The Community Cricket Podcast

In this episode, we finally turn the microphone to face Twenty20 Community Cricket Founder and MD Darren Talbot, as he explains how and why he founded the company. We celebrate Darren's recent award winning appearance at the Kia Oval, and he tells us all about his vision for plugging the coaching gap for state school educated children, and how he believes this is a premise that could work nationwi...

This week we are grateful to Mark Ramprakash for making time available to speak to us. Whilst you will likely be familiar with his professional career (as international or county player, or England men's batting coach, or dare we say it, even on the dancefloor), his story and experience is of much greater breadth; whether in the role of Director of Cricket at Harrow School, or having come through...

This week we deviate from our usual interview format, and bring in one of our own, in the form of a chat with Robin Maslin, level 3 qualified head coach at Epsom CC, and Director / Head Coach here at Twenty20 Community Cricket. In the first of a series of 'Coaches Corner' chats we tap into the enormous wealth of coaching experience we have access to in order to help provide inspiration, additional...

This week we were lucky enough to sit down and chat with one of the co-creators of Maiden Cricket, Honor Black. Honor (and her sister Cat) are the teenage brains behind the new cricket clothing brand for girls, and she shares the story of their experience in an environment otherwise so tailored towards male participation. We hear about their introduction into cricket, the inspiration behind the br...

This week we chat with George Taylor of Colehill Cricket Club in Dorset, as he shares the dramatic story of the club. He relays how complaints from neighbours left the club staring at the prospect of closure, before a subsequent social media and crowdfunding campaign not only saved Colehill CC, but has seen it go on to scale new heights subsequently. A true 'phoenix from the flames' story. Enjoy t...

In this week's pod, we speak with Co-founder & CEO at Batfast Sports, Runish Gudhka. Runish explains how high quality, adaptable batting simulation technology can now be available at your local club. He discusses how it is no longer necessary to have to emply a bowler or someone to feed a bowling machine in order for a batter to hit plenty of balls, and how the hardware and software created by Bat...

This week we're excited to bring you a conversation with Adam Davidson, Regional Programme Manager for the MCC Foundation. Adam tells us all about the programme, how it is tailored to provide free training and development opportunities for the selected state school cricketers across the country, how particpants can get involved, and some of the upsides of doing so. It's a wonderful programme that...

This week we're pleased to bring you a conversation with John Oates focussing on best practice around the commercial and marketing areas within cricket. John is the man behind Get Sport Support, a business tailored towards professional and community sports set-ups, and our conversation touches on everything from selling sponsorship and memberships, to community interaction, building a culture, and...

This week we welcome David Jaques, a genuine 'lifer' down at Capel Cricket Club in the Dorking area of Surrey, to share insights into how he's helped play a key part in creating a community centric cricket club in a village context, against a backdrop where so many others have struggled. We hear how he has learned to harness local influencers, to make space for volunteers to grow into roles, the i...

This week we delve deeper into fundraising for cricket clubs, and in particular how digital raffle platforms specifically tailored towards sports clubs can prove extremely time efficient whilst also generating a regular source of club income. We speak with David Gray, Business Development Director at Play Fund Win, in order to find out more… Enjoy the show!   Notes on podcast series:   The Communi...

We delve into new areas this week, via a conversation with Alex Smith, one of the co-founders of Backyard Cricket England. We hear how the burgeoning backyard cricketing scene in Australia proved the inspiration for a UK equivalent, the resultant Backyard Ashes series, and how the 'jumpers for goalposts' spirit of this form of the game can make for an easy entry but fun alternative brand of cricke...

This week we speak with Matt Camp, the creator of Slam Cricket, a competition originating in the South of England out of the need to plug a gap in participation. Back in 2018, Matt was savvy enough to recognise that people's time was at more of a premium than ever before, making all day recreational cricket at weekends an unworkable proposition for many. Hear how and why he set about providing a v...

This week we chat with Patrick William-Powlett, chair at South Shields Cricket Club. We hear how Patrick has empowered club coaches to provide an abundance of hardball opportunities for juniors regardless of gender, and in particular how South Shields CC have pro-actively energised their girls section, whilst simultaneously nurturing relationships with local schools. Enjoy the show!   Notes on pod...

This week we change lanes somewhat, in exploring what lessons might be learned for cricket coaches from the field of women and girls' hockey. To do so, we take inspiration from Georgie Wood and Will Cooper, who are captain and coach for the Reigate Priory 1 st XI hockey team. We discuss similarities in approach with our own sport, how women's hockey is much further developed relative to the develo...

Russ Carter is a man who wears many hats, including that of coach, player and cricket equipment business owner. However it's in his role at the forefront of the development of wheelchair cricket that we focus on for this episode, as Russ explains how becoming a wheelchair user himself led to his immersion into the expansion and enjoyment of cricket for others in similar siutations. From situation-...

This week we have the pleasure of a conversation with Chris Pearce to share with you. Chris runs the Kriketová Akademie in Czechia, and provides a truly fascinating insight into the challenges of energising a minority sport in a country where cricket goes largely unseen. Chris' energy and passion are evident throughout, as he provides a masterclass in how to both cajole and inspire, whilst also re...

This week we speak with Tom Bailey, chair, committee member, player and volunteer at his hometown club, Clitheroe CC. However its in his role as a director at TJB Sports & Community that we delve into the detail; because theirs is a business providing expertise and advice for sports clubs looking to save money and become more efficient. And which cricket club doesn't want to do both!? We talk cost...

For our first episode of the new year we speak with Scott McKechnie, skipper and committee member at Dartford Cricket Club, former international wicketkeeper for Hong Kong and founder & CEO at PLAI Sport.   Scott has devised an app that is designed to manage your cricket club's affairs, generating more engagement and income, whilst taking less of your time to do so. Intrigued to hear more..? Liste...

Have you ever considered how many potential casual cricketers are not catered for by regular, competitive, club match play? Andy James and Ben Whitehouse from the Friendly Cricket Collective certainly have, and they set about doing something about it in the Bristol area. Latent players both, they managed to build a sufficiently warm, welcoming and social cricket environment from the fringes of the...

Ever wanted to properly connect local schools to your cricket club? Then this is the podcast for you! This week our conversation is with Jim Clarke, Cricket Development Officer at Winchmore Hill Cricket Club. Suffice to say, Jim takes a pro-active approach to schools engagement to a whole new level, and the clubs that have been lucky enough to benefit from his efforts have done so with undeniably...

We veer into new territory this week via a conversation with Bob Peirce from Sidcup Cricket Club. Bob is the driving force behind many of the sports club's environmentally focussed activities, from improving the aesthetics of the playing and surrounding areas, to dramatically reducing energy costs and driving efficiency through a range of endeavours, both large and small. Though Sidcup CC is part...

We're excited to share this week's conversation with Rich Feist, the long-time member and now chair at Merstham Cricket Club, as he explains the extraordinary breadth of the club's reach across the local community. He shares a tremendous wealth of insight and inspiration in equal measure, relaying how the club has been involved in local schools, charities, sponsorships, food banks and so much more...

This week we chat with John Fuller, the man behind cricketyorkshire.com, an editorial website covering grassroots and club cricket in the Yorkshire region. With many years' experience also on club committees and as a player as well as having created and run his own online presence, John is intriguingly placed to share his expertise in regards to the use of digital platform use within club cricket....

This week's conversation is with Ben Wilson, the driving force behind the Save Village Cricket campaign. It's a campaign that started with trying to prevent his club from having to pull matches due to a shortfall of participants, and has expanded into a countrywide effort to drive participation via effective communication and lobbying.   Ben shares his best practice on everything from enabling clu...

This week our conversation is with Chris Whitaker, chair of the management committee of the Young Leaders in Cricket Programme; as the name suggests it is an initiative designed to improve and develop leadership and life skills through cricket, targeted at teenagers aged fourteen to sixteen. The programme encompasses a number of elements designed to encourage young people to take on voluntary role...