Grassroots Cricket: How is the game going in your area?

[Caesar]

Yeah, clubs are struggling in NSW. It remains a top sport in private schools - making the First XI is as prestigious as the First XV for rugby or the First VIII for rowing - but clubs are dying.

Kids and their parents would rather opt for basketball or something - less time, money and effort. Those who do play junior cricket generally give it away in their early 20s when life starts to get busy.

 

[big_e]

So now for the real question: what does club cricket look like in ten years? A smaller number of big clubs, same number of clubs with fewer teams per club, playing different formats, or something else entirely?

 

[Gough]

I'd hope that the burgeoning Indian Australian population might provide a boost in participation, thankfully we don't seem to have the problems England used to have in assimilating the Asian population into the mainstream county system.

 

[Chief]

About 6-7 years ago a friend who plays in the Masters Games was talking about field hockey in the 90s.

Plenty of fields, and people stopped for a beer afterwards.

Now he says there are a couple of big centres and people come in, play, and go.

Are people's needs for community being satisfied outside the traditional sports club?

 

[Caesar]

Are people's needs for community being satisfied outside the traditional sports club?

Anecdotally, I kind of feel like people are less inclined to sacrifice family time at weekends than they used to. If you're a two income household then you don't get much respite from work and chores during the week. Taking half a day (or a full day) out of your weekend to play sport and have drinks with the boys/girls is a big commitment - especially if you have kids playing their own sport.

You've still got the young single people I suppose, but the success of a club has traditionally been founded on long association - it's the former First XI players who go on to mentor and coach and administer. If people drift away once life gets busy, the clubs die.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

I can only comment on my club, of which I am proudly a life member. The club is situated in the inner eastern suburbs, widely regarded as one of the "richer" areas of the state. When I joined, there were 6 senior teams with plenty of people waiting in line for a game. There are now 3 teams (one of which is a one-day team, the club is always searching for ways to fill the teams, and it pains me to say the standard is pathetic.

 

[The Speaker]

About 6-7 years ago a friend who plays in the Masters Games was talking about field hockey in the 90s.

Plenty of fields, and people stopped for a beer afterwards.

Now he says there are a couple of big centres and people come in, play, and go.

Are people's needs for community being satisfied outside the traditional sports club?

Anecdotally, I kind of feel like people are less inclined to sacrifice family time at weekends than they used to. If you're a two income household then you don't get much respite from work and chores during the week. Taking half a day (or a full day) out of your weekend to play sport and have drinks with the boys/girls is a big commitment - especially if you have kids playing their own sport.

You've still got the young single people I suppose, but the success of a club has traditionally been founded on long association - it's the former First XI players who go on to mentor and coach and administer. If people drift away once life gets busy, the clubs die.

Yes, I'd say that it's much more that people's need for community is being satisfied less than it used to, and that family has taken the place of outside community because work has taken the place of family.

 

[Knox Harrington]

I've been involved in cricket in the northern suburbs of Melbourne for fifteen years and Gippsland the Last ten.
Big changes for me:
1) not many footballers play cricket anymore due to pre season starting in November which weakens the standard
2) we lose juniors earlier now too.
3) more.blokes now than ten to fifteen years ago want to play say 8-10 days of cricket.

No way participation is up.