Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their strategy to increase and widen the opportunity for people to participate in playing cricket.

His Majesty’s Government is committed to supporting the growth of cricket, and widening participation in the sport at all levels.

HM Government is working closely with Sport England and the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to help increase participation in cricket in those parts of the United Kingdom. Since 2019, Sport England has invested more than £34 million in cricket projects, including over £11.6 million which has been awarded to the ECB as one of Sport England’s system partners.

The ECB launched its Youth Strategy in 2022, which aims to target cricket delivery in schools where the pupils are most likely to miss out on the opportunity to play. This involves delivering cricket – through Chance to Shine and the Lord’s Taverners – in schools with a high proportion of pupils qualifying for free school meals and in special educational needs schools and units. In the last academic year, the ECB reached 50,000 pupils through this programme.

The ECB is also aiming to provide equal access for women and girls by delivering 2,000 gender-balanced clubs, 6,000 women’s and girls’ teams, and recruiting 6,000 volunteers to deliver recreational cricket in time for the 2026 Women’s World Cup. Over recent years the ECB has also worked with Sport England to recruit over 2,000 female British South Asian volunteers as part of the ‘Dream Big’ programme.

Supporting participation in sport, including cricket, in Northern Ireland is primarily the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive and Sport Northern Ireland. The National Lottery supports participation in sport across the United Kingdom via its Lottery Distributing Bodies, which include Sport Northern Ireland.