If we want our men’s and women’s national teams to perform at their very best – winning World Cups and Ashes series, and dominating international rankings – then our key development task is simple: we need to make sure we don’t miss a single talented cricketer, boy or girl, wherever they come from and whatever form of cricket they play.
It doesn’t matter whether a player grows up at an independent school in Lancashire or learns cricket in the streets of London. What matters is that they have the opportunity to reach their potential and help us win. That’s why we’re investing so much effort into expanding and revamping our talent pathways.
This winter marks the formal start of all these changes. But this isn’t a rushed job. Two years of preparation, including pilots, reviews, and planning, have gone into this.
Based on those pilots and reviews, 12 months ago the ECB published the Talent Pathway Action Plan. We’ve spent recent months working with both professional and national counties to bring this to life. And the goal is simple: by the end of this winter, we aim to have doubled the number of young people at the base of the boys’ and girls’ pathways.
To do that, we have a five-part strategy designed to make the talent pathway more diverse and inclusive. Those five elements are:
- Reducing the barriers to entering the talent pathway
- Growing the routes into the pathway
- Enhancing support for County Age Group players
- Improving transitions into the professional game
- Driving best practice and reducing bias in the pathway
For each of these elements, a range of activity has been instigated.
Reducing barriers
To successfully reduce barriers into the pathway, we’ve got to understand what makes it difficult for talent players to access the system. Our new framework, Common Approach to Financial Barriers, helps counties identify and support families who might struggle to meet the practical or financial commitments of the pathway.
We gather key information from families, not just about income but also about circumstances like transport, work schedules, and home life. That allows counties to hold ‘induction conversations’ with parents and tailor their support through bursaries, reduced or waived fees, equipment provision, and appropriate mitigations.
We’ve also introduced our Early Engagement Programmes across all 38 counties. These replace the first stage of the County Age Group squads and run for at least three years across U10s, U11s, and U12s cricket. This winter, they’ll provide coaching and match-play for more than 7,000 U10s-U12s boys and girls this winter.
Growing the routes
We’ve got to broaden what we recognise as cricket. Today, cricket can be played indoors, on artificial wickets, in parks, or even with tennis balls wrapped in tape. Wherever it’s played, it should count.
So instead of relying on a small number of scouts, we’re working to connect all parts of the game so that everyone becomes a talent spotter. We build relationships with people who run cricket in all its forms and help them understand what to look for.
Supporting this, projects like ACE and SACA have also been incredibly important. And MCC Foundation Hubs are another vital link, providing access to high-quality coaching for players in state schools who might otherwise miss out. The number of Hubs has increased by 31% in the last year, with female participation up 39%. Since the Hubs were first backed by ECB investment in 2023, the number of Hubs has risen by 114% and female participation is up 111%.
Enhancing support
Evidence suggests children attending independent schools can receive significantly more coaching each year than children in state schools. We’ve introduced the Supplementary Support Fund to enable professional counties to deliver additional coaching to players who are in state schools. We’re not looking to reduce anyone’s opportunities. We want to widen them at every turn. In 2025/26, this programme alone should engage almost 700 boys and girls.
Improving transitions
This work focuses on helping players move from the pathway into professional environments.
We’re continuing our partnership with SACA and extending this to launch a pilot for South Asian women this winter. Alongside this, we are rethinking where the Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE) programme, particularly within the women’s game, can support the transition and development of players into the professional game.
Independent audits, led by experts such as Wharton Consulting, help ensure academies provide holistic environments that develop players as athletes and people. And DiSE recognises the employability and life skills players gain in academies, and gives players academic credit for them.
Driving best practice
Here, we’re focused on reducing bias and improving decision-making across talent identification. We run workshops that look at how to interpret data, challenge assumptions, and develop shared understanding across counties. We also diversify decision-makers and ensure multiple viewpoints feed into each selection.
Ultimately, improving practice isn’t just about finding more players. It’s about not losing good ones through flawed or narrow processes. We aim to be patient and inclusive, ensuring that every player who could succeed gets a genuine opportunity.
All of this work is already having an impact. Counties like Kent have seen unprecedented engagement, with more than 1,400 nominations for their U10s pathway alone. Even if only a small percentage of those players are ready for the pathway, it shows enormous enthusiasm for the game.
Our job at the ECB is to make sure everyone capable of becoming a professional cricketer gets the chance to do so. This winter, we’ll see the beginning of a new landscape that provides opportunities for every talented cricketer to progress.