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Community
fit for purpose
How the Nottinghamshire Cricket Board, the
Trent Bridge Community Sports Trust and
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club have
united for the benefit of local communities.
Nottinghamshire Cricket Board - the
organisation responsible for delivering
recreational cricket – has undergone a seismic
change of structure in a bid to streamline its
operation for the county’s amateur players.
The appointment of a board of directors and
the incorporation of a limited company has
provided the cornerstone of a renewed effort
to deliver initiatives for maximum effect.
Tracey Francis, the Trent Bridge Community
Sports Trust Manager who sits on the board,
has worked hard to integrate the NCB with
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club in
recent years and sees the strength of this
partnership as fundamental to the long-term
prosperity of both organisations.
“We are a high-performing cricket board
in the sense that we meet the criteria to
receive performance-related fee payments
from the ECB but a lot of work goes on
behind the scenes to bring our vision to
fruition,” said Tracey.
“There are 38 County Boards and we have
the advantage of a partnership with a first
class county but there are still a number of
challenges for us to navigate.”
Fromanexternal perspective,the lines between
a county board and a county cricket club can
appear quite blurred.NottinghamshireCounty
Cricket Club directly employs a community
and development department although a
transfer is made from the Nottinghamshire
Cricket Board to contribute to their salaries.
TraceymanagesTheTrent BridgeCommunity
Sports Trust, the arms-length charitable
arm of the club, but is also a member of the
club’s senior management team with a remit
to maintain the club’s status as a thriving
community hub.
An ECB directive to increase adult
participation in cricket is currently a high
priority. The East Midlands recorded an
increase in this area against the backdrop of an
8% national downturn but having been tasked
with finding 700 new adult participants in
Nottinghamshire by 2013, creative solutions
are required. It is hoped that Last Man
Stands, an accessible 8-a-side format, will
provide the answer following a major financial
commitment from the ECB to purchase the
franchise in key areas.
“Adult participation is a major challenge but
we have identified areas where we believe we
can sustain informal but competitive cricket,”
saidTracey.
“The Board will deliver the leagues and if
they are going to be sustainable then they
will need to generate income and those
business principles need to be engrained in
the new structure.”
To assist with the transition fromwell-meaning
enthusiasts to streamlinedmanagement group,
an open recruitment process has led to the
appointment of a team of voluntary directors
and the incorporation of a limited company.
Cricket Board stalwarts Mervyn Griffiths
(Company Secretary), Derek Smallwood
(Finance Director) and Tony Palfreman
(Cricket Development Director) are joined
on the newly-formed board of directors by
Nottinghamshire Chairman Peter Wright
and Committee Member Basher Hassan as
well as new recruits Jayne Harris (Workforce
Development Director) and Tom Buckell
(Business Development Director).
“The challenge of modernising the board
is very important and we are really pleased
to welcome new recruits with significant
experience and expertise in their fields,”
saidTracey.
“We have some excellent schemes in
Nottinghamshire and a lot of very successful
recreational clubs who we hope will further
benefit from these changes.”
The club’s exceptional community record
was a central pillar of a successful bid to
bring AshesTests toTrent Bridge in 2013 and
2015.Winners of the ECB’s Best Community
Programme Award for the past two years,
plans are already in place to ensure that the
major matches leave a lasting legacy.
“Our redevelopment work in 2008 was
part-funded by loans from local authorities
who offered favourable terms in exchange
for the delivery of community milestones,”
saidTracey.
“Those milestones have been delivered in part
by the Board and the Trust for the benefit of
the Club and being able to show a united front
between the three organisations was beneficial
to our bid.
“There is a lot of work to be done to drive all
three organisations forward but it is clear to all
involved that our fortunes are linked.
“We have some hugely ambitious plans
in the pipeline and all three organisations
will have a major role to play in planning
and delivery.”
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