WILTSHIRE CRICKET EARLY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMME AND TALENT PATHWAY:

2025-2026 ONWARDS

Current Position

In 2024-2025 and leading in to the current 2025 season, Wiltshire Cricket has delivered the following programmes as part of our Talent Pathway provision:

ECB Definitions and Investment:

Whilst Wiltshire Cricket has delivered the above programmes, the ECB has only ever invested in Cricket Boards to deliver county age group cricket programmes at Girls Under 11s and above, and Boys Under 13s and above.

The Boys programmes provided from Under 10s to Under 12s, and the Development Cricket programmes that have been provided as part of the Boys structure have been delivered on the basis of local decisions around what Wiltshire Cricket has perceived to be the best structure for talent pathway cricket locally.

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A new structure for Talent Pathway Cricket – Important Context:

From the Independent Commission in to Equity Cricket (ICEC) report, published in June 2023, the ECB committed the following:

“We will work with the Counties to redefine the overall structure of the Talent Pathway. This will incorporate the introduction of an early engagement stage, thereby extending the Talent Pathway, creating greater opportunity for more players to develop, prior to the County Age Group (“CAG”) phase”.

“As a result, the introduction of formal CAG cricket will be delayed. We will consult with the game to determine what age is appropriate for its commencement, ensuring effective integration with this extended Talent Pathway”.

As a consequence of this commitment the ECB, via the county network, will be launching the Early Engagement Programme (EEP) from the 2025 – 2026 winter. Part of this launch will also include a re-defining of when the Talent Pathway begins, thus providing a clear distinction between the EEP and the Talent Pathway.

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The Early Engagement Programme

The Purpose:

The introduction of the Early Engagement Programme (EEP) was one of the commitments that was made in response to the ICEC report to increase the diversity of the talent pathway, creating fairer access and opportunities for more children.

The key aims of the EEP are to:

• Broaden the talent base and increase the connection between the recreational game and the talent pathway.
• Increase diversity within our talent pathways.
• Build foundational competencies to enable players to perform to their maximum capability over time.
• Inspire players to have a lifelong engagement in cricket.

Target Age Range:

The EEP will be positioned at Under 10-12, before the introduction of County Age Group (CAG) Cricket for boys and girls at Under 13.

Key Features of the EEP:

• Number of players – Counties will aspire to reaching 10% of the playing population where possible to engage a broad base to the pathway. These players should come from a variety of sources, both traditional and non-traditional.
• Assessment – Assessment for selection to the EEP must take place across a minimum of two separate observation sessions. Assessments will also be free of charge.
• Winter programme – Selected players will receive access to a winter coaching programme delivered on a weekly basis
• Competitive provision – The summer, competitive element of the EEP will look as follows:
  • Intra games only with minimised travel.
  • All players will be given equal opportunity of match play experiences and all players in the programme will play in the games.
  • 8 days of cricket should be provided and will be comprised of a wide variety of games and / or formats.
  • All players in the winter programme should have access to the summer games programme.

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The Talent Pathway County Age Group Cricket – 2026 Onwards:

At the same time as launching the EEP, the ECB have also made some changes to County Age Group Cricket with revised standards for what counties will be expected to deliver for their central ECB investment.

The first key point is to reiterate that County Age Group Cricket will begin from Under 13s. There will then be a requirement on counties to provide winter training and summer match play programmes as follows:

• GIRLS: Under 13, Under 14, Under 16, Under 18
• BOYS: Under 13, Under 14, Under 15, Under 16, Under 18

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The above information has provided the context for the changes that are being made, together with some of the operational standards that all counties will be required to deliver against from the 2025-2026 winter onwards.

The remainder of this page sets out how Wiltshire Cricket will be implementing both the Early Engagement Phase (EEP) and the Talent Pathway.

The Early Engagement Programme - What will happen in Wiltshire?

• Observations: Wiltshire Cricket will run a two stage observation process for players who register for Early Engagement Programme trials. These will include:
  • Observation 1 – Outdoor Soft Ball Festival based trial in late August / early September
  • Observation 2 – Indoor Skills based trial in late September / early October
     
• Winter Programme: Following the observation sessions, players will be selected and invited to the following number of EEP programmes that will run across the county from January to March. The numbers invited reflect the programme ambitions of reaching 10% of the playing population in the county:

• Summer Match Play: The summer match play programme will be designed to be both innovative and engaging for all players whilst maintaining the focus on equal opportunity for all who are involved in the programme. For more information on what the girls and boys summer EEPs will look like, please see the accompanying documents below:
  • BOYS EARLY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMME – FORMATS OF MATCHPLAY
  • GIRLS EARLY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMME – FORMATS OF MATCHPLAY

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The Talent Pathway: County Age Group Cricket - What will happen in Wiltshire?

The Talent Pathway will provide inter county age group cricket from Under 13 age groups upwards. Specifically, our Talent Pathway will look as follows:

• Observations: Outdoor trial in September
• Winter programme: Following this trial, Wiltshire Cricket will select squads for the following winter coaching programmes:

• Summer Match Play: When it comes to the summer, each of the age groups above will play in a series of inter county fixtures against other counties.

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Removal of Development Cricket:

For 2025-2026, Wiltshire Cricket will be removing Development Cricket from its boy’s cricket talent pathway. In 2024-2025, Development Cricket programmes within the age groups listed above were delivered at Under 13s, 14s and 15s to a total of 42 players across those three age groups.

Increase of MCC Foundation Hubs:

In 2024-2025, Wiltshire Cricket was delighted to partner with the MCC for the first time, with Girls U14s and U16s, and Boys U14s and U16s hubs launching in Wiltshire for the first time. These programmes have formed an extension of our talent pathway with 80 additional girls and boys from state schools receiving opportunities for selection to Wiltshire Cricket programmes post the talent pathway trials that took place in September 2024. For information, the MCC Foundation is a cricket charity that delivers projects across the UK and around the world. They provide free coaching and match play in order to empower all boys and girls to reach their full potential in the game, to unite and inspire communities, and to promote physical and mental wellbeing.

Looking ahead to 2025-2026, Wiltshire Cricket is pleased to confirm that it will be launching second MCC Foundation Hubs at both Boys U14s and U16s, providing a further 48 places on the programme. To confirm, for 2025-2026, this means our MCC Foundation Hub offer will be as follows: