ECB's Dynamos Cricket launch offers progression from All Stars programme

NICK FRIEND: The plan is for 35,000 youngsters to take part in the scheme across 1,500 centres, with courses being run at two separate times: during the school summer term starting in May, and then through July to complement The Hundred

A sports hall in Harrow is the scene for the launch of Dynamos Cricket, the ECB’s latest initiative. It is a spin-off – to a degree – of the successful All Stars programme, which was introduced almost three years ago now.

If All Stars caters for children between the ages of five and eight, then this is the next step, working with boys and girls from eight up to 11 years old. It has been designed both for graduates of that initial course and also for fresh starters. And there is a single key word. Fun.

That much, perhaps, might sound corny and buzzword-heavy. But it comes with sound logic behind it. Beyond the weather outside, the choice of location for this taster session is significant. “My absolute belief is that cricket can be played at a nice ground, but it can also be played in a venue like this,” Nick Pryde, the ECB’s director of participation and growth, tells The Cricketer. “We want cricket to be at the heart of communities – whether that’s clubs or community centres, it should be for kids of all abilities and of all backgrounds.”

A group of children are split into two sides of the room and, within minutes, the very best kind of organised chaos ensues. Balls fly at either end, with parents, special guests and Sky Sports cameras watching on.

To an outsider’s eye, everyone appears to be enjoying themselves. James Anderson is present with his children, Pat Brown and Laura Marsh are sporting the brandless shirts of Birmingham Phoenix and Oval Invincibles, while England Physical Disability player Liam Thomas also watches on. As far as Saturday afternoons go, you’d sense that few here could possibly leave complaining.

This is “one of the most critical age-groups”, Pryde says, in tying children down to the game. ECB research has suggested that “a lot of kids are starting to form their attitude to what their favourite sport is”. Creating something memorable – and understandable, therefore – becomes essential. 

The plan is for 35,000 youngsters to take part in the scheme across 1,500 centres, with courses being run at two separate times: during the school summer term starting in May, and then through July to complement The Hundred.

^{James Anderson, a parent himself, was on hand to help out with the session}

Beyond working on basic skills, the action plan includes an interactive app that provides coaching tips, as well as a ball-by-ball countdown game of 60 deliveries with clear similarities to the new professional competition.

The rationale is clear. “I think it’s about introducing a format of the game that is really simple to understand,” Pryde adds. It is a line that has often been used through The Hundred’s conception.

But here, he elaborates. “If we can make sure that kids are really understanding the game at their first experience in a really disarming, safe environment, with a format that’s all about fun and where you don’t need to know all the laws of the game, we think that’s a great introduction to the sport.

“Naturally with time, as you build an affinity with the game, kids will build that deeper understanding and the nuances of the game, which club cricketers like me actually love. But we need that first experience to be something that’s really fun.”

Pryde himself is a fine amateur cricketer. He averaged 56 for Teddington Cricket Club in the Middlesex Premier League in 2018, making five centuries, before a back problem restricted him through 2019. And he recognises the nuances at play here.

As per the All Stars programme, Dynamos is not a competitor to the club circuit – “we want it to complement existing junior cricket,” he explains. It will not be for everyone and it is certainly not a threat. Rather, it is to allow a different way into the same game, with the same ultimate aims.

“The key part of getting more kids in the game is providing choice. We know that junior club cricket, as it stands, is a brilliant choice and a brilliant option for a lot of the more competitive kids.

^{The programme will run in two slots in May and July}

“But a lot of the kids who haven’t yet played cricket, Dynamos is brilliant for that. You can learn skills and have slightly less competitive games in a format that’s really safe and inclusive. Naturally, those more competitive kids will transition into the more traditional formats.

“But equally, right across the game, we need to make sure that cricket has options for those kids who perhaps aren’t the next first team player, but still want to enjoy the game.

“What we want, particularly for those clubs who are running their sessions, is these kids to come through into their club programmes and really feel part of their club.”

When All Stars first came onto the scene, one of few questions asked of a well-received project was of how the children involved would be exposed to cricket beyond their starter sessions.

Andy Bull wrote in The Guardian at the time a piece entitled ‘Cricket's All Stars scheme is fine but kids must see the game as well as play it’. He argued that, for all the many merits of the initiative, the game on a wider level was seeing falling participation levels in the face of paywalled live action.

It is a point that Pryde tackles, citing The Hundred and its part-free-to-air deal as a major opportunity to “connect with those kids”. Dynamos, though, plans to go further, taking participants in the initiative to Hundred matches, where they will be able to apply for “money-can’t-buy experiences”.

He explains: “We don’t just want them playing the game and enjoying the game, we want them going to matches, feeling connected to some of the stars of the game and what that rounded experience will do is hopefully form attitudes that are really passionate about the game.

“What we saw through the World Cup was that any time you put brilliant players together in a tournament, it inspires kids. We saw that first-hand.

“These kids will get opportunities for that through this programme. It’s a moment in time, when we’ve got these great players from around the world in the peak of summer on our shores.”

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