Welcome Aboard

We were delighted during the course of the year to receive an approach from The Lord's Taverners, asking whether we would be interested in working with them to develop table cricket.

The Lord's Taverners were impressed by the way we had used the funding they provided to develop a junior programme for boccia, and the timing of their approach could not have been better.

With boccia poised to become a stand-alone activity, CP Sport were actively seeking to adopt a new sport suitable for those with a more severe impairment, and the more we have talked about where table cricket will figure within the overall programme, the more excited we've become about it.

It is certainly a fantastic opportunity from my point of view. After 18 years working for the MoD in the Civil Service, I was running my own coaching company, working mainly within primary schools, when I spotted the CP Sport advert for a National Table Cricket Development Officer.

I was really enjoying my coaching work. I knew that it had to be something special for me to move away from it, and this role certainly is a very exciting and challenging one.

The game is particularly suitable for those with physical impairment and restricted mobility, and our aim is to provide opportunities to take part in competitive team games based on the rules of cricket, with the emphasis on teamwork and sportsmanship.

"our challenge is to develop the game at grass-roots level."

Building a new base

The current situation with table cricket is fairly unusual because the game is strong at the top of the 'pyramid' but appears to lack structure and co-ordination at grass-roots level. The Lord's Taverners already run a very successful interschool competition with a high profile national final at Lord's each year, and that will continue outside of our brief.

Our challenge is to develop the game at grass-roots level, and we have four immediate targets... participation, sustainability, structure and education. We will be making contact with every county to generate awareness through schools, Cricket Boards and local authority disability officers.

In order to take table cricket forward we need to create a clearly defined structure so that people are working together to establish teams, clubs and competitions. We also need to produce a training course manual and handbook, and introduce schemes that will provide qualifications for coaches, umpires, officials and young leaders.

Getting a taste for success

At present, the table cricket 'season' is based around a few months in the year but there is no reason to restrict it. The game can be played any time as it predominantly takes place indoors.

There's a massive job to be done working our way around the country to organise 'taster' sessions, training events and enlisting volunteers as we build upon the excellent work that is already taking place in the schools and County Boards across the country. We will not achieve all our objectives overnight, but hard work, stakeholder engagement at the earliest stage and the desire and enthusiasm of all involved will help us start our journey towards sustainable success.

I am confident the decision to join forces with The Lord's Taverners and add table cricket to the CP Sport portfolio will prove to be an excellent one for all concerned... especially those who will get many hours of enjoyment from playing the game.

Mark Dowling
National Table Cricket Development Officer