It’s been 9 months since I had the privilege of becoming the Chair of Berkshire Cricket Foundation – how time flies when you’re having fun! And it’s been another exciting year for Berkshire Cricket at all levels: women’s, men’s, girl’s and boy’s goes from strength to strength. From The Men’s First XI retaining the NCCA Trophy at Wormsley in August, to our first ever Super 1’s disability festival at Holyport CC in June, to the £225,000 invested into clubs through the County Grants Scheme across the previous 12 months, to the fantastic victory of our Reading MCC Foundation Hub at Lords in July In 2023 its been an amazing first 9 months to be a part of as we continue our quest to take More Cricket to More People in More places!
Successes on the pitch are a reflection of the brilliant people across the county working to further cricket in Berkshire. I want to thank them for all their efforts in 2023: the Board of Trustees, the staff team led by Mark Roche the parents, the volunteers, the umpires, the officials and of course the players. Over the last nine months it has been evident that cricket truly is a team sport. At the end of the year, we had the opportunity to share our successes at a meeting with the ECB, which included a little-known fact: since 2019 we have provided 15 players into First Class County academies, 19% of the national total. Thank you to everyone committed to cricket in Berkshire, you are all an inspiration.
As I look into 2024 our challenge is to improve access to cricket to more people in Berkshire. We are ambitious to do more and to make cricket the most inclusive sport in Berkshire. We are committed to raising more funds to keep cricket affordable; to improving our disability offer; to enable more people to get involved in walking cricket, all whilst increasing our offer for women and girls at every level. I look forward to meeting more people who make cricket happen across the county and working with you all to do more and ensure that more people in Berkshire benefit from the joy of cricket.
See you on a cricket pitch, near you, very soon, Jayne Haines – Chair Berkshire Cricket