Cricket committed to game’s lifeblood

Cricket Australia’s head of community cricket, Belinda Clark. Picture: Nicole Cleary

When I think of cricket I think of people like Martin Soper.

My first experience of playing cricket was at Newcastle High, followed by a season playing in an otherwise all-boys team for Eastern Suburbs JCC in Newcastle. I fell in love with the game immediately, even if it meant having to get changed in the car because there was only one change room for everyone.

That didn’t worry me in the slightest. The joy of playing superseded everything.

I also got involved in indoor cricket, which is where Martin came into the picture. Martin was a volunteer, a player, a coach, a mentor. He was also the owner of a very durable throwing arm.

Martin must’ve thrown me tens, maybe hundreds, of thousands of balls through the years as I developed my game. He taught me everything – how to bat and to bowl legspin, offspin and swing the ball. He wanted nothing in return other than the satisfaction of knowing he was passing on his love and knowledge of cricket to someone else.

Cricket also makes me think of people like Margie Oldfield.

Margie has been named both the WACA’s and Cricket Australia’s volunteer of the year for her work with the Wembley Districts Junior Cricket Club in Western Australia. She’s a marvel.

Belinda Clark became our greatest female cricketer with the help of some key volunteers

Over the years Margie has turned her club into a foundation stone for the broader community. They have developed programs for girls and boys, kids with disabilities, kids who don’t have the resources of other families and more. It’s a place where everyone is welcome, irrespective of their background or ability, and families are as much a part of the culture as the individual players.

What Margie created isn’t just about cricket. It’s about belonging.

The news of the coronavirus pandemic, and the flow-on effects it is having on cricket’s finances, have prompted concern in cricket circles around the country. That’s understandable. Like most sports, cricket will look different at the end of this global health crisis.

But I will also say this: Cricket Australia remains absolutely committed to the local clubs and players who are the lifeblood of our game.

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We will be doing everything we can to help our volunteers get players back out onto the field this season. We will continue to invest in community facilities (so the girls no longer need to get changed in the car). And we will move heaven and earth to ensure that any girl or boy who was inspired by our Aussie women’s historic T20 World Cup victory or our Aussie men’s retention of the Ashes will get a chance to play the game.

Finances may have been impacted by the pandemic, but passion for playing cricket has not.

Inevitably recent budget cuts mean doing some things differently. However the services we have provided to local clubs as part of Cricket Australia’s commitment to grassroots cricket will not be diminished even if they are delivered in different ways.

Some new measures will include an expanded volunteer support call centre that can provide rapid support to communities and volunteers. Similarly, we will be enhancing our digital platforms for player registrations and competition management to make life easier for club administrators. There have been encouraging signs across community cricket over the past year. Registered participation has increased for the first time in four years, including an approximate 10 per cent increase among females.

The Women’s T20 World Cup win is inspiring the next generation. Picture: Mike Dugdale

Additionally, our strategy of connecting clubs into our school programs has resulted in a similar increase in Woolworths Cricket Blast registrations, and more than three in every four kids who played our modified formats came back to play again last year.

It is our intention to build upon this progress, even with fewer resources.

At times like this, people like Martin Soper, Margie Oldfield and the many thousands of cricket-loving people in the community inspire us to lift our eyes and focus on what is truly important: to share our love of cricket and create opportunities for anyone who wants to play

Success on the international stage is brilliant but, to me, it doesn’t represent the greatest value cricket provides. That comes at the local community level.

The spotlight might not shine as brightly, nor are the material rewards as great, but it’s the grassroots – the players, the coaches, the volunteers, the parents and everyone else who plays a part – where the lessons of acceptance, belonging and teamwork are learnt. Local cricket clubs have the potential and the opportunity to play an important role in leading their communities through to Australia’s recovery. I can think of no greater gift than that.

Thank you to Martin, Margie and the many thousands of community cricket people for what you’ve given to others through the years. We are with you.

• Belinda Clark is a former captain of Australia who executive general manager for community cricket for Cricket Australia