The Community Cricket Podcast

This week we speak with Matt Camp, the creator of Slam Cricket, a competition originating in the South of England out of the need to plug a gap in participation. Back in 2018, Matt was savvy enough to recognise that people’s time was at more of a premium than ever before, making all day recreational cricket at weekends an unworkable proposition for many. Hear how and why he set about providing a viable short fo...

This week we chat with Patrick William-Powlett, chair at South Shields Cricket Club. We hear how Patrick has empowered club coaches to provide an abundance of hardball opportunities for juniors regardless of gender, and in particular how South Shields CC have pro-actively energised their girls section, whilst simultaneously nurturing relationships with local schools. Enjoy the show!

This week we change lanes somewhat, in exploring what lessons might be learned for cricket coaches from the field of women and girls’ hockey. To do so, we take inspiration from Georgie Wood and Will Cooper, who are captain and coach for the Reigate Priory 1^st XI hockey team. We discuss similarities in approach with our own sport, how women’s hockey is much further developed relative to the developmen...

Russ Carter is a man who wears many hats, including that of coach, player and cricket equipment business owner. However it’s in his role at the forefront of the development of wheelchair cricket that we focus on for this episode, as Russ explains how becoming a wheelchair user himself led to his immersion into the expansion and enjoyment of cricket for others in similar siutations. From situation-specific rules...

This week we have the pleasure of a conversation with Chris Pearce to share with you. Chris runs the Kriketová Akademie in Czechia, and provides a truly fascinating insight into the challenges of energising a minority sport in a country where cricket goes largely unseen. Chris’ energy and passion are evident throughout, as he provides a masterclass in how to both cajole and inspire, whilst also reassuring paren...

This week we speak with Tom Bailey, chair, committee member, player and volunteer at his hometown club, Clitheroe CC. However its in his role as a director at TJB Sports & Community that we delve into the detail; because theirs is a business providing expertise and advice for sports clubs looking to save money and become more efficient. And which cricket club doesn’t want to do both!? We talk cost savings, sour...

For our first episode of the new year we speak with Scott McKechnie, skipper and committee member at Dartford Cricket Club, former international wicketkeeper for Hong Kong and founder & CEO at PLAI Sport.

Scott has devised an app that is designed to manage your cricket club’s affairs, generating more engagement and income, whilst taking less of your time to do so. Int...

Have you ever considered how many potential casual cricketers are not catered for by regular, competitive, club match play? Andy James and Ben Whitehouse from the Friendly Cricket Collective certainly have, and they set about doing something about it in the Bristol area. Latent players both, they managed to build a sufficiently warm, welcoming and social cricket environment from the fringes of their children’s ...

Ever wanted to properly connect local schools to your cricket club? Then this is the podcast for you! This week our conversation is with Jim Clarke, Cricket Development Officer at Winchmore Hill Cricket Club. Suffice to say, Jim takes a pro-active approach to schools engagement to a whole new level, and the clubs that have been lucky enough to benefit from his efforts have done so with undeniably impressive res...

We veer into new territory this week via a conversation with Bob Peirce from Sidcup Cricket Club. Bob is the driving force behind many of the sports club’s environmentally focussed activities, from improving the aesthetics of the playing and surrounding areas, to dramatically reducing energy costs and driving efficiency through a range of endeavours, both large and small. Though Sidcup CC is part of a bigger sp...

We’re excited to share this week’s conversation with Rich Feist, the long-time member and now chair at Merstham Cricket Club, as he explains the extraordinary breadth of the club’s reach across the local community. He shares a tremendous wealth of insight and inspiration in equal measure, relaying how the club has been involved in local schools, charities, sponsorships, food banks and so much more, enabling the...

This week we chat with John Fuller, the man behind cricketyorkshire.com, an editorial website covering grassroots and club cricket in the Yorkshire region. With many years’ experience also on club committees and as a player as well as having created and run his own online presence, John is intriguingly placed to share his expertise in regards to the use of digital platform use within club cricket.

Read more