Chair of Norfolk cricket club wants sport to be put back on school curriculum
The appeal comes as the Ashes is well underway with Ben Stokes' men looking to fight back
The chair of a cricket club in Norfolk is calling on the sport to be re-introduced to the national school curriculum
The appeal comes as the Ashes is well underway with Ben Stokes' men looking to fight back after losing the first test, in Edgbaston
But Neil Irons from Dereham's club, who also works on our county cricket board has told us that the number of people playing the sport in our county- is above the national average.
"You need the volunteers"
"The style of play- Bazball, as it's called- is bringing a lot of people back into the game and making it more exciting, especially for the kids. They are coming along to these training sessions and trying to play all these flamboyant shots and talking about their new heroes- like Joe Root and Ben Stokes.
"There are issues with local grassroots cricket where you have good numbers, but you need the volunteers. If you get forty kids come in, you need get least 4-7 coaches within your clubs and that's the hardest part of grassroots cricket- at the moment".
"I'd really like to see cricket go back on the school curriculum"
He told us that promotion is vital:
"We need to keep plugging it out there. One of the things we do as Norfolk cricket board is have community coaches who go to schools and do taster sessions, and tell people about where more of these sessions are happening and where the clubs. I'd really like to see cricket go back on the school curriculum".
"Football is taking over and becoming a 12 month sport, where kids aren't really getting the chance to go and play cricket. You're getting a lot of cross-over now and it's making kids confused about what sports they want to play".