We are delighted to be able to share what we have achieved in 2024, a year marked by significant growth and strengthened engagement across the Surrey cricketing landscape.
We supported the delivery of recreational and participation cricket to over 46,000 people across Surrey and south London, witnessing firsthand the continued surge of women’s and girls’ cricket in our county, which continues to lead the way in the UK. Today, we’re publishing our Impact Report, showcasing the strides we made in promoting the sport across the Surrey cricket network.
Following a record-breaking year for our All Stars and Dynamos Cricket girls’ programmes in 2023, we saw a whopping 52% increase in the number of women and girls playing in our SCF-supported cricket leagues last year. We’ve also celebrated a 9% rise in the total number of women’s teams across Surrey and a 6% uptick in the number of clubs who have introduced a women and girls’ section. We’re proud to see our consistent development of the game further cement our position as the leading county for women’s and girls’ cricket.
Our Surrey Junior Cricket Championship continues to reign as the largest junior cricket league in the country, providing brilliant playing opportunities for young cricketers of varying skill levels. The Championship, which offers a pathway from introductory softball cricket for beginners to highly competitive matches for older age groups, saw a steady 3% increase in the number of cricketers and a 10% rise in the number of teams.
This report showcases the impact we made last year across three key areas : Keeping the Grassroots Game Growing and Thriving, Making Cricket Inclusive, and Making a Difference in Individual Lives.
Keeping the Grassroots Game Growing and Thriving:
Our focus on developing the game from the grassroots up has yielded remarkable results.
- Exceptional Levels of Participation: We saw over 46,000 players actively participating in SCF-supported leagues. This level of participation reflects our successful efforts to make cricket more accessible to individuals of all ages and backgrounds.
- Investing in Youth & the Next Generation:
- Our partnership with Chance to Shine brought cricket coaching to nearly 20,000 children, igniting a passion for the sport at a young age.
- Over 4,000 youngsters participated in our All Stars and Dynamos programmes, nurturing the next generation of cricketers.
- Developing Coaching Excellence: We trained 433 candidates on coaching courses, ensuring a strong foundation of qualified coaches to support the growth of cricket.
- We awarded £232,000 in grants, empowering clubs and organisations to enhance their facilities and expand their programmes.
Making Cricket Inclusive:
We are committed to making cricket a sport for everyone.
- Championing Inclusivity & Reaching Diverse Communities:
- Our disability cricket programmes provided opportunities for 1,400 children to experience the joy of cricket.
- We have made measurable progress in increasing engagement, and participation for ethnically diverse communities and those from lower socio-economic groups – a priority that is very important to us.
- Maintaining Leadership in Women’s & Girls’ Cricket: We continued to lead the way in growing women’s and girls’ cricket, with 5,414 female players participating in league cricket.
Making a Difference in Individual Lives:
The cricket we support and deliver has the power to transform the lives of individuals, as well as strengthen communities, and we want our cricket to be that force for good.
- Increasing access is key, as well as removing financial barriers.
- Through our own programmes, such as the Vauxhall Loop, London Loop and Refugee cricket, along with the programmes we deliver with Chance to Shine we help kids and young people to find new fun, new friends, new confidence and a sense of belonging.
- We can give them a place to congregate, a place to feel safe and a place in which they can express themselves.
- 2024 has given us more uplifting stories to tell, as can be seen in our Impact Report.
- At the same time, we pursued our ‘Being a good Neighbour’ initiative bringing kids and young people into the Oval and helping them develop valuable new life skills.
Support for SCF & Raising our Profile:
- We continue to work hard to raise the profile of the SCF, and to attract the funding that enables us to achieve our strategic goals.
- We are fortunate to have the financial support of sponsors such as First Sentier, AJ Sports, Coaching Centred Leadership, and Ayer Associates, as well as that of our Patrons and partners.
- The contributions made by our volunteers is awe inspiring and is so critical to all we do.
We extend our sincere gratitude to our patrons, sponsors, and volunteers, whose unwavering support is vital to our ongoing success.
“We’ve seen a phenomenal response to our initiatives this year,” said our Director of Cricket Participation, Chris Coleman. “It’s truly inspiring to see so many people embracing cricket, and we’re particularly delighted with the growth in women’s and girls’ participation. We’ve gone from having a vision to seeing it become a reality. And we have done this by sticking rigidly to our strategic priorities.”
Our Chair of Trustees, Carol Potter added, “The impact report clearly demonstrates the positive difference the Surrey Cricket Foundation is making in communities across the county. We are incredibly proud of the progress we have made in 2024, but we have even greater ambition for 2025 to succeed against our three key strategic goals: Keeping the Grassroots Game Growing and Thriving, Making Cricket Inclusive, and Making a Difference in Individual Lives.
