Dr Jane Powell
England Disability Performance Manager
I started playing women’s cricket at the age of 15 and was immediately selected for Yorkshire Juniors. From there I was selected for England U19 at 16 years of age. I played against Jamaica at the first Women’s World Cup in 1973 at the Oval. I then progressed to playing in the England U23 side that went on a seven week test and ODI tour of India in 1981.
I was selected as captain for the World Cup that took place in Australia in 1988, as we reached the final. I captained the team to a number of European Cup wins before retiring in 1991. By 1997 I was back coaching England A to further European Cup wins, before joining the senior squad for a couple of years as Head Coach in 2000.
I am now balancing two roles with ECB, England Disability Performance Manager, which involves leading four England Men’s disability squads, Deaf, Learning Disability, Physical Disability, Visually Impaired as well as a role supporting ECB Coach Development. I was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (Doctor of Science) from the University of Worcester back in November 2013 for outstanding contribution to British Sport.
Richard Hill MBE
Events and Competition Manager for Disability Cricket
Essentially my role encompasses three main areas of our game. Firstly, I lead on the National Disability County Competitions. This is a multi-tiered competition with varying formats to enable as many people with differing disabilities to take part as possible.
I also lead on the Disability Premier League (DPL). This project brings together the best disabled cricketers in the county (PD, LD or Deaf) to compete in a T20 franchise competition that culminates in a final. My third responsibility is when we host international teams in the UK.
I have been involved in cricket in one way or another for just over 50 years now. Of those 50 years, 30 of them have been around disability cricket.
As a person who lives with a disability and continues to negotiate barriers, discrimination and prejudice on a regular basis, that moment when I first had the opportunity to do something within our sport that had a direct positive impact on a person with a disability it was the most powerful thing that I could imagine.
Now 30 years on, I still get the same buzz and warm feelings knowing that what I do is making a difference. I was deeply honoured to be awarded an MBE for services to disability cricket in 2019.
Linda Savage
Accreditation Manager
I’m the ECB’s Accreditation Manager, which simply put involves managing the process of getting those people with a match day role into a venue. In less simple terms, I work across the game, including domestic, international & The Hundred teams, our broadcast partners, media, suppliers, other partners and the ECB’s internal requirements to ensure that all people with an operational role are registered for a seasonal accreditation and are then registered for each match that they are attending.
I’m supported by two team members across the summer months and between us last season (excluding the ICC World Test Championship) we produced nearly 8000 passes and processed around 45,000 match day requests.
My career before joining the ECB has very much been split into two, for the first 10 years out of university I worked as a Sports Development Officer, delivering a variety of projects to help people become more active, from under 5’s through to older adults. I supported clubs and schools to deliver sessions and access funding, and also co-ordinated community events such as The Sport Relief Mile.
I always wanted to work in events but never really understood how to get there, however in 2017 saw the opportunity to volunteer at the Men’s Champions Trophy & Women’s World Cup. I then got my first events job on the 2019 Men’s World Cup - as Accreditation Manager at Bristol. Since then I’ve worked across Table Tennis, the Men’s Euros, the IPL and Birmingham Commonwealth Games before returning to the ECB.
If there’s anything you ever want to know about accreditation or how we work, please feel free to stop and chat, from March I’m normally camped out at Lord’s on Level 1, Desk 13 with a printer up and running.
Marina Barros
Senior Brand Manager for The Hundred
As the Senior Brand Manager for The Hundred, the core of my role is to ensure that The Hundred continues to grow through a consistent brand image, staying authentic to its purpose and continues to resonate with our target audience. I’m responsible for managing and executing The Hundred’s brand communication across all touchpoints and manage our creative, media and production agencies. I’m lucky in my role that I get to work with many different areas of the business including ticketing, digital, communications, events, finance, etc.
I love seeing the things I work on go from a PowerPoint presentation to the real world and seeing people’s reactions to it. It’s particularly great when, in conversations, it comes up that the person has experienced or purchased something I’ve worked on, and they’ve loved it. I truly enjoy these moments, especially when I’m at The Hundred and I can see everyone’s faces completely immersed in what’s happening and having an amazing time. I’m also incredibly lucky to work alongside a remarkable group of people. They’re intelligent, dedicated, and passionate about what they do.
After I finished my master’s degree in marketing, I worked at Budweiser Brewing Group (ABI) until joining the ECB. I started off in a sales role, going into bars and restaurants selling beers/the brands. I then went into an Internal Communications role as I wanted to learn more about businesses while still being involved in many creative projects and developing my communications skills. After this, I moved into marketing. I started off on the marketing team for Bud Light UK and launched this brand in the UK. I got to work on everything from managing the NFL UK sponsorship, to developing new packaging, to managing the brand’s presence at DragCon! From Bud Light, I moved into the marketing team for Michelob Ultra, then Corona where I was responsible for Corona in the UK and across many more countries.
I was tremendously excited when I found the opportunity to work for the ECB. Having moved a lot while growing up (I’m originally from Brazil. I'd lived in five countries and even more cities by the time I was 14. I speak Portuguese, English and French because of this.) sport has always been a constant in my life and something I’m passionate about. So, when the opportunity came to work in marketing for The Hundred, I couldn’t let it pass me by. I started at the ECB in January 2023. I love my role. The Hundred is a great tournament to work on. We have the space to be creative, while having a very clear positioning and strategic priorities. And we can very quickly see reactions from both players and fans.
Claire Gooch
Head of Facilities Investment
I got into cricket because I used to watch my late dad play for the police when I was little, and the statistical side of the game always appealed to me.
I’m a chartered public finance accountant and I was working for the Audit Commission when a former colleague head-hunted me and said there was a dream job for me. It was a Project Accountant position for the recreational game (mainly supporting the Facilities department), and that was ten years ago.
I started my current role in August 2019 when I came back from maternity leave. I’d had two years off in less than three years and when I returned, I was promoted. That’s a sign of how the world is changing because there are places where that definitely wouldn’t have happened not so long ago to someone returning from maternity leave.
Facilities is everything underpinning the infrastructure of cricket; from stands and pavilions to wi-fi, rollers and Sky TV installation. The recreational game has always had a formal facilities investment programme but over the past year or so we’ve broadened that scope out into the professional game too. Last year we introduced a new online application system for both professional and recreational clubs alongside launching emergency programmes. The funding application process has always been paper-based and I’m really excited about the switch to digital, it’s revolutionised how we do things already, and over the remainder of our strategy cycle it is going to help the 18 First Class venues to reach the new standards set by the ECB – including family-friendly toilets and baby changing facilities, and support them to plan their long-term facility investment strategy.
We’re working closely with the women’s and girls’ strategy. We found on an audit of our c.5,000 recreational clubs a few years ago that only c.850 had a women’s and/or girls’ section, but that’s increasing already thanks to our strategy and at the last count was just over 1,200 clubs. We enlisted specialist architects, Seven, to work on a specialist guide to inclusive design with us (Creating Welcoming Environments), as we take into account that women want different facilities; things like segregated showers and mirrors – rather than just assuming they’ll just have the same facilities as the men. Cricket is definitely increasing the number of female players, but just imagine if we were inventing the game and building its facilities from scratch – there might be a 50:50 gender balance.
Joe Steel
Head of Marketing and Community Engagement - The Hundred
Before joining the ECB, I worked for Bradford Council as a Sport Development Officer, working with volunteers, coaches, schools and partners to put on programmes for children and young people across the West Yorkshire region. I’ve now been with the ECB for twelve years and during that time I have had six different roles across Participation and Growth and Commercial.
My current role as Head of Marketing and Community Engagement – The Hundred is responsible for three specific areas: managing all brand output across The Hundred; the development of eight bespoke local marketing plans to engage local communities and partners; and to ensure that we have an integrated campaign plan across Marketing, Digital and Communications for The Hundred.
There have been a number of highlights during my time here, including being part of the team that developed the All Stars Cricket brand and marketing campaign, I still feel exceptionally proud when I am in a random location and see a family with the kit! The work we did with the England Men’s team and the Express Yourself campaign ahead of the 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup was another fantastic project to be involved in. Launching The Hundred over the past few years, and the success we have seen across the teams, will always remain a pinnacle in my career.
I feel really proud still to be here after twelve years and the journey I’ve been on since starting as a School Competition Executive and working my way up to Head of Marketing. It has been hard work but something I have enjoyed every single day. The ECB are excellent at supporting progression, both in terms of moving within the organisation but also the ambition to invest in people who want to develop themselves.
I am incredibly proud of my team – they are all such hard-working people who approach their work with a fantastic attitude.
Sangy Theivendra
City Programmes Executive
Prior to joining the ECB I ran my own business and volunteered at my local cricket club, setting and heading up the women and girls section.
As a passionate fan with ambition to make the game more accessible for women, I knew joining the organisation responsible for cricket across England and Wales was a great opportunity to bring my experiences to the table.
I have a fun and exciting role where no two days are the same! My main focus is to engage South Asian females into volunteering and the game in general, and I feel particularly proud to say we have introduced almost 600 new South Asian females to the cricket community.
I’ve also been working on inclusion in the talent pathway for the England Women’s squad as well as building relationships with community partners, county boards, clubs and schools expanding grassroots cricket. I’m hugely passionate about growing the number of women involved in the game and being part of meaningful change to the cricket community and wider society has been an incredible feeling.
Since joining the ECB there have been plenty of money can’t buy experiences, including having a photo with the England Men’s team the day after they won the ICC 2019 World Cup and attending the live team draft for The Hundred, the first ever sporting bid on UK television!
I love that the ECB acknowledges and respects that individuals have lives and commitments outside of work. As a mum of two young children, I was daunted at the thought of coming back to a corporate role full time, however with the support of my manager, team and the company wide ethic, this has worked out perfectly for both me and my family and I really enjoy my job. I’m proud to be part of a business that’s making strides in sport to be truly inclusive for everyone and puts its people at the heart of everything – it really does feel like one big family.
Anna Warren
Head of England Women Science and Medicine
Before cricket, I worked as a physiotherapist in the NHS for ten years. It was a great way to learn the trade and I loved it, seeing all kinds of patients and working as a massive team. I was also volunteering a lot during evenings and weekends in amateur sport – triathlon and rowing – a typical journey into elite sport for many in my profession.
Physio is quite tough at the start, you have to put in the yards, often in your own time to get the experience. That’s not unique to women, it’s a competitive area to be involved in.
It was a big leap of faith for me six years ago to apply for the internship at the ECB – I had never worked in cricket before and I was giving up an established career. I was just excited by the opportunity.
The internship working at the ECB Performance Centre in Loughborough was an amazing, very positive experience. Moving out of my comfort zone was just what I needed. It is having good people around you, male or female, which I think has been key throughout my career.
Now, as England Women’s Medical Services Lead, my job is very varied, coordinating a team of doctors and physios. I make sure we as a team are communicating properly and ultimately delivering really good care to the players.
I look after England Women’s academy and tour with them, so I might be overseas once or twice in winter. I also support any significant rehabs for the England Women’s team. An exciting new part of my job is to support the new domestic regional structure and The Hundred – Women’s Competition. There will be a new team of physios and doctors to support and planning is well under way for that.