Cricket NSW ushered in a new era in collaboration, holding its first Metro Cricket Forum during the first week of May to listen to what Sydney's local associations had to say.
The forum was well attended by representatives of 15 metro cricket associations, who took up the opportunity to have two-way discussions and the sharing of information on a variety of topics around community cricket practices in Sydney.
It was also a chance for Cricket NSW to be able to listen to the community’s thoughts and for the members of the newly-appointed Metro Cricket Council to understand the most important issues that the community would like attention on at this time.
The evening started with a presentation of salient features of the new Volunteer Experience Action Plan by Cricket NSW’s Chief Community Cricket Officer, Martin Gleeson. It also included a State of Play presentation by Cricket Australia’s Chief of Cricket, James Allsopp, which was followed by a Q&A session, and thereafter, a presentation on best practice constitutions by Cricket NSW’s Chief Governance and Integrity Officer, Hannah Barnes.
The presentations were followed by a workshop hosted by Daniel Anderson, Head of Clubs and Competitions – Metro, Cricket NSW, which focused on new junior cricket player personas that have been developed following extensive research by Cricket Australia The research provided insight into the different preferences of young players and was followed by a robust discussion among the attendees about how cricket can better cater to the needs of everyone. The need for more social offerings and diversity among key club and association leadership and coaching roles were key themes coming from the workshop.
The Forum concluded with a forward-looking conversation on what matters most in the next 12 months for metro associations. Key themes which were raised included growing participation, enhancing participant experiences, optimising the delivery of cricket, and supporting volunteers to grow their clubs.
Anderson said the forum was successful in a number of areas.
“We have so many great volunteers across our metro associations and clubs, so the Metro Cricket Forum was a really important opportunity to have a two-way conversation about how we can work closely together.
"Continuing to share trends, best practice initiatives and research outcomes with our community, then listening to their ideas and local challenges are a really important part of ensuring that we are building a united and cohesive cricket ecosystem across metro Sydney.
We are now looking forward to discussing and unpacking the themes from the Forum with the Metro Cricket Council to continue to drive positive change.”