Less than six months ago we agreed a ground-breaking three-year partnership, designed to remove some of the economic and practical barriers that could stop talented youngsters fulfilling their potential, regardless of their ethnicity and background. After an introduction was made by Abdul Ravat, we teamed up with Al-Murad Tiles, one of the UK’s leading Asian businesses, to provide free kit to our boys’ County Age Group teams and support the development our pathway system, providing equitable opportunities for up-coming players to succeed and develop a long-lasting love of cricket.
The results are already becoming clear. Opportunities for Yorkshire’s diverse communities have dramatically increased thanks to the hard work, pioneering spirit and targeted impact of this new partnership.
Al-Murad, an independent ceramic tile retailer with 40 stores and more than 300 employees nationwide, are headquartered in Yorkshire. So far they have provided more than 2,000 items, including shirts, caps and kits, to our boys’ County Age Group teams, and conversations are already underway to enable us to extend this to girls teams too. Financial concerns are one of the biggest barriers to engaging young people in cricket, and through enabling us to provide free kit, Al-Murad has done a huge amount to help address this. It’s been pleasing to hear feedback from the community on how much this has benefitted participation. One parent explained to me that without the free regional and county kit, their son would not have been able to take part this year.
Al Murad’s founder Murad Ali Patel has spoken publicly about the impact Azeem Rafiq’s testimony had on communities in Yorkshire, and through our partnership is hopeful that the pace of change will accelerate – not just at YCCC, but also beyond. For example, in July this year we saw the inaugural Al-Murad Cup take place at Bradford Park Avenue, with Yorkshire U12s taking on Warwickshire U12s. Yorkshire won the fixture, which will now become an annual event, thanks in large part to captain Safiullah Abrar’s 64 not out.
Alongside the partnership we have put in place a range of other actions and investments in our pathways programme. High-performance coaches have been hired to design and implement clear selection policies to deliver even more equity. We have made our regional observations open to attend (rather than through referral) and stopped our one-on-one private coaching sessions to ensure there is no bias in selection. We have also committed to providing free winter training in 2022–23 to all children in our Regional and County Age Group Pathway.
Yorkshire’s Community Talent Champions – roles created by the ECB to build stronger links with diverse communities and to identify talented young boys and girls who play outside our traditional leagues and pathway – are also working to find talented players that have so far been missed by the system, with larger County Age Group squads allowing for more opportunities to impress. Thanks to these changes we have seen significant uplifts in the percentage of players from a diverse background representing all of Yorkshire’s County Age Group teams. Since last year, we have seen a 40% increase in attendees for regional observations, and are particularly proud of a 60% increase in participants from an ethnically diverse background in our Boys County Age Group performance pathway. We are also hearing feedback from the region’s South Asian communities that suggests their confidence in the system is growing.
But the job is not done. We can – and must – do so much more. We have over 870 recreational cricket clubs across the county, with over 125,000 people playing club cricket across any given weekend. While we are extremely grateful to Al-Murad for their expertise and resources, if we are to ensure our Pathway is fully inclusive and serving the interests of everyone involved in cricket in Yorkshire, we need additional and sustained investment of the kind they have provided.
For example, we must equal the investment in the boys’ pathway and extend the offer of free kit to girls across the region, to help eradicate the additional barriers they face to accessing the game. Part of my role as Business Development Director is to find businesses who are willing to join us on this journey and help us meet these objectives.
The changes we have made throughout 2022 have certainly been stepping stones to a brighter future for our pathways programme, but the work doesn’t stop here. My colleagues and I will need to continue working hard if we are to ensure our vision and inclusive strategy is maximised for years to come.
To discover more about the Yorkshire Performance Pathway and County Age Group cricket, visit: https://yorkshireccc.com/performancepathway