Latest NatWest CricketForce email update - March 23

This is a copy of the email sent to all registered NatWest CricketForce 2005 club contacts on March 23 2005

Dear NatWest CricketForce 2005 club contact, here's the latest round-up of news and information from the CricketForce team as we approach the final 10 days of planning and preparation for the big event!

News round-up

• We now have 662 clubs registered to date - which we calculate will see 50,000-60,000 volunteers involved over NatWest CricketForce weekend, equating to an estimated £15-£20 million of investment into cricket clubs.
• 24 T-shirts and one clock are being delivered to each of the first 500 registered clubs at present. Please display the clock in your pavilion! For more details see here
• Breaking news - Sportsmatch are also supporting us to the tune of £50,000 to leave a legacy at selected clubs. Further details to follow in due course.

Official NatWest CricketForce 2005 launch and England players

The official launch will take place at Bexley CC (Kent) at 12.00noon on Friday April 1 - with England's Andrew Strauss and Geraint Jones in attendance.

England players Vikram Solanki, Matthew Hoggard and James Anderson will visit five clubs between them over the NWCF weekend by helicopter. Ross on Wye CC (Herefordshire), Shifnal CC (Shropshire), Wirksworth CC (Derbyshire), Saltaire CC (Yorkshire) and Workington CC (Cumbria) are the lucky clubs to be involved.

In addition, Harborne CC in Warwickshire will receive a visit from Ashley Giles (by car only!) on Saturday April 2.

ECB and/or NatWest Roadshows will also be attending these venues

All of this activity will allow us to generate a huge amount of publicity and media coverage, both nationally and regionally. We will also provide as much coverage as we can on the ECB website. We'd like to be able to promise you all some coverage, but with such a massive registration we're sure you can appreciate that that simply isn't possible!

But do keep sending in your good news stories to cricketforce@ecb.co.uk and we'll do our best!

Press release template

We will shortly be providing clubs with an appropriate press release template for you to use to maximise publicity. Details will be with you shortly.

If you have local contacts or a good association with your local press/radio/TV etc this may help you maximise the opportunity to promote your club in the final week leading up to the big weekend.

Video diary

If you wish to produce your own video diary of your NatWest CricketForce event please submit a copy to Ridgewood People Development Ltd, Bew Bungalow, Bew Hill Farm, Honeybourne, Worcestershire, WR11 8PR by April 11. Full details on the site here

Health and safety

Just to remind you, we have put online all the Health and Safety and risk assessment documentation for your information and use. Please do read this in full.

NatWest involvement

As we mentioned in our last email - please do not contact NatWest branches directly with regards to their cash back scheme. NatWest have again been promoting the scheme internally to employees that volunteer to become involved in NatWest CricketForce 2005.

This is being coordinated centrally by NatWest and ECB - so please don't contact local branches for requests for staff involvement and sponsorship as they will not be able to help you.

If in doubt, please see details of how the Community Cashback Scheme works.

Post-event evaluation

Following NatWest CricketForce 2005 we are encouraging all clubs to complete a one-page evaluation online. We will send you the details next week but to give you a flavour the vital information to collect will be: numbers of men, women, girls, boys involved; which businesses contributed; local authority, schools and other community group involvement; material/donation costs, cost of labour over the weekend and any other info you think is worth mentioning e.g. what has the event done for your club? So start thinking of how best to collate this kind of information.

Now is the time, with less than two weeks to go, to create a real groundswell of enthusiasm with your members and community to ensure you maximise the potential of the weekend, complete all tasks and make your club a more welcoming place to visit in the future!

Good luck with your final week or so of planning.

More soon from the CricketForce team!