A shot at county cricket in Surrey is more accessible than it has ever been for nine-to-18-year-olds thanks to the county’s talent pathway’s Video Submission Assessment Process.
The scheme allows anyone who believes they are talented enough to be part of Surrey’s Talent Pathway to put themselves forward without the need to be nominated by a club or school.
“It’s basically our replacement for what we would have called a ‘trial,’” says Chris Taylor, Head of Talent Pathway at Surrey Cricket.
“About two years ago, following the ICEC report and a lot of criticism about the game’s accessibility and inclusion, we had a look at our process to see if we were reaching as wide as we hoped we could.
“Are there players out there that we’re not seeing?”
To be eligible to submit, players must either live in Surrey, play for a club in Surrey or go to a school in Surrey. Players must also have a British Passport or have proof of ‘permanent leave to remain’ in the UK.
“We’re cutting out the middle man, so to speak,” Taylor adds.
“We’re taking away any of the decision making from coaches and school teachers and trying to reach the players and the parents themselves.
“Basically, it’s an open invitation. If you would like to be assessed by us for the possibility of joining the pathway, then please send us a video through.”
Players who wish to be assessed must send a video of them doing their preferred skill or skills. For example, a bowler must send footage of them bowling six balls, two from the front, two from the side and two from behind.
“Players are assessed anonymously in order to ensure that no unconscious bias regarding a player’s school or club has any influence on the decision. “We don’t ignore any of the videos, we look at every video that comes in. It acts as a bit of a frontend filter. We look at the videos and then say ‘we’d really like to see these players in person’.
“The players who are successful at the stage (the video stage) then come in for an in-person session. We try to make that part of the journey as relaxed as possible. We try to treat it as a bit of a coaching session.”
The assessments are held post-season in late-September/early-October, with successful players invited to become part of Surrey’s winter training pathway, while those who don’t make the cut this time around will be given feedback on what to work on and invited to try again next year if still eligible.
Since the video submission process’ inception, Taylor and Surrey have been able to reach and see far more players than ever before.
“Three years ago, we’d probably get 700-750 nominations from clubs and schools and you could pretty much narrow that down to the 10 biggest club sides in Surrey and likewise the schools,” he said.
“In our first year [of the video submissions] we were into the 1,500s. In the second year it grew to about 1,750.
“We’re confident in the process we have. The video comes in, it’s observed by quality, experienced coaches. The assessment process is run well and the decisions that are made at the end of that are robust.
“The process is solid. The whole point of this is to make it accessible.
“Are we reaching every corner of Surrey? Things like tapeball leagues, some of the non-traditional formats.”
The pathway has already been successful at unearthing cricketers who may not otherwise have been seen.
“We’ve had a couple of Afghan players who’ve come over in challenging circumstances. Friends of friends videoed them and sent it through and they’ve joined our pathway. We are getting success stories out of the process.
“It would be wrong of me to say it has revolutionised anything. The bulk of the players are still coming from the well organised clubs coming from the well organised clubs and play lots of cricket.
“But are we reaching players who previously would have been overlooked? Absolutely. Are players getting an opportunity [when they previously wouldn’t have]? Absolutely.”
Submissions for this year can be sent until Tuesday, July 1, with videos needing to be submitted via WhatsApp to the following numbers: Boys U10-U18 (school years 5 to 13) – 07956 449 289. Girls U10-U18 (school years 5 to 13) – 07956 449 256.
Visit kiaoval.com for more information.