Welcome to the Home of ON-SIDE CRICKET LIMITED (OSCL) |
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(Throughout this website, the term 'community cricket' is used as the all-encompassing definition of recreational, village, social, 'grass-roots', league and non-league, women's, inner-city/urban, disabled, blind and partially-sighted, and all other forms of non-professional , multi-racial, cricket played throughout Great Britain).
Throughout Great Britain there are more than 2,000,000 active participants of both sexes and all ages - players, officials, volunteers, committee members, plus their families - representing approximately 8,897 community cricket clubs of all types and sizes, who are involved in cricket each year!
The role that cricket clubs play in their local community should not be under-valued or under-estimated. They provide not only the foundation for competition from junior 'grass-roots' to senior recreational league levels, but also the organisation, coaching facilities, and opportunities denied to youngsters from state schools that have sold off their playing fields for housing development, to enable them to play competitive cricket and, at the same time, nurture their talents, fitness and life skills in a structured and supportive environment. Even, conceivably, to develop them as potential, genuinely 'home-grown', international players of the future!
Membership of their local community cricket club junior/youth section will help and encourage these youngsters to overcome problems associated with the current widespread lack of local authority-organised youth clubs and out-of-school activities facilities; low personal boredom thresholds; and low levels of physical activity, fitness and mental alertness; the main causes of increasing youth obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
Apart from the health and social benefits that participation in community cricket can bring, representing their local community cricket club will boost not only their personal self-confidence, self-esteem and sense of personal achievement, but also parental/peer-group respect and recognition - the lack of which are the main contributing factors in the exponential increase in today's youth gang-culture, binge-drinking, drug abuse and violent street crime.
In addition, for those (now almost exclusively Public, Private and Church) schools that include cricket in their sports curriculum, the playing season finishes during the first week of July - some three months earlier than the nationally recognised cricket season. By joining their local community cricket club, these young cricketers are able to continue playing throughout the summer - often at more competitive and challenging levels in a much wider variety of different types of matches - not only at weekends, but also during the week.
THUS, throughout Great Britain there is very real scope and opportunity for greatly increasing participation in community cricket at all levels and in ALL age groups; i.e. not only for youngsters in the 10 -16 years age group and young adults between 17-21, but also for older players from 21 to 60 - and beyond!
However, to be successful in accommodating and retaining these extra numbers, such greater participation in community cricket requires major investments in its infrastructure and standards. For example, in Clubs' grounds preparation and maintenance; in the upgrading of Clubs' existing playing surfaces; in the provision of new - or the refurbishment or extension of existing - pavilions, changing and shower facilities; in improved car parking facilities; and in the provision of additional grounds and new playing surfaces, including professionally-laid artificial pitches.
IT IS TO HELP COMMUNITY CRICKET CLUBS ACHIEVE THESE OBJECTIVES THAT OSCL HAS BEEN SPECIFICALLY FOUNDED
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