Photo Credit: Brisbane Heat
Participation in cricket grew by over 3700 registrations this play cricket week, that was enabled by more than 80 Community cricket staff-led activations across schools, communities, and clubs. The impact was profound, as these initiatives engaged over 50,000 children, offering them a first-hand experience of the sport’s joys.
Play Cricket Week commenced with grandeur at Allan Border Field, as Queensland Cricket hosted a launch party, inclusive of a Bluey Live Interactive Experience, an attraction that drew an impressive crowd.
The week was then elevated to greater heights with the presence of esteemed cricketing figures. Prominent players from the Brisbane Heat, QLD Bulls, and Fire visited various community events. Their involvement added a touch of cricketing magic to the proceedings, inspiring the next generation and reinforcing the significance of community within the game.
Beyond the engagement efforts during the week, the annual campaign’s impact resonated in the realm of registrations. Across all levels, from Cricket Blast to Junior and Senior cricket, registrations experienced a substantial surge, and is currently at 1500 more participants than this time last year. Particularly noteworthy is the growth in junior girl registrations, which has increased by 50%. This uplift in registrations underlines the week’s success in igniting the cricketing spirit among Queenslanders.
Geoff Teys, Queensland Cricket’s General Manager for Government Relations, Infrastructure and Community Cricket praised the community cricket team’s efforts in delivering a successful campaign this year.
“This is the first time since 2019-20 that we are ahead on entry level participation from the previous year, which is a huge effort considering the traditional summer season has not yet started” he said.
He continued, “We knew there was a lot of interest in cricket post the Ashes series, so many of our staff proactively set up pop up programs to ensure kids could try the prior to the regular club season”.
Despite National Play Cricket Week being an annual targeted campaign, school and community activations will not be slowing down. Several Woolworths Cricket Blast School Cups will be held between now and the school holidays. Queensland Cricket also offers after school and school holiday programs, that are a great taster prior to joining a club. Schools looking to get involved with any cricket programs are encouraged to contact Queensland Cricket. Alternatively, those looking to register into a club or program should visit play.cricket.com.au.
