Why have we set up OSCL?

FIRST, because we hold a deep and abiding passion for cricket; for its underlying ethos and tradition; and for the values it represents. In particular, for recreational grass-roots, village and local league cricket and those who participate in it; that together are, the heart 'n soul, life-blood and future of the game in this country.

Owner: B Aitken

SECOND, because we have identified the emergence of a steadily growing number of serious problems amongst 'non-focus', recreational cricket clubs (in particular) that we believe need addressing as a matter of urgency ('What we do'); for example:
  • Of all the recognised sports, recreational cricket is by far the biggest loser in the continued, government-sanctioned, selling off of state schools' playing fields and local authorities' recreational sports grounds for private housing or commercial development; and the failure to provide adequate equivalent - or better - replacement facilities.


  • In many parts of the country, there is a perceptible season-on-season decline not only in the numbers of long-serving, regular, core-player, club members but also, and, more seriously, in the recruitment and retention of new younger players; particularly amongst those in the 15 - 21 age bracket. As a result, many clubs are finding it increasingly problematic to put out sometimes even 2 - let alone 3 or 4 - regular full-strength sides on each Saturday and Sunday as well as for mid-week competition matches, during the season.

    •
  • Because of the adverse economic environment, there has been a significant decline over the past two years also in the numbers of corporate and commercial sponsorship opportunities available to recreational cricket clubs and leagues. This situation is exacerbated by the concomitant steady decline in National Lottery ticket sales and the launch of an Olympics Lottery as an additional fund-raising source for the London 2012 Olympics to which Sport England has committed £350,000,000 (three hundred and fifty million pounds); a sum equivalent to more than two years' income to the National Lottery Sports Fund!


  • Only the most naive will believe that the launch of this additional Olympics Lottery is not having a severely adverse effect on the non-Olympic sports' or that, under the resulting revised national lottery funding distribution policies, there will not be far less funding available to support recreational cricket (in particular).

    •
  • This sorry situation is yet further exacerbated by a clause in the Olympics Lottery Bill that permits the transfer of National Lottery Fund money into the Olympics Lottery Fund 'in exceptional circumstances (sic)' - i.e. if - and it's a racing certainty that with 2 years still to go they will - the costs of preparing for and running the 2012 Olympics exceed the current budget estimates of £9.2 billion; a figure that already exceeds the original bid estimate by 300%!

    •
  • The penal cost of the new Bar Licences.
    • The majority of recreational cricket clubs in Great Britain are almost totally dependent upon the profits from their bar takings to cover their basic annual overheads and to fund other essential costs such as ground, square and equipment maintenance and annual insurance premiums. With the ban on smoking in pavilions; the latest tax increases on beer, wines and spirits levied in the last budget; greater awareness of 'don't drink 'n drive'; and the resulting, now (sadly) customary, rapid exit of away teams at the end of the match, the problem is becoming more acute.

  • The new laws relating to the Licensing of recreational cricket club bars that effectively equate them to professionally-run commercial licensed businesses that are open all year round. Whereas, previously, the club secretary used to attend the quarterly 'Brewster Sessions' at the local magistrates' court and pay £25 to obtain or renew his club's Licence, the new law is much more prescriptive. Now, the club must, first, advertise the fact of their Application for a Licence in the local newspaper (cost, £200) and, at the same time, pay to have professional architect-prepared scale plans of its pavilion/clubhouse/premises drawn up at a cost of anywhere between £350 and £650.

  • The Secretary is then required to complete and sign a 21-page Application Form and submit it, together with a complete set of the scale plans - in septuplicate - to the Local Authority (Licensing, Planning, Environmental Health and Health & Safety Departments), local fire brigade, police, et al. If the club's application is successful, they are required to pay a fee for their Licence that is based upon their local authority's valuation of the club's land and premises. For most recreational cricket clubs that are open only during the season and occasional evenings during the winter for committee meetings, the cost of having a Bar Licence has risen exponentially; in some cases by as much as 1,000%.

    •
  • Those clubs that either do not own their own cricket ground and facilities, or do not have an historically long-standing exclusive 'Pepper-corn Rent' agreement with a local authority, in exchange for fully maintaining it, often have to compete each year to hire the diminishing numbers of pitches available on local-authority-owned sports grounds, or in public parks/recreation grounds, on which to play their regular league and other fixtures.


    •
  • Apart from the problems of all-year-round fouling by dogs and Canada Geese and damage wrought by thoughtless individuals, the standard and quality of the pre-season preparation and subsequent during-the-season maintenance of the squares and pitches on such grounds by the majority of local authorities' Parks 'n Grounds Departments' is generally poor; with both left untended from mid-September to March - i.e. during the football season - and restricted to once-a-week mowing, pitch marking and occasional rolling on the Thursday or Friday prior to the match. And not at all for evening matches!


  • In addition, very rarely are such individual pitches either correctly marked out prior to matches, or properly repaired immediately afterwards; and only rarely are sight-screens, scoreboards, covers, or practice nets provided. Compounding this, the outfield either side of the square is often football or rugby pitches during the winter months that have been left in their end-of season condition, thus adding considerably to the dangers faced by fielders; particularly on hot, sunny, dry days. The 'one-size-fits-all' changing rooms tend to be insecure, regularly vandalised, or covered in graffiti and the shower facilities are all too often inadequate.

    NB: We have commissioned a special 4-man research team to undertake simultaneous UK-wide research/investigations into: (i) why only a very small minority of players that are members of clubs' junior sections from the ages of 10 - 14 subsequently go on to play regularly in their clubs' senior sides; and, (ii) the problems facing (specifically) recreational non-ECB-Focus clubs in recruiting new members each year and in maintaining their club's playing facilities, structure, fabric and income.

    If YOUR club is currently experiencing or suffering from any of the problems outlined above, the team would like to hear from you.

    Please contact John Fielden, our Regions Development Director, either by 'phone on 01737 218178, or by email to:     onsidecricket.org@btinternet.com