @hartwellplc

In February with members of the Oxfordshire Cricket workforce being on flexi furlough, the workforce, staff, directors, players and volunteers of Oxfordshire Cricket set out to voluntarily give up some of their time to do a virtual challenge to walk, run or cycle the same distance as from John O’Groats to Land’s End, a total of874 miles, during February to raise money for Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and the Opening Up Cricket Charity.

Thanks to the incredible dedication and support of the workforce, players, directors and volunteers we covered an amazing 2528.57 miles, which is the equivalent of travelling John O’Groats to Land’s End 2 ¾ times. So far a total of £1,529 has been raised for the two amazing charities.

The just giving page will remain open for a few more weeks, so please if you can support us by making a donation, even £1 will make a difference.

To donate and support please click https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/oxfordshire-cricket

At Oxfordshire Cricket our aim is to develop and protect the future of cricket
by making it the sport of choice in Oxfordshire. This may be in the form of playing, volunteering or spectating. We are also very clear that we need to make these opportunities as inclusive as possible to all communities within Oxfordshire.

With this purpose in mind, we would like to invite you to a BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) participation forum on Tuesday 6th of April from 7PM on Zoom. The aim of the forum is to understand how we can further attract people from different communities to participate in cricket within Oxfordshire, and also to understand any current barriers that are in place to that participation.

Questions that we would like to address include:

• How can we encourage more players from these communities to join our clubs?
• How can we engage more children to start playing at our clubs?
• What current barriers are in place?
• What changes would you like to see in Oxfordshire Cricket?

We look forward to your participation and helping us to understand the issues and potential
solutions in greater depth.

If you would like to attend please email [email protected]

Chris Parkinson

Director of People Development, Volunteers and BAME Inclusivity

Oxfordshire Cricket and the Oxfordshire Association of Cricket Officials have put together an
Umpiring and Scoring Quiz. This week sees the “second innings of the quiz”.

Please download the attachment below, and follow the instructions to complete the quiz. After you complete the second quiz, please email them both to [email protected]

1613988320 

1614958843

The purpose of the programme is to give young people between the ages of 14 and 16 the opportunity to acquire new skills and develop leadership skills that will allow them to volunteer within their cricket club and/or school.

Training given is made up of 6 modules: Activator coaching module, umpiring and scoring, grounds keeping, Mental Resilience, First Aid and Fundraising.

In addition to developing new skills, the benefits to the Young Leader include being a role model to younger members of their club, volunteering qualifies for the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme and the programme can be used in a University Personal Statement and/or CV.

ENTHUSE PRESENTATION EVENINGS:
Anyone that is interested in this programme can register their attendance at the upcoming enthuse evenings. (Please note that by booking onto an Enthuse Presentation, you are not committing to the programme.)

The presentations will take place on:

Tuesday 9th March 2021 – 6.30pm – 7.30pm (via Zoom)
Tuesday 16th March 2021 – 6.30pm – 7.30pm (via Zoom)

To register your attendance BOOK HERE

BENEFITS OF THE PROGRAMME:

The benefits for a young player include:

• Develop Cricket leadership skills
• Improve understanding of the positive impact coaching can have
• Gain qualifications and life skills
• Become a role model to younger members of the club and school
• Contribute towards PE GCSE
• Contribute towards Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme
• Contribute towards Community Sports Leadership and Sports Leaders UK award in Junior Sports Leadership
• Use in University/College Personal Statement and/or CV

AWARDS & CERTIFICATES:

• On completion of the programme participants will receive an ECB Activators Certificate of attendance (upon completion of volunteering 10 hours)
• Cricket rewards – ECB Cricket polo shirt, volunteering certificate and an invite to an end of season celebration (upon completion of volunteering minimum 20 hours)
• ACO certificate
• First Aid certificate of attendance
• Fundraising certificate

VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES:

Participants will be required to volunteer for 20 or more hours in as many aspects of the running of the game as they can:

• Umpiring
• Scoring
• Pitch preparation and ground maintenance
• Coaching
• Warm up
• Managing teams
• Kit management
• Results management
• Fundraising

If you would like further details please contact:

Edward Wilson
Oxfordshire Women & Girls Development Officer
[email protected]

All-Stars and Dynamos Cricket is set to return to cricket clubs in Oxfordshire for the 2021 summer. Cricket clubs are looking forward to welcoming all families to join in on the fun and safe cricket sessions they have to offer!

What is All Stars?

All-Stars Cricket is an ECB National programme that is aimed at children ages 5-8 years.
All-Stars Cricket will help bring new players and families to your club. Your club will receive full support from the England and Wales Cricket Board and Oxfordshire Cricket when implementing All-Stars, including the following:

• All-Stars Cricket equipment and resources provided at zero cost to the centre
• Easy-to-use online system and tools
• National marketing campaign and marketing guide to promote your centre locally
• Online and face-to-face volunteer training
• Dedicated member of County Cricket Board staff to help implement All Stars Cricket at your centre
• Access to the All Stars Cricket helpdesk
• Receive £5 per child (based on recommended retail price of £40 per child)

What is Dynamos Cricket?

In Summer 2021 the ECB is set to build on the success of All Stars Cricket and launch Dynamos Cricket! Dynamos is designed for children aged between 8-11 and is a fantastic opportunity for children to build on the fundamentals skills learnt at All-Stars, along with children who are new to the game.

Dynamos Cricket will be an 8-week course that will run during Summer 2021 either alongside an All-Stars programme or your existing junior cricket offers, beginning in May or during the Summer Holidays alongside the start of the Hundred competition that Dynamos will be linked to.

All participants that sign up will receive a Dynamos Cricket t-shirt, access to an online app and potential money can’t buy experiences. Clubs will receive a kit bag equipped with stumps, bats, balls, cones, activator t-shirts and more. Everything required to run a fantastic Dynamos Cricket programme.

Where can you register for All-Stars and/or Dynamos Cricket?
From the 16th of March, all previous year participants will gain priority access to sign up early. From the 22nd of March, anyone will be able to sign up to a centre for 2021.
You can find your closest All-Stars and/or Dynamos Cricket centre by going to https://ecb.clubspark.uk/AllStars/SearchResults

Contact
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Zoe Pugh on [email protected] or 07500395618

We are pleased to announce that we will be running Girls Cricket Coaching Hubs in May & June at Oxford CC

Aimed primarily at new girls to the game, participants aged 8-12, will get the chance to learn and practice new skills as well as get involved in lots of game-based activities throughout the sessions. For existing players, these ‘Hubs’ are a really good way to further develop your skills and have some fun with new friends and participants from around Oxfordshire.

Cost £6 per session

· Oxford CC, Jordan Hill OX2 8EF

· Time: 17:00 – 18:00 pm on Tuesdays

· Dates: (6 sessions)

May: 4,11,18,25

June: 1,8

To book your place click here