The ECB's round-up of news from behind the scenes

International

Sell out at AMP Oval Photo CricInfo

With the one-day series now started in New Zealand, strong ticket sales have been reported for the NatWest Series between England, India and Sri Lanka this coming summer. A quarter of all tickets have already been sold - 45,000 out of possible 170,000. The match between England and India at the AMP Oval is already a sell out.

The MCC has begun on-line ticket sales for major matches at Lord's for the first time and early feedback has been impressive. Over £100,000 worth of bookings have already been taken via the web. The site can be reached via the ECB web-site: www.ecb.co.uk. Trent Bridge is the only other venue with an on-line booking facility, and this can be reached via: www.nottsccc.co.uk.

County Cricket

Following the ICC's decision to permit a 32-square-inch logo on the back of umpires' coats, sweaters and shirts in one-day internationals, the ECB has agreed that a similar regulation be introduced in domestic cricket to apply in all competitions.

As far as sponsor logos on county teams' domestic white clothing are concerned, the ECB has approved that the size of the chest logo should be increased on both shirts and sweaters from 10 square inches to 32 square inches, as per the Norwich Union League team sponsorship regulations. The application of a second commercial logo of no more than 10 square inches has been permitted on the leading arm of long-sleeved sweaters, provided that a maximum of two commercial logos are visible at any one time - i.e. if the playing shirt has a collar logo, then a sleeve logo on a long-sleeved sweater will not be allowed.

Name and number success Photo CricInfo

The ECB has also agreed that the experiment carried out by Lancashire last year of having player names and numbers on white clothing, as well as coloured clothing, had been successful. Counties may now be permitted to do this if they so wish.

MCC's innovative portable pitch experiment is beginning to take shape at Lord's. Specially constructed metal trays have been shipped from Australia and will soon be embedded in the Nursery Ground, replacing the artificial nets by the Indoor School. The Head Groundsman, Mick Hunt, will then seed and grow pitches in the trays in the usual manner. The first phase of the project will be completed when the pitches have had time to settle, and have been brought up to practice standard to enable the quality of the surface to be assessed. It is likely to be around twelve to eighteen months before they can be used for practice and several years before portable pitches are considered for use on the main square if, indeed, the technology proves practical in this country.

Development of Excellence

Terry Jenner has returned to the UK this month (February) to continue his development work with promising young wrist-spin bowlers. As part of the continuing ECB Wrist-Spin Development programme, he will conduct 21 coaching clinics around the country to approximately 70 aspiring 'leggies' mostly aged 13-18. In addition, he will deliver the leg-spin module for Level IV of the ECB's Coaching Course (see below).

As part of the Performance Department's World Class Plan, a document which identifies how future Men's and Women's England cricketers will be developed, a number of research projects are being undertaken. A fast bowling injury study is being conducted by David Newman, physiotherapist at Hampshire CCC and Secretary of 'Physiotherapists in County Cricket', while Steve Bull (England Teams Sports Psychologist) is undertaking research into Mental Toughness. Hugh Morris, meanwhile, has initiated a Player Tracking Database - the first in UK sport - which will enable cricket's development teams to better follow the emerging careers of England and Wales' most promising youngsters.

The University Centre of Cricket Excellence (UCCE) programme, barely a year old, received a welcome boost when Caroline Atkins and Arran Thompson shared in a record 200-run opening partnership for women's international cricket (England v India, Lucknow, 14-15 January 2002). Caroline Atkins is a member of the Durham UCCE and Arran Thompson is at Loughborough UCCE.

Martyn Moxon Photo CricInfo

Martyn Moxon, Tom Moody, Bob Carter, John Bracewell, Steve Watkin and Mike Watkinson are all currently working towards the most advanced coaching qualification in the world - Level IV of the ECB Coaching Scheme. The course comprises 15 modules and takes two years to complete; this group of County coaches are members of only the second group to embark on the course, which they will finish in October 2003.

On January 1st 2002 the ECB Coaches Association (ECB CA) came into existence, replacing the Association of Cricket Coaches (ACC) as the single organisation responsible for the support and development of coaches at all levels. There are currently 3,600 ECB CA members but, as coaches transfer from the ACC, numbers are increasing rapidly. It is anticipated that there will be 10,000 members by the end of the year.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has invited the ECB to deliver the Level I and Level II programmes of its Coaching Scheme in Pakistan later this year. This follows on from the ECB's successful delivery of its Level III course to 16 coaches, from nine different countries, last May after the Cricket Live! coach education conference in Telford.

Development

The ECB's 'Get Involved' project which aims to attract 10,000 new volunteers into cricket, targeting specifically parents of players in club junior sections all over the country, has received a huge early response. Over 2,000 club representatives have already requested the free-of-charge video and information pack, which gives tips on how to attract new volunteers to the club ranks. The resource forms part of the NatWest Volunteer Support Programme.

The ECB Development Department has been helping the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to produce cricket educational resources for schools in the Caribbean. Following an invitation from the WICB to present the ECB's HOWZAT! educational resource packs, Peter Ackerley (Secondary Schools Development Executive) and David Leighton (Primary Schools Development Executive) have travelled twice to the caribbean to act as cricket education consultants.

The HOWZAT! resource has even made its way to Nepal. Richard Hester, the Head of PE at The British School in Katmandu has taken delivery of both HOWZAT! 1st Innings and HOWZAT! 2nd Innings packs.

The ECB has embarked on a major distribution of flicx pitches - revolutionary roll-up plastic cricket pitches which enable cricket to be played in areas otherwise unsuitable for the game. A total of 799 flicx pitches are being introduced into England and Wales by the ECB as part of a £1.45m, two-year scheme aimed at improving facilities at recreational level.

The ECB has already distributed 185 pitches with the next batch of 70 pitches due this month (February). The presence of these flicx pitches will ensure an extra 1060 development projects for cricket nationwide, benefiting over 20,000 people. Sport England, NatWest and the ECB's development charity, the Cricket Foundation, have all supported the scheme.

In an effort to improve pitches at recreational level, the ECB has appointed 33 regional ECB pitch advisors and will aim to have 45 in place by the start of the 2002 cricket season. Each advisor will have attended a week-long pitch advisory course and they will all have two-year work programmes developed to best address local needs. The scheme has been supported by Sport England.

Inter cricket at Trent Bridge Photo CricInfo

Sport England's Active Sport programme, which aims to promote grass roots development for many sports, is already producing benefits for cricket. Year one funding, for the five-year scheme, has already totalled over £500,000 with Sport England and The Cricket Foundation the key benefactors. It is estimated that 6,500 children and 365 clubs will benefit, 105 district squads will be set up or enhanced, and 960 new Level I and Level II coaches trained. In all, £3.6m of funding for cricket's Active Sport scheme is anticipated over five years.

A new Inter Cricket Indoor Competition, which begins for the first time this month (February), will bring winter cricket to over 10,000 Secondary School boys and girls in 1,000 schools throughout the country. Many of the youngsters will be new to competitive cricket - the regulations state that no player is allowed to hold representative honours at County level. The 32 individual County finals will take place in mid-March.

And finally......!

'Sports Nutrition and Healthy Eating' formed part of the lifestyle management programme at the National Academy in Adelaide. For one of the modules, the Academy players were split into four groups and asked to prepare an evening meal for nine people on a budget of A$150, with the five guests, including Academy Manager Nigel Laughton and coach John Abrahams, acting as judges. Marked on preparation, cooking, presentation and hygiene, the winning group comprised of Schofield, Swann, Wallace and Wood. The meal: (starter) sweet potato in a bun, (main) Asian smoked salmon, and (dessert) pear & blackberry crumble!

© England & Wales Cricket Board