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YORKSHIRE CRICKET BOARD

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS

FEBRUARY 2016

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REPORT OF THE YORKSHIRE CRICKET BOARD 2015

Executive Summary

Introduction 2015 will again go down as another year of change in Yorkshire Cricket and in particular for the Yorkshire Cricket Board. Mark Arthur and Andrew Watson continue to work very closely as we all move forward into the “Yorkshire Cricket” branding. Andrew is now on some YCCC committees and is in attendance at the YCF Trustees meeting. Mark is now on the YCB Board of Directors, the Yorkshire Cricket Pyramid League Management Board and the Women’s Sub-committee. The partnership between them is extremely strong and we both have full and total commitment, inclusion and operate an open door policy. The YCB, YCCC and YCF are now in effect departments of Yorkshire Cricket with all staff assisting each other. Communication, help, support and resources are available across the Yorkshire Cricket family. Two significant changes will occur in 2016. Firstly Paul Hudson and Chris Thomson from YCCC will be in charge and will oversee the YCB Finances. They already oversee YCCC and YCF finances. Secondly, the YCB will be moving offices in March 2016. They will be joining the County Club in their ground floor offices in the Carnegie Pavilion. Contact details will be circulated in due course. The YCB have 8 Directors and they make the decisions and oversee specific areas of work. Philip Radcliffe (Chair), Albert Pattison (Vice Chair), Ian Cotterhill, Mark Arthur (YCCC CEO), Chris West, Jane Hildreth, Umar Rafiq and Andrew Watson (Executive Director) are the current directors. The Board of Directors have considered a wide range of issues including new Yorkshire Cricket structure and ECB initiatives and all areas. Once again all decisions have been unanimous. The General Members of the Yorkshire Cricket Board have met on three occasions with the Board of Directors meeting every 2 months. However, the report must formally commence with tributes to those people who have sadly passed away since the last report. YCB Honorary Life Member Philip Akroyd sadly died on 5th January aged 80. Philip joined the Yorkshire Cricket Association Council in 1984 and remained on it until 2003. He was the first representative from Yorkshire County Cricket Club whom he represented 1984-94 and 1997-2001. In 1995 he represented the Coaches Association and in 2002-03 he represented the Joe Lumb and Lord Taverners Festival competitions at YCA/YCB. When the Yorkshire Cricket Board was formed in mid-1996 he served on it as County Club representative again. He was a key figure in linking the YCA, YCCC and leagues together in those far off early days. The YCB were saddened to learn that Mike Turner MBE had passed away. Mike had a long and distinguished association with Leicestershire CCC as a player, club secretary and latterly as Chief Executive covering 47 years, during which he signed Raymond Illingworth and the young David Gower. He was also a very well-known and a highly respected figure within the recreational game and had served ECB in a consultancy role since 1997. He gave much support to the Board, in particular to Andrew Watson, with the first round of Community Club Development Funding in 2003 where he supported 26 Yorkshire clubs in gaining facility upgrades. Andrew and Mike remained firm friends.

Both the Halifax and Bradford cricket communities were in shock in November 2015 after the death, at the age of 50, of Copley Cricket Club’s Steve Priestley, following a short battle with cancer. Steve, known to everyone as “Chick-pea”, was well regarded in the Halifax Cricket League having been one of the area’s most accomplished wicket-keepers during the last twenty years.

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Peter Milne passed away on 14th January, aged 69. Peter was the backbone of Londesborough Park Cricket Club for many years, acting as club secretary for more than 40 years. There is no doubt that without Peter’s vision, determination, and strength, Londesborough Park Cricket Club would not be in the strong position as it is today. David Todd suddenly passed away during the year. David was the Yorkshire Over 60’s Manager and will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him. We have also lost two of Yorkshire’s greats in Bob Appleyard and of course Brian Close whose ability, fearless courage and captaincy during the halcyon days of the 60’s made him a true Yorkshire Legend. Who could ever forget Brian facing the might of the West Indies in 1976 without a helmet?

Full obituary tributes are in the 2016 handbook.

Tributes During the year Martin Freeman, Tas Malik and Scott Cunningham left their Community Coach posts. We are sorry to lose them, but we thank them so much for all their hard work and their service to Yorkshire Cricket and wish them well for the future. Bren Terry and Richard Horner, two of our most senior and respected coaches stepped down from their coaching and tutoring roles. We sincerely thank them for their work spanning 3 decades. Due to a change in work commitments Ian Hales has had to stand down as Chairman of the YCBCA, Coach Education Committee and the ECB Regional CA. We thank him for all his work and commitment to coaching and coach education over many years. His work at club level continues. We also lost the services of John Jennings during the year and we would like to thank him for all his work and support in the Scarborough area over many years. Yorkshire Cricket are indebted to the work of Nick Marriner who leaves ECB shortly after the best part of 20 years of committed and unwavering service to the game. Nick officially came into the game in 1997. Since then the recreational game has developed in so many ways and Nick should be extremely proud of the significant contribution he has made. To name but a few: Nick lead the creation of the County Cricket Board network and their development into independent high performing organisations that provide a framework for the recreational game to drive and support our clubs and he was at the forefront of FOUR whole sport plans that have bought considerable investment to the game and delivered legacy outcomes that will provide the strong platform for our up-coming growth agenda. In recent years, the success of the Network Support and Improvement Team (Business Support Managers) and his leadership of them, has been heralded as a best practice initiative that will be the basis of our new regional structure. His work on player insights as part of the Eureka! Campaign is genuinely global best practice from a cricket perspective, and according to Sport England, leads the way in sport in this country. I would just like to place on record my very grateful thanks for his help, support and encouragement that he has given the YCB and to me personally over the years. Finally a tribute goes to the Development Staff and Administration Staff who have handled an extraordinary workload this year and borne the brunt not just of orchestrating the normal YCB development programmes, but also the main part of the planning process which has been long and very time-consuming especially Adult Player Retention, League Engagement, Disability, South Asian project and the Chance to Shine scheme. Overall this report follows previous year’s patterns with the reports of Sub-Committees, Forums, Working Parties and Area Cricket Councils following along with other County Associations.

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Structure of the Board The General Members of the Board who meet 3 times a year are: John Jennings (until his resignation), Martin Kingston, Ian Livesey, Brian Lymbery, Stephen Pickles, (all representing YCB Council and recreational cricket), David Ryder, Mark Arthur, Andy Dawson (Yorkshire CCC), Dale Kerruish (Coach Ed and Membership Services), Glyn Pearson (YCBACO), Richard Jones (Women’s Cricket) and Keith Dickson (for Yorkshire Schools) and the Directors. The YCB Council (for Leagues, Area Councils and CDGs) has five Area Councils as members with each aligned to a County Sport Partnership area. Due to their size North Yorkshire also have East and West sub-divisions. The Council nominates the five members as General Members of the Board to represent the needs of recreational cricket. It has also been decided that there will continue to be an annual meeting of Leagues etc to place the Board Annual report before them for discussion and questions and to provide information with presentations. England and Wales Cricket Board The ECB National Strategy for Cricket was agreed between ECB and Sport England and the Memorandum of Understanding was signed in 2013. As indicated below this has created ring-fenced funding for Adult Player Retention and Disability programmes and with funding for South Asia projects in both Leeds and Bradford. A new ECB Strategy is currently being developed following the appointment of the new ECB Participation Director, Matt Dwyer. Funding The Board is very grateful to the ECB Trust, The Yorkshire Cricket Foundation, Chance to Shine, Sport England for their support. The Board is also very grateful to Yorkshire CCC Charitable Youth Trust for a further £10,000 and for other donations to help fund core activities and school visits. Staffing and New Appointments Due to the changes in Chance to Shine, we have taken an early opportunity to change the job title of Community Coaches to that of Community Cricket Officers. James Martin has been appointed Community Cricket Officer for East Yorkshire and replaces Martin Freeman. The other new Community Officer appointment is Alex Murphy who replaces Tas Malik (Halifax/Huddersfield). We also welcome Dale Kerruish and Kevin Gresham to the staff. Through their company Active Learning Yorkshire they will be leading Coach Education and Membership Services including coach development. All Community Cricket Officers are funded through Chance to Shine and are on one year rolling contracts subject to funding. We welcome all the new staff to Yorkshire Cricket and hope that they have a long and happy career with us. Premier League Pyramid Following on from the results of the National Playing Survey in 2013 that indicated that the better players/clubs wanted to play more competitive cricket across Yorkshire whilst most of local players wanted to play more regionally, we have set up a pyramid structure across Yorkshire. There will be 4 Premier Leagues and this will start

in 2016. Details are later in this report. Communications and Website The YCB website is run through Pitchero and is the main means of disseminating information from the Board at www.yorkshirecb.com. Its format and links to YCCC is established. Graham Purdy is our Webmaster. The 26th edition of the “new look” Handbook will again be published in April 2016 and will be for the first time on-line. Pathways to Excellence The Yorkshire Cricket Pathways to Excellence scheme and centres have been completely revamped and has

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continued to flourish this year as reported below. It remains the main framework through which young cricketers progress to the level at which they become potential county cricketers and that role will continue. The whole Pathways to Excellence scheme has always been a great flagship. Coach Education and Membership Services During the year we have completed re-vamped Coach Education Services and brought the YCBCA into one service for all coaches. YCB Groundsman Association During the year the Association has now become an independent body controlling its own finances and membership. The group still covers education and training matters. YCB are looking at more support through operating a Pitch Advisor Scheme centrally Successes It goes without saying that the biggest success story of the year was Yorkshire retaining the County Championship. For those of us who were honoured and privileged to attend the reception at Buckingham Palace, the day will live long into the memory. Congratulations to Andrew Gale and his team, together with Martyn Moxon and Jason Gillespie on a most fantastic season. There was also success in the Women’s game with the Yorkshire Senior Women winning their county championship, together with the County Girls U15’s and U13’s winning their respective championships. Yorkshire Over 50’s won their championship and Woodhouse Grange CC won the National Village Cricket Championship at Lord’s Yorkshire County Cricket Club The County Club has continued to be extremely supportive of YCB as we have all moved into Yorkshire Cricket. Mark Arthur as YCCC Chief Executive has continued to support the new impetus of collaborative working. Their professional coaches have helped all representative teams and under Director of Cricket Development, Ian Dews, have worked with us to promote the development of the game at representative and other levels and in the development of the Pathways scheme and the Emerging Players Programme. Collaborative work has also continued to develop with the Commercial and Marketing Departments through the efforts of Andy Dawson, Danny Reuben and their staff. The Board also wishes to thank David Ryder of the County Club for his help as Stadium Manager and the Finance department of Chris Thompson and Paul Hudson in providing much needed help and support moving forward. The Yorkshire Cricket Foundation, a charitable body for cricket, was established in October 2009. The Board is in attendance at the Trustees Board meetings through the Executive Director. Most of the donations received have been for specified activities but potentially it should be of considerable help in funding Board, County Club and joint development initiatives from charitable donations received. The work of Will Saville as the Foundation Community Development Manager is much appreciated. The Cricket Centre and Pro-Coach in particular has proved to be a most valuable asset to the coaching side of the Board’s work including Pathways and many meetings are hosted there. Thanks go to Linda Grant for her help and provision of refreshments, Chris Brice and in particular Kirsty Sugden from Pro-Coach who has provided incredible support of the new pathways scheme and to Sam Hinchliffe regarding the use of the Cricket Centre for all their help. . Honorary Officials Thanks have been recorded to many staff but particular mention must be made of the voluntary work of Board officials and Sub-Committee Secretaries: Derek Shuttleworth, Ian Livesey, Stephen Pickles, James Spencer, Ray Knowles, Brian Farrell, Alan Farnell, Steven Wood, Iain Mallett, Martin Kingston, Malcolm Maw and Rob Richtering

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who put in so many unpaid hours for the benefit of the Board together with the Area Council secretaries. Thanks The document serves to underline the very wide range of activities of the Board and I would like to record my sincere thanks to my fellow Directors, to all the members of the administrative staff, to members of the Board, the CDMs and Managers and Community Cricket Officers and members of all our Sub-Committees and Working Parties for the immense support during the year in all the matters above which serve to underline the very wide range of activities of Yorkshire Cricket. Andrew Watson January 2016

A - BOXING DAY 2015 FLOODS The devastating floods that occurred in Yorkshire during Boxing Day 2015 have seriously affected a number of our clubs. As the events unfolded on the television and media, we immediately set up a help-line for leagues and clubs. Notices to leagues and clubs whom we knew would be affected were sent out within 24 hours. Information was sent out immediately to help all the clubs who had registered for assistance. Dan Musson (ECB Facilities & Funding Manager), Mark Arthur and I worked over the Christmas period to collate all the information. Once back in the office after the Christmas break Dan Musson then contacted all the clubs requesting additional information. The Clubs were immediately given £500.00 each from the YCB Emergency Fund to help them initially and they were also encouraged to access £5000 for flood relief through Sport England and their website. The Yorkshire County Cricket Club in conjunction with the Yorkshire Cricket Board (YCB) and the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation has launched the Yorkshire Cricket Floods Taskforce who will work with the region’s cricket clubs’ badly affected. The Taskforce includes representatives from the ECB, together with Yorkshire Captain Andrew Gale, Chief Executive Mark Arthur and former Yorkshire player Neil Hartley. Andrew Watson, Steve Archer, Richard Wilkinson and Paul Hudson are also on the Task Force. The Task Force will support the work of the ECB on a case-by-case basis to ensure clubs are fully supported when making an insurance claim, raising necessary funds and to help volunteers overcome the pressures of getting their facilities ready for the new season. They will also organise/initiate charitable events such as dinners, luncheons and charity matches/days. Our aim is to support the clubs through the summer and beyond. A floods appeal to raise further funds has been set-up and the public can donate by visiting the Yorkshire Cricket Flood Appeal. 20 clubs across the county have been affected. They will need a substantial amount of work and resources to get them in any position to host any cricket this summer. During mid-January Dan Musson, Mark Arthur and I visited all affected clubs along with the relevant Cricket Development Manager. By that time the clubs had more or less established their needs and understood what their insurance position was, therefore Dan was in a position to make grant awards on a case-by-case basis on the day to cover the shortfall and to get the clubs back on their feet again. We were also able to give much needed and valued professional advice (and further contacts) on how to renovate/repair the playing surfaces. Since our visits we have also had 3 further enquiries from clubs. Three clubs, Sowerby Bridge, Tong Park Esholt and Bradford and Bingley were the most severely affected. Sowerby Bridge and Tong Park Esholt will be unable to play on their grounds this year. Further support is required here, both in human and financial resources. Yorkshire Cricket wishes to thank Dan Musson all his work, help and the support he has given to us. We have had to deal with some horrendous cases. His fantastic support, knowledge, professionalism and re-assurance have gone a very long way in helping us to get the clubs back on their feet. I would also like to thank Mark Arthur who

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has visited every club along with me and to Andrew Gale and Alex Lees who visited the Halifax Clubs. Their presence lifted the spirits of the clubs. There were scenes of great devastation and it has been a traumatic time for those communities that have shocked the region. Every club has really appreciated the visits and the prompt support that has been given to them. There have been many photos and videos posted on the website, but being able to witness the scenes personally was very humbling, but the strength and the determination of these great club volunteers was and always will be an absolute inspiration. Andrew Watson

B – YORKSHIRE CRICKET

Yorkshire Cricket Vision “Enhanced quality of life and well-being for people in the Yorkshire Community through cricket”. Our Service Outcomes 1. More people playing regular cricket and participating in other ways. 2. More people continually improving their skills (whether playing or involved in another way) and greater

success in all competitions. 3. More members, more spectators, greater audiences. 4. More people talking about and appreciating cricket on a daily basis. 5. More England internationals at Headingley. 6. Sufficient income generated to survive and thrive. The YCB, YCCC and YCF are now in effect departments of Yorkshire Cricket with all staff assisting each other.

YCCC Marketing Department assisting with media, brochures and publicity.

YCB is helping to market and promote Yorkshire CCC Matches, Test Matches, ODIs and all other promotions.

Both websites now promote all Yorkshire Cricket activities.

Will Saville is leading on the South Asian Communities Project and is linking with the CDMs and Andrew Watson and also regularly attends the Yorkshire Cricket Managers Meetings.

Pro-Coach is now fully engaged with the Chance to Shine schemes for both primary and secondary schools and will play a vital role in the new Yorkshire Cricket Pathways to Excellence, Women & Girls, Disability Development, Coach Education/Coach development and County Age Group Cricket.

Meeting rooms assistance/bookings.

New Yorkshire Cricket Pathways to Excellence.

Individual human resources help across all areas.

Yorkshire Premier League Pyramid.

Women’s cricket.

Disability Cricket.

Hospitality arrangements.

Financial Structure -working collaboratively – Paul Hudson/Chris Thompson now taking over the management of the Board’s finances.

YCB Managers Meetings have become “Yorkshire Cricket Managers Meetings” and includes YCF and Pro Coach Managers.

YCB BME Forum has become Yorkshire Cricket BME forum and includes all relevant YCCC/YCF/YCB personnel. Yorkshire Cricket will provide a great service to our customers. Women’s Cricket, BME, South Asia Project, Chance to Shine, Coach Education, Pathways to Excellence, Yorkshire Premier League Pyramid System and holiday camps are already benefitting from this approach.

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The appointment of the YCCC CEO Mark Arthur has brought great benefit to everyone and we look forward to enhancing Yorkshire Cricket further in 2016. Yorkshire Cricket Family comprises of Yorkshire Cricket Board Yorkshire County Cricket Club Yorkshire Cricket Foundation Area Councils Leagues Cricket Development Groups Clubs All Key Partners – internal and external (e.g.) County Sport Partnerships, Sport England Yorkshire, FDSO, LMS/ Indoor Cricket/ Universities/ Colleges , other NGBs, LAs/ Schools/ SSPs/SGO’s/School Sport Networks, other training providers, other facility providers. Andrew Watson

C - DEVELOPMENT

1. STRUCTURE The YCB development structure continues to progress. Strategic Planning is dealt with by Andrew Watson and the Board of Directors. Executive Director Andrew Watson heads up the YCB, with 8 Directors, 4 Development Managers, 3 Administration Managers and 11 Community Cricket Officers. 2. REPORT ON YORKSHIRE CRICKET DEVELOPMENT AND ADMINISTRATION MANAGERS The work of the Executive Director, 4 CDMs, the new Coach Education Team and the Administration team based at the Headingley office has again been at the centre of all the development and administration work in the county. They continue to work their nominal 37 hour weeks including that extra mile. The team with some changed responsibilities have again shown great skills, are constantly developing their expertise and knowledge and work extremely well together as a team. The Managers meet bi-monthly in themed Managers Meetings which includes the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation and Pro-Coach Managers. The role of the Community Coaches has changed during the year to accommodate the new re-vamped Chance to Shine programme. Their role will be school delivery, as previously, but they also working in the community with the clubs to ensure school-club migration. Their job roles have become “Community Cricket Officers”. They meet bi-monthly, but separately. Other departments of Yorkshire cricket also attend their meetings when appropriate. All staff have an annual performance review. All meetings now come under the banner of Yorkshire Cricket. The quarterly work programmes for each manager and community cricket officer with targets and priorities has very successfully continued. This has proved most helpful in targeting issues particularly for the CDMs and the Coach Education and Membership Services Team and has been achieved in meetings with Andrew Watson. The same is happening with the Community Cricket Officers and all other salaried staff. The roles of the entire development and administration teams are best appreciated by reading all the reports fully - their influence is in every aspect of activity in Yorkshire. Andrew Watson

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3. CLUB AND SCHEME DEVELOPMENT This year has again been the busiest year on record with the Yorkshire Cricket Board having another highly successful year. As a county we are now in an extremely good position due to YCB, YCCC and YCF becoming departments of “Yorkshire Cricket” with further joined-up services and human resources being currently being explored. Our Service Outcomes has a definitive focus on Customer Insight, based on local CCB/County Club requirements. Details of this are elsewhere in the Annual Report. I am pleased to announce that we have been successful in achieving Improvement Action Targets in yet another very strong year for the Board and Yorkshire Cricket. The existing Improvement Plan includes: Continue to develop the Yorkshire Cricket brand as one entity with YCCC and YCF and communicate and celebrate our work; Identify further opportunities for sharing resource and driving economies of scale across the network; Introduce and deliver improved business engagement and continuity, therefore aiming at financial stability; Continue to work with cricket clubs to deliver the National Club Strategy to ensure a sustainable club network; Continue to utilize insight and to further develop; Launch and develop the Yorkshire Cricket League Pyramid System. Scope and Scale YCB are the major delivery arm of ECB for the recreational game, having 12% of all national targets: 778 cricket clubs , 508 clubs with junior sections, 118 leagues, 101,958 senior players playing cricket, 1328 senior teams, 2804 senior players-indoor cricket, 21,576 junior players, 1798 junior teams, 163 deprived wards (1003 super output areas)

Summary 2014-15

249 clubs registered for NatWest Cricket Force –- the highest number in the country.

30 Clubs with women’s teams, 41 Clubs with girls playing in teams.

462 schools on the Chance to Shine in 2014-15 - Involving 73,073 children and 1818 teachers trained.

5 new UK L3 Coaches, 6 new Coach Education tutors.

176 new L2 Childs Coach Coaches (10 courses), 88 new L2 Young Person & Adults Coaches (6 courses), 53 people attending Cricket Activator Courses (5 courses), 2250 young people attending Cricket Young Leaders courses for C2S.

288 Officials (umpires/scorers) attending YCB ACO courses.

63 Groundsmen attended ECB/ IoG courses.

1998 primary schools entered ASDA/Drax Kwik Cricket Competitions (19,980 children), ASDA Y6 – 1125 schools, ASDA Y5 – 106 schools, Drax U9 – 575 schools.

192 primary schools entered ASDA Girls Kwik Cricket Competitions.

100 schools entering Girls Tournaments including U13 and U15 Indoor Lady Taverners Competition (1000 girls).

Special Needs Schools Festivals activity - 72 schools, 720 children.

1440 new adult participants in cricket (formal/informal).

7469 participants involved in playing more regularly (informal).

101,958 adult players playing cricket. The YCB Facilities Strategy This, whilst coming to the end of its life in the present format, is still available and has again been distributed widely throughout the year. It is the most important integral document which highlights the requirements not just of cricket clubs, but of the wider network as well and is a much valued tool for the Local Authorities’ Playing Pitch Strategies. Grant Aid has again been very tight this year for capital investment because of on-going previous projects. There is now much less money from Sport England through to ECB for capital investment through the Whole Sport Plan.

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However clubs are advised to access Sport England funding pots direct. We are still delighted with the funding allocated this year and it shows how ECB/SE funding can be used to lever local partnership funds. Funding4Sport is a company which has greatly assisted and supported our clubs in applying for grants. Our very grateful thanks go to Richard Sutcliffe for all his invaluable help to our clubs and for his support to the Development Managers. ECB Small Grants Scheme Over the past 4 years ECB have offered a small grants scheme to help clubs in the way of sight screens, covers, machinery, ball stop netting etc. Yorkshire’s allocation has generally been around £80k. We were delighted that from 2015 this has been increased to £180k. The scheme is Sport England and ECB funded, together with Waitrose. Clubs have to agree to a minimum of 10% contribution to the total project cost. For 2015 the emphasis has been on energy saving, water saving/consumption, wet weather mitigation (water hogs, covers etc.) flooding and anything that will ensure that the games are played. Total number of projects funded – 69 - of which the total cost amounts to £260,188, Total number of applications 159. Total number and cost of funded projects per area: WY – 27 / £104,154 (£34,154 partner funding) SY – 17 / £67,494 (£22,494 PF) NY – 13 / £45,002 (£15,002 PF) EY – 14 / £43,538 (£18,538 PF) £80,000 partnership funding was secured, against a required minimum of £18,000 (10%), which means the CDMs secured an additional £62,000 (in total this amounts to approximately 45% partner or club contributions) with the obvious benefit of more clubs benefitting from the funding offer General The Board wishes to thank everyone who has given up their valuable time to attend relevant Yorkshire Cricket Board meetings, Area Councils, League Meetings, Sub-Committee meetings. We do really appreciate your valuable input and attendance. Sport England/CSP’s Sport England’s main priority will be to continue to deliver a World Class Community Sports Development System and remain in charge of commissioning of NGB’s nationally with targets to achieve to gain funding. The main focus will continue to be Adult Participation and Adult Player Retention, - “Keeping people playing more frequently in teams” (traditional club, informal, indoor, LMS, shorter versions etc.), Disability Cricket and South Asian Communities Programme in Leeds and Bradford.

Sport England are now working closely with every NGB at a national level, contracting CSP’s, engaging with other parties to influence their investment and work with Local Authorities. This agreement with Sport England will be reviewed in 2017. The County Sport Partnerships (CSP) still very much remain our critical key partners and key strategic deliverers for Sport England. YCB work with five such CSPs: Tees Valley, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and The Humber. They support all sports across the Region and have a clear strategic approach.

League Engagement During the last 3 year through the “YCB Priority Senior Leagues” meetings we have met 21 senior leagues bi-annually to discuss the results of the National Players Survey to enable Yorkshire Cricket to support the leagues. The leagues also are able to share best practice, which has been warmly welcomed. Most of the 21 priority leagues have made some significant and yet some subtle changes to their league playing conditions to keep players playing more regularly. There was also a big desire to review the whole of the league structure in Yorkshire and ECB are in full support of a proposed 4 premier league structure.

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“Get the Game On” Campaign The ECB has developed an initiative to try and stop the annual 7% drop off of players and to stop the increasing amount of conceded matches (an increase of 64% over 4 years). ECB have embarked on a new initiative “Get the Game On”. Leagues are asked if they would support the campaign by appointing a League GGO Campaign Manager. Most of our senior leagues have signed up. Eureka! 2015 (2Circles) have created a “dashboard of information” so that leagues and County Boards can monitor conceded matches; i.e. whether it is rain affected or through lack of players. We are also working with groundsmen, umpires and captains to ensure where we can to “Get the Game On” on match days when we may have inclement weather. We are also encouraging leagues to have a flexible player loan scheme and looking at mitigating the rain-affected matches by having appropriate equipment such as flat sheets, covers, water hogs etc. The ECB Small grants Scheme and the Interest Free Loan scheme is available to help. Pyramid League Structure Background Yorkshire is the biggest geographical region that accommodates and supports 747 senior clubs, of which 508 have junior sections. There are over 100 senior leagues (weekends and midweek) that accommodate 1412 teams. Yorkshire has 12% of all the clubs nationally and if all the schools are included this is increased to 20%. We also have 18 very strong junior leagues. However, we only have 2 premier leagues – Yorkshire Premier league and the NYSD League which covers the top clubs of North Yorkshire and Durham, but no pyramid system. We shall keep the history and tradition, but in 2016 league cricket in Yorkshire will begin a period of re-structure with four County Premier League’s spread across the county to allow any aspiring club to reach the pinnacle of league cricket within the county. Equally, the clubs who don’t achieve promotion into the top level will play more locally thereby reducing travel and it will keep players playing more frequently at a lower level. This will allow clubs who meet the ECB criteria to progress to the top level of club cricket through a standard system of promotion and relegation. After 2 and a half years work and over 200 meetings by Mark Arthur and myself - the new Premier League Pyramid system will be launched on Friday 19

th February 2016 at the Inaugural Dinner.

The current Yorkshire League has now ceased operations and will in effect be split in to two leagues: 1. Yorkshire League North Premier - Partner League: York and District Senior League. Nidderdale League,

Wetherby league and the York Vale league will be Feeder Leagues to the York Senior League. 2. Yorkshire League South Premier - Partner League: South Yorkshire League. 3. Bradford Premier League (pending) – Partner League: Central Yorkshire League. Feeder league: Halifax

league. 4. North Yorkshire South Durham Premier League – 2 divisions with league feeding in. Play-offs will be at the end of the season at Headingley and at Scarborough with the final being played in Abu Dhabi. Negotiations with the Pontefract League and Huddersfield Central League are well underway. There is a Pyramid League Management Board who over sees the whole operation in conjunction with YCB which comprises delegates from the Premier leagues and Partner leagues. We are at a most exciting time for league cricket in Yorkshire, but still keeping its history and tradition. League cricket in Yorkshire is woven into the fabric of everyday life and this will enhance it for decades to come.

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Although the structure has now been confirmed with Yorkshire Cricket and ECB, negotiations with other leagues who are not currently in the Pyramid is on-going and they can come into the structure when the time is right for them. This structure will not affect the normal support and affiliation package that we give to leagues and clubs outside the Pyramid.

YCB Council, Area Cricket Councils & Cricket Development Groups

We currently have a large number of Cricket Development Groups. All CDG’s are linked to the five Area Cricket Councils. The YCB Council and the five Area Councils have been a significant feature in 2015 and will be the driving force for club and league support and the retention of players as we move into 2016. Communication channels are

Champions Semi-finals (Headingley/Scarborough)- Final Abdu Dhabi

4 Divisions of NYSD

Bradford League

ECB NYSD Premier League

ECB Yorkshire Premier League

South

ECB Yorkshire Premier League

North

Feeder League Halifax CL

Partner League York and District

Senior Cricket League

Partner League South Yorkshire Cricket League

Partner League Central Yorkshire

League

Feeder League York Vale CL

Feeder League Wetherby CL

Feeder League Nidderdale CL

Yorkshire Cricket Premier League Management Board

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strong as feedback is given direct to YCB via the YCB Council from the Area Councils, leagues and clubs– the engine room of development.

The YCB CDG Forum is progressing well, although sometimes we struggle with attendance. The meetings are very positive and are held twice per year, where representatives from all the CDG’s can report on their planned activities and exchange ideas of good practice, discuss current issues and feed information back to YCB. 4 representatives from the CDG Forum represent CDGs on the YCB Council, which has been immensely beneficial.

In addition to the above CDG’s, we also have 4 Women and Girls’ Development Groups (North, South, East, and West). These groups oversee Women and Girls’ Development especially girls participation at club and district level at U11, U13, and U15 which links into the Yorkshire Cricket Pathways to Excellence and the Emerging Players Programme. The Districts form part of the YCB Women’s Sub-Committee and District Task Force.

Andrew Watson

Clubmark 2015 was an extremely busy year for Yorkshire clubs and ECB Clubmark, certainly with regards to re-accreditations, with this year seeing a total of 57 clubs re-accrediting, along with 12 new accreditations.

Moving forwards to 2016, the ECB have recently announced that, as a result of the ECB Recreational Group

meeting which included a review of the current procedures, there will be a process of creating a club development

framework which incorporates ECB Clubmark within its design. The aim is to reduce bureaucracy and allow more

clubs to access the most relevant support to enhance sustainability and improve provision for all involved.

With this in mind, to create some certainty within the cricket network as the new system is developed, the 12-

month period from October 2015 to October 2016 will represent a year of transition from the current to the new

system.

Having taken on board feedback given to ECB by Clubs and CCBs through the Clubmark Review 2014, the future Clubmark accreditation process will mainly be online with the aim of reducing bureaucracy and allowing more Clubs to access the most relevant support to enhance sustainability and improve provision for all involved. ECB will keep CCBs informed as the new system develops. Clubs will be notified through CCBs and through the ECB website and Club Support Newsletter throughout 2016. Clubmark 2015 will complete the accreditation cycle as normal by 31st October 2015. After this date, all Clubmark queries (including whether a club still has Clubmark) for the period October 2015 to October 2016 will be handled centrally by ECB, not the CCBs, via Clubmark@ecb.co.uk. Please direct all queries to this email address. There is a moratorium on Clubmark registrations and accreditations for 2016. Practically this means no more submissions for Clubmark accreditation will be accepted after 31st October 2015; and there will be no new Clubmark Accreditations for 2016 nor there re-accreditations. Clubs due to re-accredit in 2016 will be given a one year extension to their existing award and will need to complete a revised Annual Health Check process. This revised health check will be available in late November 2015. All of this will be managed by ECB via Clubmark@ecb.co.uk. ECB will send these out to all clubs who need them. All other Clubmark Accredited Clubs in year one or two of the cycle will be required to complete the revised/new Annual Health Check as usual. ECB will send these out to all clubs who need them and ECB will relax entry requirements for ECB National Club Championship and Club T20 Competitions for 2016. Expressions of interest to work towards national club accreditation will still be noted by ECB but clubs will be advised that active support for this process may not be available until mid-2016 in relation to the new system; ECB Premier Leagues who require clubs to have ECB Clubmark before gaining promotion/joining into the league will need to consider their 2017 entry requirements accordingly.

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On behalf of the YCB, a huge and sincere thanks to all who have contributed to the Clubmark process over the past 12 months, and specifically the clubs who undertake this process and the volunteer CMNOs who dedicate countless hours in assisting and seeing clubs over the line. Steve Archer A Chance to Shine In delivering the Chance to Shine programme the Yorkshire Cricket Board are fully committed to the continued success of the Chance to Shine Scheme initiative across the county, offering opportunities for high quality coaching and competition as well as developing sustainable partnerships between Focus Clubs/Club Mark Clubs and Cluster Schools. The YCB have a strong mature relationship with the above and its key partners including five County Sport partnerships and all remaining School Sport Partnerships or similar future partners. This year the board worked with 450 schools in total, of which 282 were primary schools where we delivered 5332 hours of schools coaching. Included in the Chance to Shine offer this year was 2 hours teacher CPD for each individual school. This was highly successful and we found it a great way to spread the power of cricket. Our Community Cricket Officers equipped the teachers with session plans and a teacher resource pack to make cricket sustainable within the curriculum and gave them the skills needed to continue developing the participants cricketing skills which can then encourage migration to the club links which have been established. We also continued to deliver our Secondary Schools initiative where we worked with 150 schools delivering 3320 hours of cricket and leadership to the schools. Selected clubs and schools receive golden ticket sessions to aid migration and forge stronger links between school and club as part of the player pathway. We have targeted clubs with this offer where there has been drop in participation at the club. In 2014 we saw a staggering statistic of 2365 new playing members to clubs and Yorkshire Cricket Board have continued to offer the golden ticket sessions with great success with an additional 2,155 new playing members this year. The sessions are run by Sports Learning Zone and the company director Dale Kerruish using different cricket aids and machines to energize children in to finding cricket fun at the first taste, then replicating the sessions at the clubs. As well as the Learning Zone going into the clubs to encourage migration, community coaches have also utilized the Sports Learning Zone within curriculum coaching, using it as part of the 16 hour offer as well as inviting them along to the cricket festivals for children to use when not participating in match play. This has been highly successful with the total figure of participants playing school competition being 15,780. Within our Primary offer this year we also, with thanks to YCCC, offered the schools 50 tickets to any Yorkshire game, along with a signed squad poster and other promotional offers and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Chance to shine and all our key partners who help us deliver this fantastic programme. Gareth Davis Yorkshire Cricket BME/ Inner City Dev Centres

There were 10 BME/Inner City Development Centres active in 2015 with 383 weekly attendees, 41 coaches and the 10 centres covering 30 clubs. Most centres ran between 4 and 8 weeks. Seven centres had attendances of over 40 per session, whilst three of the centres achieved over 60. All centres were supported by volunteers. The Yorkshire Cricket Board and the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation are working together to fund and support the BME Centres. We thank the YCF and YCCC for their fantastic support and financial assistance in enabling us to continue with our BME/ Inner City Development Centres in 2015. Shiv Krishan is Lead Officer for the BME centres. The Farid Karolia Cup, which is an U11 indoor BME Competition, was held at the Yorkshire Cricket Centre at Headingley. Eight Centres had entered the competition which was won by Sheffield. The matches were played in a great spirit throughout and the players had a stadium tour.

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On behalf of the Yorkshire Cricket Board and all faith communities and organisations, I would like thank the YCF for their fantastic support and financial assistance with this project. South Asia Communities (Leeds/Bradford) – Sport England Funding Yorkshire Cricket are highly delighted with the opportunity to develop two South Asian Communities Projects through ECB’s Whole Sport Plan, in the major cities of Leeds and Bradford. We recognise the diversity amongst South Asian groups and communities and their needs, creating challenges for the Board to ensure that varied cricketing needs of relevant groups and communities are catered for. The Yorkshire Cricket fully supports ECB’s “One Game” pledge and have been involved with the re-launch of this. “One game” is aimed at widening the appeal of cricket and ensuring as many people are welcomed into the game regardless of age, race, ability or gender. The SA Communities project will help develop links with existing programmes and provide further opportunities to play cricket, particularly from the 16+ age group. The South Asian Communities Programme will focus on retaining current participants by widening our sphere of influence and also increasing participation amongst SA Communities within Bradford and Leeds, by working with influential groups and leaders, including some faith groups. Cricket is an extremely popular sport with SA communities and there is a significant latent demand for more cricket. However, it is acknowledged that not everyone wants to or is able to take part in a formal club/League competitive setting, resulting in substantial demand for informal, unaffiliated Cricket in a variety of community settings, some of which the Yorkshire Cricket are aware of. Taj Butt was appointed in late 2014 as Community Cricket Officer for Leeds and Bradford. We are indebted to Leeds Beckett University on providing local research. Yorkshire Cricket and ECB are working very closely with the Bradford Local Authority and they have formed a Management Group in Bradford that oversees all development of the South Asia Project covering facilities and development including the regeneration of Bradford Park Avenue. The work of Taj Butt and Shiv Krishan has been welcomed in the area and has covered a huge range of activities. We are indebted to the Bradford MDC for the publication of their Playing Pitch Strategy which has identified a significant shortage of cricket pitches. Five non-turf pitches have been laid on Local Authority grounds to encourage formal and informal cricket. The SAC Action Plan covers the following:

Developing and improving governance in SAC Clubs and Leagues including Child Welfare.

Groundsman Courses organised in Bradford through IOG, aimed at Clubs with their own grounds and

volunteers working on grounds for end of season work to be carried out. The clubs have now formed a

network of SAC clubs with their own grounds and they will work together to maintain grounds, share hired

and purchased machinery and bulk buy material to share.

Recruit, train and retain a volunteer workforce. A number of training opportunities with recognised

qualifications were provided for individuals recruited from Leeds and Bradford who are currently members of

Cricket organisations or are looking to volunteer in Cricket:

2 x 1st Aid Workshops – 24 attended, ECB Coach Support Worker – 12 people attended, ECB Coaching Young People (Level 2) Course – 18 people completed the course, including 3 young women, who have already been involved in delivering Cricket sessions to other women and girls.

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Target 16 to 23 year age group for increased playing and volunteering opportunities: eight weeks of indoor

tournaments, games and coaching sessions organised at Zara Sports Centre in Bradford were attended by 14

to16 year old boys, most of those were non-cricketers. Total Participants – 176, 16 individuals, including club

and social Cricketers, taking part in Lords Taverners City Cup 2015, 6 of the individuals taking part in the Lord’s

Taverners City Cup 2015, joined in at least one of our coaching course, including 3 of them completing the ECB

Coaching young people course.

Develop a strategic approach to offer more playing opportunities for women and girls to take part in cricket.

This included: Ongoing turn up and play sessions at Cockcroft Centre Leeds and Manningham Sports Centre

Bradford. A total of 95 girls aged between 11 and 16 took part in sessions over 8 weeks in Bradford and 70

girls took part in Leeds sessions and with young women recruited and trained as Level 2 coaches from these

communities, we are hoping to build on the success of these sessions to long term development.

Provide opportunities to take part in informal Cricket with 3 activities:

6 a side outdoor tournament held at Zara Sports Centre on 4G Football pitch aimed at non-cricketers using a

‘Taped Ball’. 8 teams from Bradford and Leeds took part in 13 matches over 4 weeks with 182 participants.

A Taped Ball tournament, held at Marley Activity Centre on 4G Football pitch under floodlights, attracted

social cricketers from Bradford Leeds, Keighley and Burnley in Lancashire with matches started at 8pm

Monday evenings and finishing at 1am to cater for individuals who work unsocial hours.

Christmas Cup, held on Christmas Day to cater for those individuals who would not be normally celebrating on

the day, attracted a lot of interest from individuals wanting to play, but had to be limited to 6 teams due to

the facility not being available throughout the day. A soft-ball was used to enable those individuals to play

who did not have Cricket equipment; teams were formed on the day, made up of social and club Cricketers,

who turned up on the day. The total participants were 60.

Launch and Promote Last Man Stands in Bradford. A first ever Indoor league was organised in conjunction with LMS for the area. Various attempts had made

been previously to start an indoor league in Bradford but LMS had not been successful in attracting teams to

take. A total of 9 teams from Bradford, Leeds and one from Rochdale in Lancashire took part in a league over a

9 weeks period and matches were played with a soft indoor ball, without protective clothing. Teams were

made up of a mixture of club, social and non-cricketers. A total of 39 matches were played with total

participants numbering 684.

Promote Cricket at large scale Community events and Festivals. A charity T20 match hosted at Bradford Park Avenue attracted over 1000 spectators. We used the occasion to display future plans for development of the ground and seek views of local community as to what they wanted to see at the ground.

Improve access to existing Cricket grounds and identify new grounds for community usage. Two new grounds

have been identified in Bradford and we have started discussions with clubs involved, where we will work with

the clubs to open up access to the ground for local community and clubs playing in league.

Andrew Watson

D - FINANCE AND FUNDING 1. REPORT ON ECB TRUST GRANT FUNDING AND ACTIVITIES

The YCB will receive £660,000 from the ECB Trust for the period 1 October 2015 to 30 September 2016 compared to £527,000 for 2014/15. Much of this is Sport England money through ECB which is ring-fenced, and comprises: Adult player retention £318,000; Disability programme £57,000; South Asian project£113,000. 2. PAYROLL

There are currently 23 salaried staff, and in excess of 500 casual coaches used during the year.

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3. PRESENT AND FUTURE FUNDING SOURCES With the known funding amounts detailed above, together with funds from other sources including partnership arrangements, affiliation fees and other fund raising, the Board prepares a detailed budget which is measured against throughout the year. In addition, the Chance to Shine budget for the 2015/16 year is: Primary schools £118,000, Secondary schools £125,000 Paul Hudson

E – ADMINISTRATION

1. YCB OFFICE The central administration support for the YCB is provided by a small team based in the Headingley office. Graham Purdy as Operations Manager, Lawrence Walker as Human Resources Manager/Chance to Shine Administrator and Lee Abbott as Finance Manager (three days a week) deliver all the administrative functions and can be contacted on the office landline number of 01132 899245. The team are managed by Andrew Watson, Executive Director, and support the work of the Cricket Development Mangers & Community Cricket Officers. 2. COMMUNICATIONS The organisation continues to develop its on-line functions through the YCB website and social media platforms. The YCB website is an important resource for recreational cricket in Yorkshire providing information on news, funding and training opportunities and guidance to clubs, officials and partners across the recreational game. Our developing partnership with communications colleagues at YCCC has given recreational cricket a wider reach into the cricket community this year and thanks are extended to Danny Reuben and his team. Articles from clubs, leagues, associations, volunteers, partners and cricket enthusiasts are welcomed and should be submitted to Graham Purdy at the YCB office (g.purdy@yorkshirecb.com). Please visit the website at www.yorkshirecb.com and also follow us on social media – Twitter @Yorkshirecb and Facebook ww.facebook.com/Yorkshirecricketboard. We also work closely with John Fuller at CricketYorkshire whose help this year has been invaluable in developing our social media reach and promoting good news and insightful articles on the amateur game in Yorkshire. 3. CONTACTING CRICKET CLUBS Email and web-based distributions are used to relay news and information in a timely and cost-effective way to clubs and leagues. Our Cricket Development Managers actively engage with clubs to promote new initiatives and develop networks across recreational cricket. As well as being posted on the website and social media, key information and developments are cascaded out to league secretaries to share with their clubs. Our thanks are extended to all the league secretaries for their support in providing communication links to clubs. It remains as an imperative, therefore, that clubs keep the League(s) in which they play updated on who their point of contact is and how to contact them. In 2015 we completed 2 full postal mail-outs to all clubs, leagues and associations in the county. We again extend our thanks to the hardy band of volunteers who willing give their time to help with the mail-outs, occasions when cricket stories from years gone by tend to be the topic of conversations!

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Information about affiliated clubs and club officials is entered on the ECB’s national cricket database (CBMS), which then enables clubs to access the Play-Cricket platform, including the free website facility. This is a further source of up-to-date contact details for all clubs which again improves communication channels across and within Yorkshire cricket. 4. AFFILIATION AND MEMBERSHIP This year saw the introduction of a new affiliation package resulting from a national review by the ECB of club affiliation processes and packages by County Boards. The review identified Yorkshire as one of the cheapest among the major English counties, recommending a review of our current affiliation package. In response, a new affiliation package was developed, the benefits of which included 4 tickets to a Yorkshire T20 game at Headingley for every club affiliating to the YCB. Although the new pricing structure was not popular among a number of smaller clubs and leagues, the YCCC ticket offer was well received. We are indebted to league secretaries for their assistance in helping to distribute the T20 tickets to clubs. We are also encouraged by the positive feedback from clubs whose members have either enjoyed their trips to Headingley or who have been creative in using the tickets for vital fundraising initiatives or as rewards to volunteers. In 2015 788 clubs affiliated teams to the YCB with a total of 1,324 teams recorded as playing senior cricket across the county. 31 senior leagues directly affiliated clubs playing within their leagues, with 28 clubs affiliating directly to the YCB. Thanks are again extended to Derek Shuttleworth for his sterling and efficient work as Membership Secretary. 5. GRANTS In 2014/15 we approved 7 development grants and supported 5 clubs with emergency grant support. Development grants were issued to clubs to help them establish junior sections, with a total of £1,750 allocated. Emergency grants were approved to help clubs replace stolen equipment, emergency repair and vandalism totalling £2,250

Graham Purdy

F - YCB COUNCIL, CLUBS AND LEAGUES 1. YCB COUNCIL The YCB Council met in March, June, September and December. These meetings were kindly hosted by Barnsley, Cleckheaton and York Cricket Clubs. In addition to the usual reports from the 5 Area Councils and the other membership groups, this year we have held open discussions on the roles of both Area Councils and CDGs. We have continued to work with YCBACO to actively increase the percentage of qualified umpires officiating on match days and have continued to work with YCBGA/IOG to actively increase the percentage of club groundsmen who are members of YCBGA/IOG and have access to training and support. We have continued to increase the numbers of leagues putting in place Player Loan schemes so that there can be a better arrangement between those players without a fixture and those clubs without sufficient players. However, concerns have been expressed about the level of insurance being taken by some clubs who are leaving themselves vulnerable should a claim become necessary. Clubs are advised to ensure that they have taken sufficient insurance to cover their liabilities. Stephen Pickles

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2. COUNTY TEAMS Over 50s Sunday 6

th September 2015 was the date when Yorkshire 50+ CC succeeded in winning the ECB 50+ Championship

for the second time, some 9 seasons after triumphing against Sussex at Horsham in 2006. This time they did it in style, unbeaten in 7 Group fixtures and 4 Knock Out matches. In Group 1 matches Durham (2014 winners) and Cumbria were beaten by 10 wickets, Northumberland and Cheshire by 9 and 8 wickets respectively. Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire succumbed by 90 and 155 runs respectively. In the Knock Out phase Northamptonshire were overcome by 9 wickets as were Sussex in the semi-final. Durham made a good effort to stem the procession finally losing by 29 runs in a hard fought and high scoring quarter final just failing to chase down a 287/7 total. Business was as usual in the Final against Staffordshire winning by 9 wickets after bowling the opposition out for a meagre 104. Yorkshire’s great strength was their teamwork with every player belying their advancing years (50+!!) and fielding superbly in every game, matching alacrity with safe hands. It is said that fielding wins matches and it was certainly a huge contributory factor to the season’s success. Yorkshire were never beaten (the word did not exist this season), they never gave up or let heads drop. Individually batsmen certainly batted with a vengeance and bowlers succeeded across the board. The middle order were rarely called upon but when they were they supported the top order in fine fashion. Opening bowlers followed by 2 or 3 spinners were remarkably consistent and reaped the rewards. All-rounders completed the circle and always answered the call. The team was led admirably by captain Steve Wales (North Leeds CC) and, in his absence through injury, by Rob Keywood (Warley CC). Steve’s motivational powers had everybody on their toes throughout and Rob’s Man of the Match Award in the Final crowned a great season for him and says it all. Openers Kevin Bradley (Clifton Alliance CC) and Richard Sykes (Acomb CC) provided 8 opening half century stands with Bradley totaling 700 runs in 11 innings for an average of exactly 100 and Sykes 461 for a 92.2 average. When parted the ever reliable Colin Frank (Pickering CC) weighed in with 328 runs at 65.50. Opening bowlers Rob Keywood and Mark Wilson (Wath CC) captured 11 and 12 wickets respectively at 20.73 and 17.75 (Mark clean bowled Kim Barnett in the Final) whilst Stephen Booth (Collingham CC ) and Nigel Doyle (Liversidge CC) took 15 and 9 wickets at 14.00 and 24.22 apiece. Captain Wales took 10 wickets including, fittingly, the final Staffordshire wicket to win the Trophy for Yorkshire. Mention must be made of Martin Watkin (Hull CC) who spent more time than anyone padded up at No 4 awaiting the call that rarely came. When it did however he delivered including an impressive 41* against Cheshire. Neil Grant (Acomb CC) also delivered 59* against Northumberland and Kevin Watson (Brook Walton CC) with 11 wickets at 12.00 apiece provided admirable support to the Yorkshire attack. A last word for Mick Kenyon (Dringhouses CC), well into his sixth decade and a mainstay of the 60+ side who also supported the spin department in 4 matches and took 4 priceless wickets in the Knock Out stages. Finally the season was a victory for teamwork, togetherness and a “never give up” attitude. Hopefully we can mirror the County side and make it a repeat next season.

Robin Beynon Over 60s A successful season saw the team’s opening match against Northumberland and Durham on cold April day at South Shields and ending in our Bi-annual Tour of the West Indies playing in the final at St Lucia against a strong Somerset team and narrowly losing on a run chase over 35 overs. Yorkshire qualified for the play-offs losing only once to Cheshire and then drawing Norfolk at Harrogate in the first leg of the knock-outs. Ironically it was the first game back after injury for Miles Rawlings who tore a tendon in his arm in the first game of the season having to retire on 106 not out. Yorkshire batted first and put on a total of 245

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for 5 in the 45 overs and Murphy Walwyn gave a great batting display reaching 138 not out. The home team took 42 overs to bowl the visitors out for 131with Phil Taylor and Mick Kenyon sharing the spoils with 3 wickets each. The next round was Hertfordshire away at Letchworth where our bowling attack was very strong on the day despatching Herts for 65 in 35 overs and we had a comfortable 10 wicket win with John Flintoff (46no) and Martin Ivill (26no) giving us a happy journey home. Another long distance draw saw us away to Kent at Gravesend County Ground in the semi-final stage and, on a big ground with a slow wicket, our batting was very solid with the top four all contributing runs with Martin Ivill (72) and Miles Rawlings (59) the pick and Murphy Walwyn gave a cameo display in six hitting to reach 31 off 5 overs. Again our bowling was consistent in limiting the home team to 112 for 9 from their 45overs. We found ourselves in the National Final. Our opponents were Somerset who had beaten a strong Northants team and the venue was Great Oakley CC near Corby, Northamptonshire. The season had been extended to September 15

th due to previously re-arranged games and the weather on the day wasn’t looking promising. Yorkshire elected

to field and battled well against a very good batting line up from Somerset boasting two current England International players and they finished the innings on 193 for seven from the 45 overs. In reply we made a very good start, the opening pair put on 65 for the first wicket, again Flintoff (37) and Ivill (30) sharing the runs. The middle order struggled to maintain momentum against a good slow bowling attack and chasing, lost 3 wickets for 2 runs, a brief flurry from Mick Kenyon and Phil Taylor with a stand of 46 runs pulled us back in the game but a collapse at the end losing 5 wickets for 15 runs saw Somerset take the spoils and we could not emulate our over 50 team in winning the National Final. However all round Yorkshire Senior Cricket had a very successful season both teams reaching the National Finals and 3 players from the 60’s (Walwyn, Ivill and Kenyon) in line for selection in the National team’s tour of Australia in 2016. Alan Steers 3. ADULT PARTICIPATION Participation has again been one of the main focuses set by Sport England and the ECB. The main aims are to target Adult Participation in players aged 16+ but also to look at how we can retain players in the game. Over the last year there has been a remarkable amount of activity that has taken place within the county to help increase the amount of Participation taking place outside the conventional, affiliated forms of the game. In 2015 we recorded that there were 10709 participants either new to the game or increasing the frequency of the game being played in other formats. This figure has increased dramatically in comparison to 2014 where the figure was 5901. This was an increase of just over 80%. In 2014 the entire cricketing nation took part in the National Playing Survey (NPS). This was an opportunity for players and clubs to have their say and feedback on their current thoughts on League Cricket. This in-depth study has meant that all clubs have focused their attention in completing the survey and working closer with their relevant leagues to ensure their opinions have been heard. Thus the amount of feedback we received regarding the club based activities was minimal. 2015 has seen a considerable increase in the number of Club Based Activities, Indoor cricket and Last Man Stands. Also with the prioritized work in South Asian Communities this has also made a dramatic impact into the data findings for 2015. Below are the highlights behind each area from which we collect our data, each targeted area for recording data with a separate report:

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Last Man Stands 2015 has seen another increase in the ever-growing LMS franchises. Around 786 participants took part in this format of the game, although data has shown that the majority of these players are current players that have just increased the frequency of playing. But it has also shown that more players are looking into different formats of the game to suit their lifestyles. LMS now boasts franchises covering all of South Yorkshire and the majority of West Yorkshire with newly formed LMS franchise also in Hull. LMS has also proven to be highly successful with the South Asian communities. This has seen the figures almost double in West of the county, more notably in Bradford. College Cricket. College cricket has not quite had the same impact as in 2014 with fewer participants than expected. About 400 in the county took part on indoor and outdoor events which is down from 600 in 2014. This is mainly due to the demands on students to play sport with many committed to Campus Academies with integrated studies. More demands from other sports who all want the same customers. Time and the availability of facilities to deliver are limited University Easy Cricket This has proved to be an area that has not been as prolific as originally anticipated. The appointment of Cricket Activators within the university has proven to be hit-and-miss. The main successes have come from those who have gone down the Active University route where projects like this are essential to funding. BUCS figures have been included separately from these as that is main stream competitive cricket. Indoor Cricket. There were excellent figures over the winter period. We had around 2500 participants playing this format of the game. Competitions have taken place in Doncaster, Hull, Beverley, Middlesbrough, two in Sheffield and two in Leeds. We expect this to continue in 2016 with new leagues planned for York, Scarborough, Harrogate, 4 more in South Yorkshire and increases in the East Yorkshire Leagues and West Yorkshire Leagues. Club based activities. The most significant increase for 2015 has been in Club Based Activities. We recorded over 5500 participants in this area, almost double those of 2014. This has been largely due to the impact of capturing more data through improved communication streams. The leagues’ network and social media have played a huge part in the success of this. We also did our first on-line poll which captured around 1800 participants in the game. The majority of this cricket has been increasing frequency as more clubs are developing their own formats/ structures. These include charity events/ pub knockouts/ single wicket competitions etc. Grey Fox Trophy This popular over 50s competition has again had another successful year with 15 teams registering and competing. The finals this year took place at Headingley and Scarborough. The GFT committee is already in the lookout for new teams for 2016 competition. South Asian communities Over 1700 participants have been recorded as playing cricket in non- conventional formats within the South Asian communities of Bradford and Leeds. This has had significant impact on the increase figures for 2015. The formats have included Tape Ball Leagues, Taxi/restaurant leagues, Have a Go sessions, 3G soft ball cricket etc. Richard Wilkinson 4. VOLUNTEERS Club Development seminars. No club Development Seminar took place in 2015. Planning is to begin for winter 16/17 to deliver club development seminars.

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R and R days These were administered by Graham Purdy and Andrew Watson in 2015. Nat West Cricket Force 2015 In 2015 we had 305 clubs registered for NWCF. The most we have had in the last 5 years. There was no Showcase club in 2015. Over 200 clubs took advantage of the Jewson offer which has been renewed for 2016. Young Volunteer Days and Yorkshire Elite Leaders Academy The Young Volunteer days are no longer run by YCB and they now fall under the Cricket Foundation. The Academy no longer runs due to no funding Richard Wilkinson 5. CHILD WELFARE 2015 was again a busy year for the County Child Welfare Officer Ray Knowles and his Assistants Alan Farnell, Phil Robshaw and Brian Farrell. There were a number of investigations of individuals, which included offences of rape by a player, serious assault by a parent, numerous complaints of emotional bullying of young players by their peers and on occasions by coaches. In total some 16 serious incidents were dealt with during 2015. One case caused serious concerns when it was discovered that a senior cricket league had allowed a banned person to umpire. They had failed to ensure the man had completed the DBS process and was vetted by ECB. It is essential that all leagues and clubs adhere to Safe Hands and ensure that people in a position of authority have the necessary ECB vetting to hold that position. If anyone is unsure please contact the County Welfare Officer Ray Knowles for advice. During 2015 there were 14 Safe Hands courses of which 10 were new ones and 4 refreshers and a further roll out is expected in 2016. All who were CRB/DBS checked 3 years ago are up for DBS renewal and should receive forms 3 months ahead of renewal. DBS certificates are issued only to the recipient and it is imperative that they then contact ECB with this information otherwise your renewal will not be recorded. Forms are available from ecb@tmgcrb.co.uk Clubs must ensure Welfare Officers are appointed and qualified, otherwise if they become liable in law for litigation purposes they may be without insurance cover for that purpose and their Chairman held personally responsible if Welfare Officers are not appointed and trained and the “Safe Hands” Policy adopted (with renewal course every 3 years ). It is also a requirement that Leagues must appoint a League Welfare Officer ( irrespective of whether they have junior teams etc - just one Under 18 player in any team requires a League Welfare Officer who may also be a CWO of a member club) and these must be notified to YCB. It is a requirement that YCB keep a register of all Club and League Welfare Officers and these must be notified to YCB (Graham Purdy) by Clubs and Leagues. Ray Knowles and Lawrence Walker 6. TRANSFER AND DISCIPLINE There was no real change in the overall Disciplinary situation this year but once again there are promising aspects as there were no Appeals that required dealing with by YCB. There was one downside this year with regards to queries about Clubs approaching players without first seeking the permission of their current Club. Clubs are reminded that YCB Rule 9.2. refers to this matter.

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The Leagues and Clubs send in reports that are dealing with unsatisfactory conduct both on and off the field by implementing in many cases bans for misconduct and also a suspended ban for a period in an effort to prevent further misconduct by a player. This does not mean we should be complacent but continue to strive to improve both the reporting and dealing efficiently with these matters in accordance with the Sentencing Guidelines in Appendix 1, pages 29 & 30 of Disciplinary Code & Procedures issued in 2011. All Leagues and Clubs are reminded to take note of the YCB Disciplinary Code Suspension Policy Section 5.6.1 which indicates that all bans and suspensions exceeding 4 weeks must be reported to the YCB within 7 days of the Disciplinary Procedure being completed and the other Leagues notified as shown on the YCB Report Form. However if a suspended ban is imposed in addition to a ban of less than 4 weeks YCB should be notified. Leagues should note league only bans are not permitted. The format of the YCB Disciplinary Register was revised during 2015 as indicated in last year’s report and will be updated and issued on a monthly basis during the season subject to the information being received from the League Disciplinary Officers. There were 2 amendments to YCB Rule 9.3 YCB Club Transfer Form to accommodate the new Yorkshire Pyramid Structure:- 1. Clubs wishing to resign from any League or Association should give notice in writing before 30

th June in the year

previous to the season in which they intend to play in that League or Association. (Formerly 30th

April). 2. Additional Rule – A list of Clubs who are promoted or relegated into another League within the Pyramid Structure will be given to YCB at the end of the Season. Transfer forms will not be required. Thanks to all those who assisted during 2015 in particular Graham Purdy and once again if anyone needs any assistance during 2015 please do not hesitate to contact me. Ian Livesey.

G - PLAYER PATHWAYS 1. PATHWAYS TO EXCELLENCE The 2014/15 winter Pathways Programme was the last in its current format prior to structural changes being introduced for the 2015/16 programme (see below). The 9 Regional Centres at Sheffield, Huddersfield, Bradford, Featherstone, Harrogate, York, Pickering, Hull and Middlesbrough ran successful programmes through January to March coaching a total of 234 talented cricketers aged from 11 to 16. Five players progressed from the Bronze programme to the Silver programme, having demonstrated levels of skill to merit progression (in-year) to the higher levels of the programme. Junior cricketing talent was also evident in abundance at Headingley where the two Gold and Silver Programmes catered for the top performing County Age Group players. A total of 84 players enjoyed twice weekly coaching sessions at Headingley, having earned their selections by performances outdoors in the Yorkshire Schools County Age Group teams during the 2014 season.

Players selected to attend the Gold Programme also benefitted from skill-set sessions covering batting, spin bowling and pace bowling, which saw invaluable input from the YCCC coaching team and players. This included input from the strength and conditioning coach and other aspects of how to train like a professional cricketer. Thanks are extending to Martyn Moxon, Ian Dews, Richard Damms, Blaine Clancy and all members of the YCCC coaching team for their input to these programmes. Following a full review of the Pathways programme during February and March, April saw the launch of some major changes to the structure of the Programme. These were presented to Parents, Junior Coaches and Junior

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League representatives at a well-attended launch event in the Long Room at Headingley. The key structural changes agreed for the Programme included the introduction of 19 District Centres; an increase in the number of Silver Programmes to include 2 Senior Silver and 2 Junior Silver groups; a reduction in the number of Bronze Centres and the inclusion of a Senior and Junior Bronze programme. The entry criteria into the programmes has changed to ensure that every player who played County Age Group cricket (Yorkshire U10s through to U15s A & B teams) in 2015 is guaranteed a place on the Gold, Silver or Bronze programmes. County Age Group managers have selected their best performing players accordingly; with outdoor performance determining which level of the elite programme County Junior players attend. The introduction of the Pathways District Centres has been designed to broaden the base and widen the opportunities for talented junior cricketers to compete for a place in the higher levels of the programme. The District Centres have replaced the previous ‘one-off’ trial process, with the players being assessed over seven week programme running through October, November and early December 2015. Every junior player selected to play District, Yorkshire Junior Cricket Festival or for their Junior League representative team was eligible to attend the District Centre Programme, with 495 junior players aged between 10 and 15 taking their opportunity.

The District Centre programme was successfully delivered on behalf of Yorkshire cricket by Pro-Coach Yorkshire, the official coaching arm of Yorkshire County Cricket. The feedback from the parents of players who attended the programme has been excellent and the coaches have had some difficult decisions to make on who to promote onto the Bronze Programme. Our thanks are extended to Chris Brice, Kirsty Sugden and James Spencer at Pro-Coach plus all the Coaches who have delivered the first year of the District Centre programme. The skill-set sessions on the Gold Programme now include a specific session for wicket keeping with County Age group keepers having the opportunity to train and be coached by county professionals.

The changes to the structure of the programme have seen changes in coaching personnel with a number of Bronze Centre Directors stepping down from their positions as lead coaches on Pathways. Special thanks to Bren Terry for his time at the Woodlands Centre and likewise Richard Horner at Heckmondwike. Both have given invaluable service to the development of junior cricketing talent in Yorkshire. Thanks are also extended to all who have coached on Pathways during 2015, the schools and sports centres who have accommodated the various programmes and, importantly, the parents of all junior players for the time they have given getting their sons to and from the Pathways Centres. Graham Purdy

H - SCHOOLS AND YOUTH

1. COUNTY AGE GROUPS Yorkshire Schools, District Cricket, Lord's Taverners and Joe Lumb Competitions are all covered in their own reports. Thanks are extended to these associations for their on-going commitment and hard work resulting in records to be proud of, and the full enjoyment shown by all involved. The Under 13s and 15s club competitions were again well led by Stephen Pickles the County Organiser with Doncaster Town CC winning the Yorkshire U15s and Methley CC the U13s. Graham Purdy

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Under 17s In a summer of mixed weather, the U17s enjoyed a successful season but were ultimately beaten to semi-final spots in both competitions by a young and skillful Derbyshire side. We were dealt a huge blow before the competition had started when fast bowler Eddie Barnes was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his lower back. We all wish Eddie well in his recovery. In the two day national competition Yorkshire failed to qualify for the semi-finals. Despite 1

st innings victories over

Lancashire and Durham, the rained- off game at home to Cheshire (where the opposition were 113 for 7) determined the team required a win away at Derbyshire to progress. After some excellent batting and an adventurous declaration, Yorkshire were firmly in the driving seat but stubborn 9

th and 10

th wicket partnerships

allowed the hosts to survive. The draw was enough for Derbyshire and Yorkshire were eliminated from the competition. We had some high quality individual performances along the way; James Brown’s five hour 97 at Todmorden against Lancashire, Yaasar Imtiaz with 5 for 31 at Weetwood against Durham and Eddie Barnes’s magnificent 177 against Derbyshire at Repton School being the highlights. Ben Ainsley and Harry Brook showed promise with the bat, Jonathan Read was outstanding with the gloves and the slow left arm bowling of James Logan and pace bowling of Matthew Taylor gave more evidence that the future is bright. The group was well lead by both captains, on and off the field. Well done Yaasar Imtiaz and Jonathan Read. . In the one day tournament, the squad won their first three games, meaning victory against Derbyshire would see them through to the semi-final against Nottinghamshire. With the team well set after compiling 300 for 5 from 50 overs, the Derbyshire batsmen took full toll of some ordinary bowling and short boundaries, the target being achieved with room to spare. Again, we witnessed more outstanding contributions along the way, Yaasar’s unbeaten 131 in the Roses clash, Eddie Morrison taking 4 for 12 against Cheshire and Harry Brook’s 128 at Weetwood home to Durham. Due to call ups to YCCC 1

st and 2

nd XI teams, National squad selection and holidays, opportunities presented

themselves for players from younger age groups as well as several fringe players. The step up in age and quality of the opposition presented its fair share of challenges, particularly in the 2 day competition. I am confident that these games have provided excellent learning opportunities for all, highlighting areas for improvement such as using the new ball effectively, taking our catches and the key for this group of batsmen and, having a plan to score against spin bowling. It has nevertheless, been an encouraging summer for the U17's. Eddie Barnes is part of the England U17 Development Programme. In addition to Eddie, Ben Ainsley, James Brown, Matthew Taylor and James Logan also represented the North Region in the Under 17 Super 4's tournament where Yaasar was captain. Finally, no fewer than seven members of the squad played with YCCC 2nd XI. Well done to all. My personal thanks go to my assistant coach Graham Tipping who was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and skillful throughout the summer especially in his role as fines committee chairman and to Blaine Clancy for his high quality Strength and Conditioning input. Thanks also go to our various scorers Sarah, John and Howard. And finally, thank you to all the parents. Without your support and commitment we could not fulfil the fixtures Richard Damms Under 16s Due to a busy summer of cricket, the U16’s were limited to three 1 day fixtures in 2015. Unfortunately, the weather was unkind and only one game against Lancashire survived. In an eventful match, Lancashire ran out winners by 23 runs after Matthew Rees took 2-41 and 33*, Adam Ahmed 3-27, captain Ben Birkhead 30 and Owen Kelly 25. Grateful thanks go to the coaches, Chris Brice and Blaine Clancy (S&C) who provided much skill, knowledge, and humour to the proceedings and special thanks to Sarah Smith. And finally, a huge thank you to all the parents for getting the boys to the games, only to be disappointed because of the rain. It is much appreciated. Richard Damms

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Under 19s The competition this year was enlarged with the introduction of Derbyshire making 6 Counties in this 2 day competition where fringe players get the chance to perform and come to the attention of the senior County coaches. As always it took time for our players from the leagues to settle into 2 day games as against most other counties who included academy/2nd X1 players. Due to regular call ups of the Yorkshire Academy players to the 2nd X1 we were restricted in their availability but it was an enjoyable season with some good performances by a very young side many being only 16 to 17 years old. The Yorkshire squad finished as runners-up only 5 points behind the winners, newcomers Derbyshire. However, we did lose the Sanderson Trophy to Lancashire, which we had held for the past 3 seasons. Yorkshire lost on first innings against Durham, Derbyshire and Lancashire but beat Middlesex and Warwickshire on first innings but got very good bonus points. With the bat, Callum Goldthorp made 124 not out against Warwickshire and Tim Taylor 73 in the same game being the top scores of the season but 60s also came from Bilal Anjum and Toby Booth against Middlesex and Patrick Dixon against Lancashire. With the ball Elliot Richardson had the best return 5-84 against Derbyshire whilst he, Tim Taylor and John Donnelly all took 4 wickets in an innings. The most improved player award went to our wicketkeeper Bradley Birkhead (Raistrick) for his reliability, outstanding displays and encouraging others at all times, particularly the younger players. Looking forward to next season we will see many of these players with us again as no less than 12 of the 20 players used this year will be available again. Hopefully they will have learned about 2 day cricket from their experiences this year. A final word of thanks for all their help goes to Coach Jim Leathley, scorer Stephen Pickles and Ian Livesey who assisted at games and with transport to away venues. Brian Lymbery 2. REPORT FROM YORKSHIRE SCHOOLS CRICKET ASSOCIATION It was another eventful season with plenty to celebrate. The U15s battled their way through to the ECB finals at Kibworth to finish 3rd. The U14s won their Taunton Festival unbeaten. The U13s enjoyed a brilliant season undefeated and won their Taunton Festival for the third year as well as the ESCA Northern Counties Championship. The U11s won their Taunton Festival for the 4

th time and lost only 2 matches by close margins. There were a total

of 210 matches played during the season. For the U15A this was an enjoyable and indeed successful year with no fewer than 23 boys featuring through the season – a marvellous advert for cricket development. After a sound performance in the opening cup match against Durham there followed two salutary lessons with defeats by Lancashire and Cheshire. The response to that wake-up call produced excellent victories over Nottingham twice, Cheshire & Durham. The final group match against Lancashire confirmed their superiority and in the Royal London ECB Cup Final they overcame Surrey. As northern runners up we were drawn against West winners Wales in the quarter final and won with a convincing performance at Pontypool to reach the Kibworth finals and a semi-final against Surrey where a score of 222-6 in difficult conditions was not quite enough as the match swung one way and the other with victory snatched from us by a Duckworth/Lewis calculation. We then took 3rd place in the play-off with a clear victory over Essex. Our 2 day matches against Wales and Durham were both drawn.

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The U15B team enjoyed a splendid year and in total 23 boys were given the opportunity of playing and developing their cricketing skills. By the end of the season the team had gelled into a fine side. They played some terrific cricket and much of this was evident as the season progressed. Most interestingly some of the newcomers were only playing at district level in the early part of the season but they held their places and prospered greatly with some playing so well that they made their way into the A team. The 3 matches lost to Lancashire, Warwickshire and Cumbria were close affairs with our boys in winning positions on each occasion. The side was beautifully led by Adarsh Vani (QEGS) who showed excellent potential. All in all a wonderful season, great team spirit and a marvellous advert for the future of Schools Cricket. It was a successful season in certain respects for the U14As but with 5 defeats some questions need to be answered. There were numerous injuries and unavailability resulting in 24 players being used through the season. Bowling generally was our strength although extras contributed to our downfall in some matches. The pace attack was good and the spin department also did a fine job in taking another 62 wickets. The batting was held together by James Wharton (Holmfirth HS) with 761 runs. The high note of the season was retention of the winners shield at the Taunton Festival with 4 victories with the fifth day abandoned through rain. James Wharton captained the team and showed good understanding and knowledge of the game. As always there is room for improvement particularly in the field and this area needs some attention for the future. The U14B season started with a series of matches against other squads (15A, 14A, 13A) which proved very competitive and extremely valuable in assessing the squads’ capabilities. The first county match was against Lancashire and was won in convincing style with fine performances all round. The team continued to play some good cricket with excellent returns. The Festival at Scarborough was of course a highlight with our boys reaching the final against North Yorkshire containing 4 county A and 5 B team players. It was an intriguing final on the main square at North Marine Road and will have been a great experience for all 22 Yorkshire boys. For the U13A team this was an outstandingly successful season achieved by a talented and resourceful side who swept aside every other team they encountered, winning both the Taunton Festival and the Northern Counties Championship. To go through a season with 18 games undefeated is a new record. Harry Anderson (Brigshaw HS), Matthew Revis (Ilkley GS) and Finlay Bean (Ripon GS) each scored over 500 runs, another record. Three bowlers took over 20 wickets, a similar record. Lewis O’Donnell (Ripon GS) took 25 as did Harry Sullivan (Temple Moor HS) who set a new high for an under 12 year old playing up one age group. Chris Wood (St.Peter’s, York) took 32, a total only two others have ever surpassed. Our two keepers Harry Duke (QEGS) and Josh Neal (Brigshaw HS) totalled 28 dismissals between them, eleven more than in any other season. The most remarkable statistic of all is that no team managed to score a hundred runs against our attack during the last eight matches. The captain Matthew Revis grew into the job as the season progressed and set increasingly good fields which also contributed to the fact that the opposition rarely gained momentum. This was another successful season for U13B with a very strong year group. The playing record is the best since this squad was introduced in 2007 which is especially pleasing against other county “A” teams. Once again the Taunton Festival was the highlight of the season and a great experience for the boys. To finish as runners-up with just one defeat against Kent the eventual winners was a really good outcome as Kent were undefeated all season. Arjun Ramkumar (Prince Henry’s GS) was a model of consistency and established a record for the squad with 662 runs including 2 centuries and 3 fifties. The batting otherwise was a little disappointing but the bowling had great depth and variation with 8 boys making their mark led by new boy James Kelly (Richmond School) with 22 wickets of left arm spin. Aidan Langley (Rodillian Academy) took the all-rounder award with 360 runs and 19 wickets whilst Captain Archie Greaves (Scissett Middle) led from the front weighing in with 263 runs and 15 wkts. This was a good fielding side with some stunning catches being taken. There was a strong work ethic which produced some magnificent performances making them the outstanding squad since its formation 9 years ago. The U12A team had an inconsistent season but there were plenty of fine individual performances. Romir Singh (Birkdale) was the leading run scorer with 594 with Daniel Ford (Brigshaw HS) on 488, both scoring a century. Daniel’s winning knock of 115 not out against Cheshire was the best-ever innings at this level. Sam Elstone (Hymers

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College) captained the side and scored 265 runs. Matthew Bird (Rossett) led the bowling with 18 wickets supported by Ben Stokes (Harrogate GS) 17 who was very accurate throughout the season. For the U12B team it was a successful season with just two defeats, one against North Yorkshire containing 5 members of the 12A team and the other against Nottinghamshire in the final of the Oundle Festival. One highlight at Oundle was breaking a 21 year record highest total with 372-4 and also beating Lancashire. Louis Becket (Scarboro Coll) made 3 consecutive centuries from just 59, 63 and 59 deliveries with a top score of 157 not out. Gavin Whipp (Ryburn Valley HS) won the Oundle batting award including a century whilst skipper Cain Robb (Driffield School) scored his maiden century. Aneeq Hamdani (Bradford GS) had two 5 wicket hauls. The Team grew with maturity as the season progressed and embraced a positive approach. Another fine season was had by the U11As although not quite reaching the heights of the previous two years unbeaten records. The team improved with every game and showed their fighting spirit on numerous occasions by winning many of the close fought encounters. The depth and variation of bowling together with excellent fielding was the team’s forte. Batting was the weakest discipline but there were some outstanding performances. The Taunton Festival was again the highlight of the season with victory for the fourth successive year. The two victories against Lancashire were naturally most satisfying. The Alan and Linda Shaw Trophy awarded for the outstanding performance of the season at any age group went to Matthew Weston for his 757 runs averaging 50 including two centuries and passing the fifty mark on 8 occasions with 4 not outs, a great achievement. It was a challenging season with a measure of success for the U11B side with the highlight being the tour to Royal Hospital School near Ipswich and beating a strong Lancashire side on their own patch. Inconsistency in the batting hampered the team’s ability to post competitive scores with several alarming collapses which put the bowlers under immense pressure. That they were able to win most of these with scores of below three figures was indicative of astute captaincy by Eliot Bunn (Benton Park) who also won the special award for taking 4-9 v Leicestershire. All in all a decent season from the boys who were a credit to Yorkshire on and off the field. For the U10A team it was a most satisfactory season albeit with three close matches. The transition from pairs cricket to 40 overs hardball is not easy for the boys but there were excellent wins over Lancashire, Leicestershire, Berkshire and Devon. The Festival at Taunton was most enjoyable and successful with a nail-biter against Surrey which did not quite go our way, but a tremendous match. Alex Cree (Methley PS) with 413 runs including 125 against Leicestershire was the star performer and also kept wicket very well. The second season for the U10B group was again most rewarding with good performances from all of the boys who will be looking to improve with winter nets ready for the new season as U11s where perhaps four players will be pushing for “A” team recognition. The Repton Festival was a great experience for the boys although affected by rain and featured an experiment with a 16 yard pitch. For the first time in its 46 year history the St Peter’s Festival involved a Yorkshire U19 team that could include any U19 player, rather than those still attending school. This adjustment to the selection process proved to be a positive one and meant that the U19 season would also include a series of two day fixtures throughout July and August that had previously been part of the Yorkshire Cricket Board programme. These included MCC, Lancashire, Middlesex, Derbyshire, Durham and Warwickshire. We were pleased to include New South Wales Combined High Schools from Australia within the Festival as well as Lincolnshire, Durham, Yorkshire Development XI and MCC. The Laurie Bennett award for the player’s player of the week went to Patrick Dixon (Woodhouse Grove) and the new Jim Harkin Award went to Lewis Kenworthy (Huddersfield New College) for his 5-30 against Lincolnshire. There were 38 nominations received from affiliated schools

The Association was again well supported on the financial front by the John Featherstone Memorial Foundation (Headingley Bookstall) and The Friends of Yorkshire Schools including gift aid. Sadly our long term sponsor P&A went into administration. There were 149 schools affiliated. The junior & senior presentation dinners were both held at Headingley with attendances of 320 and 275 where Paul Grayson was guest speaker for the senior event. Karl Carver and James Wainman (former YSCA boys) attended the junior evening and made the presentations and

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also posed for photos with each squad along with the County Championship Trophy.

Support for the Association was also forthcoming from the YCCC Charitable Youth Trust and our patrons along with a number of others including parents who made significant financial contributions. Our umpires, coaches and officials also gave unstintingly of their time along with parents who do so much in transporting the boys to the various matches. We are also fortunate in being able to call upon the many Clubs who so freely place their facilities at our disposal. The YSCA fixture booklet was again very well received.

The number of entries from Yorkshire into ESCA national schools competitions was as usual the highest of any County and reflects great credit on the officials who administer each of our County competitions. The U15 T20 drew 93 entries (organized by Gary Hebden) and the U14 ESCA Trophy 69 entries run by Ian Gould (Ashville College). The U12 David English Bunbury Cup attracted 66 schools and was run by Secretary Harold Galley. The Yorkshire Post U13 Schools Challenge with the semi-finals and final played at Headingley (under the guidance of Chairman Dr. Bernard Knowles) was a very special day and a great privilege to play on a test match venue with electronic scoreboards, an experience the boys will treasure for many years with 82 schools taking part.

National Schools U19 20/20 Trophy - Woodhouse Grove (Bradford) reached the national quarter final with victories over Ashville, Pocklington, Silcoates and St.Peter’s losing to Sedbergh by 6 runs.

ESCA Yorkshire U15 20/20 Trophy- Birkdale School (Sheffield) beat St.Peter’s School (York)

ESCA U14 Barbara Woolley Trophy -QEGS (Wakefield) beat Prince Henry’s Grammar School

Yorkshire Post U13 Cricket Challenge- Benton Park School beat Brigshaw High School with Honley High School 3rd

and Ermysted’s Grammar Schooll 4

th on Finals day at Headingley

ESCA David English U12 Bunbury Cup -Birkdale (Sheffield) beat Grammar School at Leeds

ESCA U11 Hardball - Yorkshire winners Birkdale (Sheffield) – who were Oakham Finalists

3. REPORT FROM THE DISTRICT CRICKET WORKING PARTY

The district festivals were again a success in 2015. Around 350 players have had a chance to display their skills in 39 games in the 2015 season. The Under 11s festivals were held at Hymers College in Hull, St Peters School at York and Silcoates School in Wakefield. The standard of cricket was excellent with over 80 players able to show off their skills to the county age group selectors across the 3 festivals. The Under 12s festival ran successfully and is becoming a key age group to bridge the gap between the Under 11s and Under 13s festivals, allowing players to be seen at a vital developmental age. An additional date was added this year to respond to the demand for more quality cricket at this age group. As in 2014 the under 13s festival was hit by bad weather during the Spring Bank half-term. The weather affected some group games and finals day meaning that only one game was completed on finals day. We are currently looking at ways to prevent these age group games being so affected by weather for 2016. The Under 9s festival was an extremely successful one again with over 80 players able to show off their talents at such a young age. An additional fixture was introduced this summer, with each of the 4 sub-regions of the county hosting a festival day. This festival is fast becoming an excellent starting point for managers and coaches to get their first glimpse of the upcoming talent of the future. The festivals were held at Scarborough College, Driffield Cricket club and Barnsley Cricket club and Hunslet Nelson cricket club.

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I would like to thank everyone who has helped with District cricket in 2015, particularly all the clubs and volunteers that have made themselves available to the YCB and assisted in making District cricket successful. 2016 will see significant changes to the District Cricket programme. This will help to allow the programme to showcase the talents of even more talented cricketers, ensuring the county teams keep getting the best players available. Ross Atkinson 4. COMPETITIONS Lady Taverners Indoor Competition The Lady Taverners competitions at Under 13s and Under 15s had strong showings in both age group county finals this year with 8 teams participating in each final. The Under 13s final was won by Carlton Bolling College from Bradford and the under 15s by Wakefield Girls High School. Both schools went on to the North of England regional finals at Old Trafford. Boys U13 Inter Cricket Boys Inter Cricket remained much the same with a strong competition. The winners were Richmond school. In 2015 we increased the participation of Boys cricket competition in the form of an Under 15s competition, allowing those players who have played in the Under 13s competition to keep playing. This has been introduced at local levels this year with the hope of increasing the competition and expanding to a full county competition in the future. Chance to Compete 2015 was a strong competition following on from the success in 2014 where we ran a full competition for the first time. This competition is expanding every year and we expect 2016 to be the biggest yet. The competition offers outdoor short-format cricket for both Girls and Boys at Under 13 and 15 age groups. On finals day the winning side from each sub-region competed for a chance to be crowned Yorkshire champion at their age group. The Under 13 Mixed competition was won by Macmilllan Academy from Middlesbrough and the Mixed Under 15s was won by Darton College from Barnsley. In the girls competitions, the U13 competition was won by St Aidans from Harrogate and the under 15 competition was won by South Hunsley from East Yorkshire. All four schools progressed to the regional North of England finals. South Hunsley school won the U15 North of England final to progress to the National final in September. They eventually finished runners-up. It is notable that South Hunsley qualified for both Yorkshire U15 girls finals, won a North of England final and finished runners uo in a national competition in their first year playing cricket which was an amazing achievement. We hope through our secondary school programme to increase the number of schools competing county wide for 2016 through the expansion of our chance to shine secondary school programme. I would like to thank Barnsley club for hosting the finals day. ECB Kwik Cricket Schools entering Year 6, Year 5 and Girls only Kwik remained much the same for 2015 with around 1400 schools taking part in competition throughout the county. Harehills Primary School from Leeds won the Year 6 event and Driffield Junior School won the girls competition. It is worth noting that Driffield Junior School made all 3 Kwik cricket competition finals days in 2015. The boys were runners up in the County finals and the schools Year 3 and 4 team also made it to Headingley in the Drax cup. I would like to thank Wetherby cricket club for hosting the finals days. Drax Cup The Drax cup saw its biggest year yet again in 2015 with over 575 schools participating which was an increase of nearly 100 schools from 2014. Finals day was held on Friday 10

th July at Headingley where Greenhill Primary school

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from Sheffield ran out the winners. Once again pupils from all finalists were able to watch the Yorkshire against Durham T20 Blast game after the finals day. I would like to thank everyone who has participated in and supported the competitions in 2015 to make them successful. Without the support it would simply not be possible. I look forward to another successful year in 2016 when we will look to keep increasing our number of schools participating and keep having successful schools representing Yorkshire in national competitions. Ross Atkinson 5. REPORT FROM JOE LUMB CRICKET COMPETITION AND THE YORKSHIRE JUNIOR CRICKET FESTIVAL Fourteen areas or leagues competed for the Joe Lumb Trophy for Under 17s. The semi-final qualifiers from the three divisions were Bradford JCL, North Yorkshire & South Durham CL, Halifax JCL, and Wetherby JCL. The winning semi-finalists played for the Joe Lumb Trophy and Wetherby won the trophy for the first time by beating Bradford by 20 runs. Halifax won the Jack Lee Trophy play-off beating NYSD by 4 runs. The Management Committee thanks Bradford and Spen Victoria CC together with NYSD and Thornaby CC for hosting the finals. The Yorkshire Junior Cricket Festival covered age groups Under 11s, Under 13s and Under 15s from 18 areas including new entrants Hambleton JCL with a total of 101 scheduled fixtures. Unfortunately rain curtailed a number of games in the Under 13s festival week In the Under 11s Heavy Woollen, Doncaster, Scarborough, and Huddersfield were group winners thereby qualifying for the semi-finals. In the final hosted by Spofforth C.C. Heavy Woollen won the competition for the seventh time, retaining the trophy by defeating Huddersfield. The Under 13s finalists at Cleckheaton CC were Huddersfield and Scarborough. Huddersfield triumphed to get their name on the trophy for the first time. The other two group winners and semi-finalists were Airedale & Wharfedale and Upper Airedale. The Under 15s group winners were Heavy Woollen, Bradford, Airedale & Wharfedale and Scarborough. In the Semi-finals Heavy Woollen beat Airedale and Wharfedale and Bradford defeated Scarborough. In the final, played at Copley CC, Bradford triumphed to record their sixth trophy win in the competition. The Management Committee wishes to record its thanks to areas and clubs responsible for staging the various semi-finals and finals. Philip Radcliffe stood down as President at the 2015 Annual General Meeting. He was appointed as a Vice-President of both competitions in recognition of his outstanding contribution over many years in various official positions including President, Chairman and Secretary. Andrew Clegg .

I - WOMENS CRICKET

1. YORKSHIRE WOMEN AND GIRLS 2015 SEASON REVIEW The 2015 Season was very successful for the County with Yorkshire winning 3 County Championships. The Womens’ 1

st XI were rewarded with a trip to Buckingham Palace to receive their County Championship trophy

from the Duke of Edinburgh. A reception at Leeds Civic Hall was attended by U13s, 15s and 1st

XI players to recognise their success.

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The newly formed Development Team played fixtures against Lancashire including a game at Scarborough. The Under 13s Development Team played their first season in the league. This was season of learning for the girls some of whom were 11 years old and they performed well often against girls who were older and more experienced. The Under 13s Performance team retained the County Championship beating Essex in the Final. They are now unbeaten in the last 3 seasons. The Under 15s also retained the County Championship beating Hampshire in the Final. The Under 17s were unable to match the performance of the younger teams having been beaten by a strong Lancashire Team who went on to win the County Championship. Jane Hildreth 2. WOMEN AND GIRLS PATHWAYS As Women and Girls cricket in Yorkshire continues an upward trend it became clear the Pathway to Excellence scheme also needed to see some changes. Following consultation with the four W&G District Cricket Development Groups in Yorkshire, a New Bronze centre will be introduced in 2016. It will also be based at Headingley and predominantly for our younger County Age Groups and successful district players and this new centre will add to the existing Silver and Gold Centres already in place. The District CDGs were all encouraged to hold centres pre-Christmas to enable the CAG coaching team to attend their training sessions. The New Bronze centre will enable up to 24 Girls to attend training at Headingley under the guidance of the CAG coaching team. All three centres will conclude at the end of March prior to the County Squad Trials, with the new scheme now offering availability and priority places for all 64 girls who have played County Age Group Cricket in 2015. EPP (Emerging Players Programme) In addition to the expanded pathway scheme we have also seen our W&G EPP programmes expand from 6 to 10 girls. The girls who are aged between 13 and 16 will be attending regular 1 to 1 and small group coaching under the continued guidance of EPP Lead Coach, Tony Pickersgill. James Spencer 3. YORKSHIRE COMPETITIONS AND DEVELOPMENT 2015 has been a fantastic year for Yorkshire in terms of developing Women and Girls cricket. Our yearly audit shows an increase in both Women and Girls playing the game. In 2013 we had 371 female players (14+) and 442 junior girls across the county, now we have 645 female players and 816 junior girls. We also have an increase in Womens only clubs, which is fantastic and, although audits can never be precise, it shows our trends are on the way up. The ECB Northern Womens league has also increased in numbers this year and that is due to the fantastic work by the committee to publicise and attract more teams to take part. I am sure 2016 will continue to follow this trend. The Nidderdale Ladies Evening league continues to run and is looking to increase their numbers in 2016. Let’s hope that they do and more women take up the game. This summer we also ran Womens Open Days at Cottingham, Yapham, Pickering and Harrogate where women who potentially were new to the game or lapsed from the game could give it a go. Chance to Shine has had a fantastic impact on the amount of girls now migrating to clubs and this is through the work of YCB Community Cricket Officers and also the work of the volunteer club coaches. In 2015 we saw over 900

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girls take part in secondary school competitions and 184 girls only teams entered into the primary school competitions which equates to around 1472 girls playing cricket in primary schools. Our Indoor School Lady Taverners U13 Competition was won by Carlton Bolling and U15 was won by Wakefield Girls High School and we had the highest amount of entries this year in the competition. Our Outdoor Club competition saw West Yorkshire’s Woodlands Girls take both the U11 and the U13 titles at Elland Cricket Club. Again we also had the highest amount of entries at this event too. 2015 has been a very busy and successful year for Women and Girls Cricket, we have more girls playing now than ever and in order to continue the success we do need more clubs on board with Women and Girls development to ensure the migration continues from school to club. Joe Ashdown 4. WOMEN’S CRICKET DEVELOPMENT GROUPS East Yorkshire Women and Girls Cricket Development Group The number of participating girls has increased in the region this year at all age groups. We have gone from 2 clubs with active girls’ membership to three very supportive clubs which is starting to give us a firmer foundation for our representative level cricket. We have been far more competitive at district level as a result and recorded some wins at various age groups. Leah Dobson made it through to Silver level pathways from the Group this year and also got a place on EPP which was a fantastic achievement. This year has seen the retirement of long standing supporter Phil Sagar who ran sessions and games unfailingly for many years, so we pass on our heartfelt thanks to him for his many years of service. Colin Walford

West Yorkshire Women and Girls Cricket Development Group West Yorkshire U11s had another fantastic season. They were unbeaten in 2015 winning the district competition and also won the War of the Roses softball competition with Lancashire. The team is developing well and has the will to play cricket and enjoy the game, all with a smile on their faces. The West U13s made a winning start also and again didn't lose a game but had a draw in the final of the T20 competition at Ampleforth: this was a really fantastic day and a well-organised event. With the number of rain-affected games and games not played, this wasn't the best season for the U13s but again they were still undefeated after only playing 5 games this season. The U15s are all learning and this will play a big part in the development of the team going forward for 2016 but again it was not the best season having only played 2 games and having a host of other games called off. Neil Grace

North Yorkshire Women and Girls Cricket Development Group Girls cricket in North Yorkshire continues to prosper and grow but more players, and teams for the league, are needed. In 2015 we have had successful district sides at Under 11, 13 and especially 15 levels whilst the Under 17s had only one game this year which was cancelled. We are keen to play further fixtures in this age group in 2016, having played Durham and Lincolnshire previously. North had 18 girls representing the county in the different age groups, including some notable individual performances. Scarborough Cricket Club welcomed fourteen district and county teams to the third Girls 6-a-side Tournament at Under 12 and Under 15 levels. This is now the highlight of the calendar and was another great day with some excellent cricket played in a fantastic spirit.

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The North Yorkshire Girls Friendly League, which has now completed its fourth season, had ten member teams this season, although two struggled to raise sides. The weather and early season pitch availability affected the number of games played but we continue in our aim of getting more girls playing and enjoying cricket. I would ask all clubs to continue to encourage their girls to affiliate to their local girls team to get them some girls cricket. There is undoubtedly a benefit felt by most girls as they often get more of an opportunity to participate. The plan is that the time will come when we can stand on our own feet, separate from The Nidderdale Junior League and we are working on this, although we might require additional support from the YCB. North Stainley retained the league title ahead of new entrants Alne. We are grateful to our sponsors, Pro Coach and Kettlewell Fuels for their support during the year. On a pleasant late September Sunday over 80 girls congregated at Clifton Alliance CC in York for the annual end-of-season tournament. Eight teams took part, split into a senior and junior tournament, with the hosts looking after the players and spectators throughout. The senior event was won by North Stainley whilst the nail-biting junior event was eventually won by Bolton Percy, based on losing fewer wickets throughout the day. We are always looking for more volunteers but have an excellent, proactive, committee who continuously drive the development of the League and the district. John Skinner

South Yorkshire Women and Girls Cricket Development Group It has been a challenging year. The Bronze pathway was disappointing in terms of numbers of girls attending and also in terms of parental feedback. Friday night training sessions were also less well attended in the early part of the year than they had been previously. As the year developed, it became apparent that the group had become too reliant on a few individuals who were carrying a lot of the weight and pressure of running the group. In the early season we were unable to provide the regular weekly outdoor training sessions as we had in previous years. We did however put on some ad-hoc outdoor sessions. Significant efforts were made by a number of individuals to ensure that all cricketing commitments were fulfilled (sometimes at very short notice!) and, as far as matches were concerned, there were some enjoyable games (mainly for the younger age groups) although not so many successful results. Ampleforth was a highlight for the U13s. The U15s were thwarted by the weather to some extent and by clashes with the school calendar. We have been far more successful than in previous years in our representation at County level. An interim change of leadership in May was confirmed at the AGM in November and an ambitious plan to develop the group was set in motion. This included the arrival of Kevin Gresham earlier in the year as Director of Coaching, a significant funding application and a re-focusing on the quality of the provision together with a plan to establish stronger links with clubs and schools in the area. This renewed energy appears to be bearing fruit already with significantly higher numbers at training sessions, among them a cohort of younger girls who will hopefully develop into a strong group in coming years. There is also a developing network of willing parents who are taking on some of the important background roles within the group. As a group, we are looking forward to the next few years with the hope that we can develop district cricket in South Yorkshire into something bigger and better than has ever been before and fully play our part in the Yorkshire scene. Paul Middleton

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J - DISABILITY CRICKET 1. REPORT FROM DISABILITY CRICKET Over the course of 2015 we have expanded the project in schools to over 56 SEN schools in the county. Competitions have gone from strength to strength with a regional competition, both indoor and outdoor, in each region plus county finals having 10 SEN Specific comps. This is down to the hard work from the Disability Engagement Officer and The Sheffield Spinners Tom Bates. We have expanded our mental health programme with 10 centres having 8 weeks-worth of cricket. The view is to expand this into a league in 2016 to provide a route for all participants. This will be countywide with the top two teams to progress to the national finals at Lords. Table Cricket is a new developing product with 3 leagues over the South and West Yorkshire. These have been highly successful and 2016 promises to have more areas taking part. Lord Taverners have funded a school project, which will be piloted in south Yorkshire for 2016/17 academic years. The county PD/LD Team had an up-and-down season which was a learning curve for a lot of our players. We signed on 15 new members all under 20 showing we have development for the future. Haydon Coventry has stepped down from his role as team manager and Charlie Roebuck will take over with Tom Bates appointed Head Coach. In the 2016 season we will be entering one team to develop the younger players for the future. 2015 saw over 2300 hours of coaching and match play in various formats from Table Cricket, Schools, Inter and Intra competitions and mental health. This shows the expansion of the project with 56 schools hit, 10 mental health centres, 24 teams in the Table Cricket competition, 2 county team PD/LD and 2 VI Teams plus community centre based activity.

We have current links with 20 community centres delivering various activities from Table Cricket to normal cricket. This allows opportunities in the local area outside of school activity. The progression will be community-based leagues through CP Sport. We are working with a number of key partners to enhance the programme. These include the CSP’s, Lords Taverners, CP Sport, community centres, NHS, Creative minds. Charlie Roebuck . PHYSICAL AND LEARNING SQUAD Please see report on Disability Cricket above. YORKSHIRE VI CRICKET Rob Arrowsmith stepped down in October as Secretary and has been replaced by Dean Wilcox. John Garbett is Development Officer. It was a steady season for the Yorkshire VI cricket club after they lost a few players through injury and retirement during last winter. This meant that some of the younger players were drafted into the team and they equipped themselves reasonably well during 2015. The Yorkshire VI CC were knocked out of the T20 cup at the quarter-final stage by the eventual winners Sussex Sharks and managed to reach the semi-finals of the National Knockout Cup, where they were well beaten by the

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London Metro team. A very creditable fourth place was attained in the national league, which was much better than anticipated at the start of the season. The development team also contained a number of new and young players and although they achieved mixed results, both the members and the club as a whole continued to grow and we now move into serious winter training with everyone is very much looking forward to 2016. Taf Naqvi won the national individual Fielder of the Year Award and Atif Rafiq was given an award for his services to Yorkshire VI cricket over the past 6 years. The club is always on the lookout for new players of all ages and abilities. John Garbett

K - BLACK MINORITY ETHNIC CRICKET 1. REPORT FROM THE BLACK AND MINORITY ETHNIC FORUM The BME Forum met 3 times in 2015. The Forum provides a lively, passionate and healthy debate and they are a very strong group. Membership of the Forum has been maintained during the year and includes active representatives from all BME areas. The Forum is chaired by YCB Director, Umar Rafiq. A small BME Working Party has been set up to help support the delivery of high quality programmes in the Development Centres and creates opportunities to find future funding streams which is chaired by Taj Butt who is the Community Development Officer for the South Asian Communities project in Leeds and Bradford. The Working Party has met twice this year. A report on the 10 BME/Inner City Development Centres active in 2015 is included in Yorkshire Cricket BME/Inner City Dev under Item 2 Club and Scheme Development above Andrew Watson

L - COACH EDUCATION

1. REPORT FROM THE YORKSHIRE CRICKET COACHES ASSOCIATION The last 6 months has seen a significant change in the structure of coach education in the County. The introduction of the Coach Education and Membership Services team in July was the brainchild of Andrew Watson (Executive Director) to bring the membership services under the Yorkshire Cricket Coach Education brand. Prior to this we ran a number of Coach Education Roadshows around the County to gather insight into clubs and coaches needs and wants. In the past there have been numerous attempts to re-align the CA branches but unfortunately none of these have been effective in offering consistent CPD opportunities for our members. Along with Coach Education courses we plan to organise CPD opportunities centrally rather than relying on volunteers. These people have done a tremendous job over the years but to get consistency across the County is now a challenge for the CEMS team. We have visited a number of Area Council meetings, League meetings, Cricket Development groups and various forums to raise the awareness of what coach education and membership services offer. The November 2015 conference was a great success and thanks must go to Chris Brice and the team at Pro Coach for their considerable input, Kevin Gresham YCCA Secretary and David Tighe for their administration efforts. Presentations by Andrew Gale, Richard Pyrah and Griffiths and Hartley Physiotherapy were practical, current and enjoyable. These provided up-to-date information that will enhance our coaches’ knowledge. Thanks must go to

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YCCC for their support, including information on the website and social media. About 50 delegates attended the conference; I would hope we can grow these numbers year-on-year for what is our flagship event. I would like to take this opportunity to thank a number of people on the day for their help and support to ensure the smooth running of the conference. Please encourage all qualified coaches to join the ECBCA. Through the CEMS we are planning local opportunities as well as members receiving the excellent National offer from the ECBCA. We are looking at new ways to grow the membership of the ECBCA Yorkshire branch (YCCA) with the YCB, YCCC and YCF working closely to succeed. We are all driving in the same direction delivering the same message. Our mission is simple, Grow Participation by Engaging and Retaining players in the game. Dale Kerruish 2. REPORT ON COACH EDUCATION This year saw an increase in the number of Coach Award Courses with 10 ECB Certificate in Coaching Children and 6 ECB Certificate in Coaching Young People and Adults courses being run. This meant that approximately 160 were qualified at the Coaching Children level and 100 were qualified at the Coaching Young People and Adults level. The coaching children courses included 2 which were aimed at overseas professionals. In addition there were 4 Cricket Activator, 1 Cricket for Teachers Secondary, 4 Cricket for Teachers Primary, 11 Coach Support Worker, 1 on-line Safeguarding Young Cricketers and 1 UKBA Health and Safety courses organised. The UKBAHS course is for overseas professionals who have been qualified for 3 years or more as it is a requirement for them to attend as a refresher on coaching in nets and to upgrade their Safeguarding Young Cricketers certificate. Next year we are hoping that the demand for courses will be greater with the advent of the new Coach CPD workshops and Coaching Diploma Course. As always, my thanks go to the team of course organisers and tutors/assessors for their help during the year. David Tighe

M - OFFICIALS 1. REPORT FROM THE YCB OFFICALS ASSOCIATION Participation in sport continues to decline. Retaining membership numbers, which is what ACO has done, both nationally and at County level, is to be considered a success. The reasons for the fall in participation in cricket are being addressed. Yorkshire is by far the largest of the 39 counties that make up the ECB area. At the end of October 2015 we had 954 current members, an increase of approximately 30 members on the previous year. Significantly there has been a reduction in new members joining the Association, and the improvement has been in reducing the drop-out. The player surveys that have been undertaken indicate that cricket officials are appreciated as an essential part of the game, and a major part of players’ enjoyment of the game. The development of well trained and competent officials is therefore essential for the future of the sport. Yorkshire is represented on the ACO Board by Philip Radcliffe, the Yorkshire Chairman, who is also Chairman of the Northern Region. Glyn Pearson is Northern Executive Officer for ECB ACO. Terry Bentham has just stepped down as County Performance Officer. His supported development of officials, particularly in South Yorkshire, has helped a

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number of members start to fulfill their potential, and his good work must be continued by others. Rob Smith continues as County Education Officer, but is now the Regional Education Officer as well, just as Dave Ward is the Regional Appointments Officer, as well as County Appointments Officer. Hilary Oliver is County Scorers Officer, and Steve Ward is the Regional Scorers Officer. Although YCB ACO is in a strong position, there is still work to be done. The ultimate aim is to see all umpires and scorers trained and qualified, and members of the Association. Steven Wood

N - GROUNDS 1. REPORT FROM YCB GROUNDSMANS ASSOCIATION

2015 saw the AGM revert to its usual springtime slot and our thanks go to New Rover Cricket Club for their hospitality for this event. At the AGM it was agreed that the current officials remain in post until an Extra-ordinary General Meeting can be arranged to dissolve the Yorkshire Cricket Boards Groundsmen Association and create a new independent body. The EGM was held in October where the proposal to dissolve the YCB GA and create the independent Yorkshire Cricket Grounds Association was passed. The new body saw a slight change in the main officials in as much as Malcom Maw stepped down as chairman to take up the Vice Chair role and Carl Parkin was elected Chairman. Richard Webster was elected as Treasurer and the new constitution was accepted by the members present. The Annual General Meeting of the YCGA will next take place around October 2016. The new Association will also have representatives from YCB, Institute of Groundsmanship, and the four ECB/YCB Premier Leagues, the County Pitch Advisors as well as the partner leagues which enroll their clubs “en-bloc”. This expanded management team has great ambitions for the new body with additional courses, more support to the members, links to trusted professional suppliers and many other exciting developments. The YCGA will continue to work with the Board to enable cricket in Yorkshire to flourish. Returning to the YCB GA, 2015 saw three highly successful courses run at Foundation level. Two of these at Kirkstall Educational CC to whom we offer our thanks, especially to Dave Hodgson and his daughter for their hard work in getting these courses on and feeding those attending. A third course was run as part of the South Asian Project at Manningham Mills Community Centre where a small number attended an autumn maintenance course. All of these courses were “bought in” by the YCB GA which reduced the costs considerably. During the year we have worked closely with ECB, YCB and the IoG in benchmarking the GA against the model organization the ECB & IoG would have us be. The YCGA will continue to work towards this new goal and we aim to be the GA that all others aspire to. Finally I wish to thank Andrew Watson, the Board, Graham Purdy, Lee Abbott and all at the YCB for their support during 2015. Without this the YCB GA would not have been able to exist and move to the position of being an independent body that has now been created. Martin Kingston

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O - REPORTS FROM AREA CRICKET COUNCILS 1. WEST YORKSHIRE This is the first annual report of the new combined structure for West Yorkshire following on from the vote at the AGM. We have had an average attendance of 19 for our meetings in March at Garforth CC, in June at Cleckheaton CC and in September at Blackley CC. At the 2015 AGM we agreed again to set aside an amount of money to encourage and reward Area Council attendance by affiliated bodies. I believe this reward scheme is a good way of distributing funds to those bodies that are willing to support their Area Council. Your body’s attendance is vital to ensure feedback to YCB Council. Continuing the financial theme we have actively handed out a number of small grants in support of groundsmen’s courses, helping clubs who have suffered vandalism or emergency equipment requirements, assisting Leagues with Umpires and Scorers Courses or Child Welfare purposes and made a grant to the YCBGA autumn ground work course. We have been pro-active in making enquiries into the finances of moribund cricket associations within West Yorkshire to establish if they hold funds in dormant accounts which can be collected and used by the Area Council or YCB. This work is ongoing. Our Area Council has been pro-active with feedback to the YCB Council and ECB as well as being updated with reports back from these bodies. Player retention, player loan schemes and the ECB initiative “Get the Game On” have featured in discussions. The role of Area Cricket Councils was a key topic at the YCB League Council meeting resulting in a review document being circulated to prompt Leagues to check they were dealing with all matters covered. There was also a review of the viability of Cricket Development Groups within West Yorkshire with only 3 being active. Ed Duguid agreed to produce a draft report which was entitled “The Future of CDG’s”. Members have been encouraged at the September meeting to discuss the paper at League and club level and feedback comments to Ed so that the document can be refined before general publication. The other main change instigated was that Leagues and reporting bodies were asked to submit their reports one week before the meeting so that these could be sent out with the agenda for members to be fully aware of issues. The common threads were then summarised for main discussion points at each meeting. I continue to stress that the Area Council is a chance for you and us to ensure these meetings are positive and meaningful to our current cricketing needs and issues. I am privileged to have been your Chair and to be have been part of a very committed group of cricketing personalities who want to ensure we do our utmost to promote the West Yorkshire Area Cricket. David Normanton – Chairman

Aire-Wharfe Cricket Development Group The group has a new Treasurer, David Poucher, who is keen to encourage the use of our funds but within agreed budget lines. During the year we agreed a loan and a grant to a club in order that it could access further funding. We anticipate granting a significant sum to a number of local candidates who successfully complete a Level Two coaching course. Meetings continue to be held to coincide with the cycle of Airedale Junior Cricket League with whom we have a healthy relationship and partnership. Brian Wheeler

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Bradford West Cricket Development Group The Group started in early 2006 and the aims and objectives of the Group continue to be: to promote cricket for the local communities in and around West Bradford, to provide support and development opportunities for clubs that operate within the general area of West Bradford, to provide all its services in a way that is fair to all clubs that join the Group and to ensure equal access to all Clubs within the West Bradford area. We have met 3 times in 2015, in February, May and September. We intend to continue to meet at this frequency. The important thing is for us to make our work both practical and relevant for the Clubs we serve. Some of the main things we did in 2015 included considering the future of CDGs (a paper we prepared for both the YCB Council and West Yorkshire Area Council), which considered how we can make the CDGs more relevant to our Clubs, and show how we can add value to their work in the community and really make a difference to Local Clubs. We hope to work more closely with the YCB’s Cricket Development Manager to create a model which is as flexible as possible for different local needs. We still believe local CDGs can work with Cricket Development Managers to support Clubs. We will be visiting local Clubs in West Yorkshire in 2016 to encourage them to attend their local CDG.

We have organised and supported cricket coaching courses for our Clubs. We send a lot of information from the YCB and West Yorkshire Sports and others about the availability of courses. We again organised one of the new courses (YPs & Adults) to ensure we train as many new coaches as possible. 18 people completed the Course. We have looked at what is required for next year and will work with the new YCB Coach Education Team to ensure we get people from local Clubs on the right courses for them. People have told us they prefer locally organised courses. The YCB’s Coach Education Co-ordinator will be attending our January 28

th meeting. We also provided a

subsidy from our CDG funds to members of local clubs towards their attendance at Courses, etc. from the funds we have accumulated by good husbandry of our work, and will continue to do this wherever we can.

We have reviewed the ECB’s Survey of Players and ex-players and supported the push to reduce the number of players leaving the game between the ages of 14 and 24. We tried to organise an Indoor Tournament in the autumn of 2014 and in the end have liaised with “Last Man Stands” to promote Indoor leagues in West Yorkshire and in Bradford, in particular, identifying local Sports Centres where necessary. LMS are now running winter tournaments in our area open to our Local Clubs. Our own website (which we admit could be better!) was also maintained and is where we keep a Library of most of the key information we receive, which is available to any Club who misses our meetings or mailings. We have agreed to look at a re-vamp of the website in 2016, using Calderdale’s model as an example of Good Practice.

We have set up arrangements between our smaller local clubs and their Schools and introduced the Chance to Shine Programme into these schools in partnership with the YCB. We ran Chance to Shine projects in 9 of our local schools, partnering with 5 separate local clubs. We are also intending to offer a “How to Run an Effective Junior Section” Course in 2016. We offered to carry out a “Clubmark Audit” for some of our smaller Local Clubs, who have often started the process but have been unable to complete it. A number of Clubs have asked to be included in this programme which is now on-going.

We continue to attend YCB Forums and ensure all information from these is sent on and its relevance explained to Local Clubs. In particular, the Secretary remains on the YCB Council to ensure any feedback from Clubs and Bradford West is passed back up the chain to the YCB. The local Cricket Development Manager continues to attend our meetings and to answer any queries when necessary. Any information we receive we pass on to our Clubs. At our meetings our Clubs share what they have been doing or are planning to do and Clubs help each other by explaining how they have managed to implement various initiatives within their clubs, whether organisational or practical (e.g. applying for grants, building new facilities, etc.). Many Clubs find this aspect of our meeting very helpful in delivering their own development plans.

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We have liaised with local Clubs to support Project Front Foot and send kit and other items to India to this project which helps get Street Children into cricket. We will continue to do this as many of our Clubs have supported this initiative. Finally we are carrying out an Annual Review of Priorities which we do every year to see what do our clubs want or need. It is important for us to keep in touch with them to see what our Clubs really need. Many thanks to all the Clubs and their members who have supported the Bradford West CDG over the last year Ed Duguid

Calderdale Cricket Development Group Meetings were held on 11

th February, 15

th April and 21

st October 2015 and regular agenda items discussed at each

meeting were: Clubmark updates by Stephen Williams, Course updates by Peter Butterfield, Girls cricket in Calderdale by John Cliff and Website updates by Andy Prosser. Additional topics included Steve Archer gave a report on the changes due to take place regarding Clubmark and he provided a questions-and-answers paper for reference and Andrew Watson from YCB gave a detailed presentation on the proposed new Pyramid Structure. Updates were also given from Steve Archer on Small Grants schemes, Community First Grants, School/Club Partnerships and NatWest Cricket Force and an YCB/CDG Forum update from Stephen Williams. Other reports included West Yorkshire Area Council Meeting Report (John Cliff), Coach Training and Continuous Development Training details (Peter Butterfield), Halifax Cricket League Training Programme (Neil Myers), New Pathways Scheme (Neil Myers) and A Coach Education Presentation was given by Dale Kerruish and Kevin Gresham from the Yorkshire Cricket Board. Julie Pearson Huddersfield Cricket Development Group The Huddersfield CDG has held 2 meetings in 2015, and, whilst all clubs are welcome and invited, in the main attendance is still made up of clubs from within the Holme Valley area (around 9 in total). These clubs continue to take advantage of priority booking slots for indoor nets at the Holmfirth Sports Centre and once again in 2015 were instrumental in the organisation and delivery of a successful Boys Academy. All clubs continue to ‘adopt’ a local primary school and fully support YCB endorsed schools competitions. Delivered at the meetings was a presentation on the 2015 National Player survey outcomes and impact on the game etc, also a presentation by the YCB Coach Education Services team, explaining the new coach education structure and remodelled coach education courses, together with agreement reached to deliver courses at the facility. Spen Valley CDG Leeds CDG Wakefield Bradford North / South Despite numerous attempts no meetings have been held in 2015 with any of the above groups. It appears that clubs in these areas don’t attach any significance to the concept of a Cricket Development Ggroup and can receive information/support in other ways. The YCB has no desire to ‘force’ CDGs upon clubs and therefore won’t continue to attempt to hold meetings for clubs in these areas. The successful and well established

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Calderdale and West Bradford CDGs will continue as they are led and driven by clubs who all feel attendance is to their benefit. Possibly the closer links and work with leagues, as a result of ECB initiatives such as the National Player Survey and Get the Game On campaign, will enable the YCB to pass out information via league secretaries and also the strength and attendance of the West Yorkshire area Council provides an opportunity to deliver any information to clubs. Steve Archer 2 EAST YORKSHIRE 2015 started with the usual Annual Meeting where all the existing officials were re-elected. The Council, which has three very active CDG’s, represents clubs from the coast to the A19 and from the Humber to the A166 with some even beyond these limits. The council has also met a further twice during the year with every meeting well attended by the leagues, development groups, coaches, officials and groundsmen. The reports from these representatives show that cricket in East Yorkshire continues to be in reasonable health but we cannot rest. Unfortunately since the end of the season I have to report the demise of a major club in Fenner Cricket Club. This is a major loss to local cricket. Other than this other clubs are surviving and continue to support the re-structuring of Yorkshire Cricket. East Yorkshire has also seen a reduction in facilities as some schools have closed sports hall use by outside organisations, this is affecting winter training and coaching. Following a successful launch in 2014 the Hull Indoor League re-commenced in November and a new one in Beverley has commenced. The further expansion to Bridlington has not yet been formed but hopes are high for 2016. This is thanks to our CDM Joe Ashdown. Once again the Last Man Stands franchise was successfully run around Hull. However there was no increase in adult participation as some teams just played their first team players. The East Yorkshire Junior League struggled in 2015 with a number of clubs not fulfilling their fixtures. This has led to thoughts of the league contracting in 2016. Junior Representative cricket was played at a number of different venues but, however, costs for running these East Yorkshire sides has proved very expensive so changes will need to be made for 2016. A new co-ordinator is to be sought for the Representative/District teams. Schools cricket has seen two new competitions attract more teams particularly in state schools. East Yorkshire Officials have held a number of meetings that have formed an introduction to umpiring and scoring. These will be followed up with further training days. The Groundsmens Association has also seen continued support from East Yorkshire clubs at their courses. Finance has been an on-going theme at all EY ACC meetings in 2015 and this has been reported back to the YCB. The YCB has undertaken an action plan to look at the geographical position of all clubs in Yorkshire so that funding to ACC’s and CDG’s can be distributed on a fairer basis. Martin Kingston East Yorkshire Northern Cricket Development Group The Northern Cricket Development Group met in February and November this year with Joe Ashdown, CDM, chairing the first meeting and Carl Parkin being appointed as chair during the summer. The group have decided to have themed meetings and really focus on one or two points in the night. The clubs that attend the meetings are provided with specific information that contributes to supporting the grassroots game at local and county level. The group is also a sounding board for any new formats of the game. They also take an active role in supporting the Chance to Shine Programme, Adult Participation schemes and junior cricket.

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The more clubs that attend the more beneficial it will be for all. We like to share best practice and generate new, innovative ways of running and managing cricket clubs. Joe Ashdown (CDM East Yorkshire) Goole & Selby Area Cricket Development Group. The Goole and Selby Area Cricket Development Group held 2 meetings in 2015 which were useful for the exchange of information, particularly with some of our clubs making use of the ECB Small Grants scheme and CricketForce funding. The meetings were chaired by the Yorkshire Cricket Development Manager Joe Ashdown. Joe provided valuable information to support grass roots cricket and encouraged participation in coaching schemes. First Aid courses were organised and successful. Invitations were sent out to around 25 Clubs in the local area with about 10 Clubs regularly attending.

David Caldicott Hull Cricket Development Group The Hull Cricket Development Group met in three times this last year with Joe Ashdown, CDM, chairing the meetings. The clubs that attend the meetings are provided with specific information that contributes to supporting the grassroots game at local and county level. The group is also a sounding board for any new formats of the game and they take an active role in supporting the new Adult Participation formats we have set up in East Yorkshire and also Women and Girls Participation. The group proposed a new Junior Indoor Cricket League which is due to start next week, an exciting new venture for the local U13 cricketers in the region. Joe Ashdown (Chair/CDM East Yorkshire). 3. NORTH EAST YORKSHIRE The Area Council met three times in 2015 with all local leagues represented on at least one occasion. The meetings were useful in exchanging ideas with respect to player retention and match concessions, whilst heightening understanding between the leagues. Considerable work away from the committee room took place in the Autumn in order to assist with one club’s search for a new league after the sad demise of the historic Cleveland League. The Council played a key role in gathering support from throughout the local and national cricketing communities to resolve the issue. Steve Donlan Tees Valley Cricket Development Group Seven clubs joined our YCB regional Cricket Development Manager and our community coach in November. Tees Valley Sports attended to talk attendees through the grants that are currently available. An update of the Chance to Shine scheme was given, together with a review of changes to the Clubmark system and the ECB Waitrose Small Grants Scheme. Steve Donlan 4 SOUTH YORKSHIRE Twelve months ago, the South Yorkshire SCL was almost overwhelmed by the events of leagues nearby; firstly with the disintegration of the Yorkshire League, and the consequent creation of three new leagues, one in South Yorkshire, to absorb the Yorkshire League clubs along with clubs from feeder leagues; and secondly with the difficulties being encountered by the South Yorkshire Cricket Alliance, which was losing players and clubs at an

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alarming rate. Twelve months later, and due to a lot of work undertaken by a number of people, there are two success stories to report. Firstly, with much assistance from Rob Ritchering of the York and District League, and Roger Pugh an umpire with the Yorkshire League, the Yorkshire League South was born, comprising 5 South Yorkshire Teams and 2 Lincolnshire Teams from the Yorkshire League, 4 from the SYSCL and 1 from the Central Yorkshire League. We await to see how the Yorkshire League South season will unfold from April 2016. Secondly, the South Yorkshire Cricket Alliance (SYCA) joined the SYSCL at the beginning of season 2015. This entailed splitting divisions 3, 4, and 5 into east and west sections, and three (now 4) members of the SYCA Management Committee joining the SYSCL Management Committee. This appears to have given the former SYCA Committee members and Clubs a new lease of life and both have certainly made a major contribution to the SYSCL. It has also made a section of the SYSCL teams, playing at the lower levels, happy to consider changes, particularly those being put forward by the ECB ‘Get it On’ campaign. The Barnsley District League has also had a very good season, with all its matches being covered by ACO member umpires. The only negative to report is in respect of the Yorkshire and Derbyshire League, which as its name suggests, is a home for a number of teams from both Counties. A number of Clubs from South Yorkshire have teams in both the SYSCL and the Y&D; the Y&D is a very well run League, and the relationship between the two Leagues is close. However, Derbyshire are now putting pressure on Clubs in Derbyshire to leave the Y&D and to join a Derbyshire League. One sanction is that juniors at Clubs that remain in the Y&D will not be considered for Derbyshire junior coaching. As a result a number of Clubs in Derbyshire are reluctantly leaving the Y&D. One wonders whether it would be beneficial for the YCB to establish a junior training facility in the south-west of the county to attract these juniors, many of whom attend private schools in Sheffield. With regard to Indoor Cricket, and whether or not it be the victory of Dearne in the National Competition, the game appears to be becoming more popular. Whereas we had one facility, which later became two and then three, we now find that we have facilities beginning to appear all over the place, and we now have 7. The hope is that during the summer, we can persuade enough Clubs to put teams into these facilities so that at the end of the year we have a number of teams appearing in the South Yorkshire Finals. In Junior Cricket last season the Ben Jessop League suffered ‘age drop’ in the U17 and U9 age groups, the latter being down to lack of parental assistance. The League widened its age range to include U18s, and also adopted the 20/20 format. The number of clubs and teams entered for 2016 is similar to 2015, and so the fall has been stemmed. It is wondered whether there is a gap to be filled between U17 and midweek/indoor cricket. Further, with clubs having difficulty recruiting volunteer managers to run certain age groups, it is queried whether the role of the manager should be divided amongst parents, firstly to get them more involved, and secondly to make the team managers role less onerous. On the bright side, more club grounds are now being fully used by one of the number of forms of the game, and indeed Sheffield and Barnsley Councils are looking at providing additional pitches. Alan Farnell Doncaster Cricket Development Group During 2014/15 the Group regrettably only met on one occasion. There was a massive transition during the period with many Doncaster Cricket Clubs from the Sheffield and Doncaster Alliance merging into the South Yorkshire Senior Cricket League. On the whole this move has been very positive. The District Cricket teams were well supported at Under 11, U13 and U15 levels. The Joe Lumb team fared less well and this group is recognised as a priority area for development in the 2016 Season. Thanks must go to Dave Greensmith for his time and effort as he has kept things ticking along. The Group has retained a reasonably healthy working cash position but will need to

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consider regenerating interest and funding if the impetus of previous years is to be maintained. Ian Cotterhill Sheffield Cricket Development Group Sheffield CDG have not held any face-to-face meetings in 2015. However the following points have been covered by email : Coach Education, Chance to Shine, Club Mark and Support and Adult Retention Michelle Smith

Barnsley Cricket Development Group In 2015 we have held 3 Development Group meetings over the year, averaging 8 clubs in attendance along with members from the Barnsley Cricket League, Barnsley Junior League and Barnsley Representative squads. The main topics that the group discussed at the meetings over the past year were funding opportunities, Kwik Cricket competitions, ECB coaching courses and the Sport England funding bid. The Coaching Children course which was partly funded by the Sport England grant that was gained by myself and Gareth Davis was arranged for the New Year for the development groups coaches to gain the Level 2 coaching qualification at a subsidised cost. 16 candidates from the Development Groups’ cricket clubs attended the course and have achieved their qualification. We have seen a slight increase in attendance from other cricket clubs in Barnsley since putting on the coaching course. The group has begun helping each other out more often with contacts for covers and ground development. Dean Smith Rotherham Cricket Development Group The Group has met on 3 occasions this year with between 8 and 12 clubs generally attending the group. The key partners that attend the group are SY Sports, Rotherham SGO`s, Voluntary Action Rotherham, RMBS and TR College. The group has focused on the links between schools, clubs and the competitions we run to help migration in assisting clubs develop their junior sections. All clubs that attend the Development Group are part of the Chance to Shine scheme and are provided with the chance to promote their clubs within the schools. We also discussed and promoted coach education courses, ensuring the right coaches access the right courses, whilst promoting the opportunity around the clubs and key partners. Funding opportunities are always discussed with a focus on ECB Small Grants and Loan schemes, in addition to Sport England funding and local area sources. NatWest Cricket Force and local project are a key talking point and selection of a flagship club is done at the group. Anston CC this year was the selected club and had the project of the development of their social area in conjunction with the Waitrose open day.

Gareth Davis

5 NORTH YORKSHIRE Due to the large geographical area the Area Council continues to operate as two regional sections. For some time the East section has been dormant. However I am delighted to report they have recently held two meetings. One of those meetings was an AGM and new officials have all been duly elected. All those involved are extremely positive and at the moment they are busy making sure they have contact with all bodies and organisations in the area. Their new secretary is Rob Richtering and he can be contacted at rob.richtering@tiscali.co.uk. In the West we have held three meetings, which have all been reasonably attended. It is often difficult to make sure the correct people are being asked to attend the Area Council Meetings. The West covers the Craven and Harrogate areas. If you represent a league or organisation in that area and you are not on my circulation list then I

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would be happy to hear from you at ann.coe@btinternet.com. Our meetings alternate between Craven and Harrogate to allow the majority of people to get involved. It has been an interesting year for cricket in Yorkshire and the Yorkshire Pyramid will be launched in April. Some leagues in our area are actively involved, others are in talks to become feeder leagues and others are just sitting back waiting to see what happens. For the juniors the Pathways system has been revamped and a completely new structure has been put in place. This is to name just two of the exciting things happening. Information regarding Yorkshire Cricket is passed down through the Area Councils and likewise localised problems are discussed and information is passed back to the board. That is why we all need to get involved and attend the meetings. Junior cricket in the area continues to be strong with the Upper Airedale, Hambleton, Derwent Valley and York and District Junior Cricket Leagues running league and cup competitions across U9, U11, U13, U15 and U17 age groups. Separate representative teams from York, Scarborough and Upper Airedale were entered for Joe Lumb Cricket Competition, although I do understand the Upper Airedale is considering withdrawing from the Joe Lumb competition in season 2016. This is due to the fact it is becoming more difficult to raise a team in that age group.

Ann Coe

City of York Cricket Development Group The group has held two meetings this year and, again, attendance at each was poor. At the AGM in April the Chairman and Secretary agreed, following the death of Treasurer GB Shaw, to continue for a further year with the Secretary incorporating the post of Treasurer. The second meeting included a presentation from Dale Kerruish and Kevin Gresham and a discussion about Coach Education. The group has again subsidised attendees on Coach Education courses and has managed funding for Rachel Hildreth’s work in girls’ cricket. The Chairman and Secretary/Treasurer will both definitely be standing down at the next AGM in April 2016. Rob Smith

Galtres Cricket Development Group Perhaps surprisingly, 2016 marks the 10th anniversary of CDG’s in Yorkshire. We believe that we have made some significant advances in the Forest of Galtres area but, along with other Groups, we have a sense of frustration at our failure to involve a greater number of clubs and organisations. Our priorities in 2015 have been to continue our support for junior cricket, particularly for girls, and to continue our efforts to widen our membership to include clubs in the northern part of the Hambleton area. 2015 saw our local junior league enter teams in the Yorkshire Cricket Festival for the first time and we geared our winter coaching programme at Thirsk School to help prepare those teams. Once again we organised a CDG girls team which played with distinction in the junior league, finishing runners up in the U11 division and cup competition. Organisationally, we have re-drawn our constitution and anticipate adopting this at our January AGM when we should become the Galtres and Hambleton CDG. We are, as ever, hopeful that this will encourage a surge in activity, involvement and membership. Probably the most significant development in 2015 has been the YCB’s decision to allocate Community Coaching resources to our area, albeit on a part time basis, for the first time. Mark Jobling and also Rachel Hildreth have already made their marks in our local schools and will, we expect, enable some real development to take place in an environment where cricket has to compete with a range of other sports and activities. So we look forward to our tenth anniversary with some optimism Peter Drummond

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Scarborough and Ryedale Cricket Development Group The Scarborough and District Cricket Development Group has continued to work with key partners in order to assist local clubs in club and coach development issues. The group has again been pro-active in developing the sport and its member clubs who have been fully engaged and represented at meetings. A major positive this year has been the work of the YCB Community Cricket Coach, particularly with the delivery of the Chance to Shine programme in schools and also with an integrated cricket scheme. This will be further developed with the introduction of structured women and girls sessions, the further development of indoor leagues and also a club support programme. The group is pleased with the level of facility development in the district particularly at Wykeham CC and Snainton CC. One of this year’s highlights was seeing Mark Arthur officially open the Sport England Inspired Facilities funded double bay net system at Snainton CC. Another pleasing aspect for the group was seeing local resident and ex Whitby and Scarborough CC player: Adam Lyth represent England in the successful Ashes series Matt Hewison Harrogate Cricket Development Group The Harrogate District Cricket Development Group has had a steady year, after a year of major changes. Focusing on what it can deliver, the group has been increasing participation in schools cricket, organizing coaches for over thirty primary schools and six secondary schools. The aim is to continue this in 2016. Coach Education has been a large part of what the group has done this year as in our area we were crying out for coaches for clubs and we are delighted that with the assistance of the Coach Education Team at YCB we will have fifty new coaches in the area before the start of the year. This is a fantastic boost to the area. A lot of time was spent getting the group’s name to clubs with representatives of the group attending League meetings to give presentations on what the group can offer. There has been an increase in support and let’s hope it is the thin end of the wedge. Jonathan Corcoran

Craven Cricket Development Group The group met twice in 2015 with 8 people attending including 3 officials and Richard Wilkinson. The Craven League has introduced a new rule that Clubs must attend Development meetings in 2016. With the wide area covered by our League, Clubs can attend either Craven or West Bradford group meetings. I am not sure if Clubs realise what they have agreed to, so it will be interesting to see what happens! The re-vamp of the Chance to Shine scheme sees Pro Coach take over the running for our patch. We have arranged a coaching course through Dale Kerruish and this will be held in March 2016 at Ermysted’s Grammar School. The Pathways centre at South Craven School appears to be running well. However there was a concern expressed about the small number of Clubs in the Craven League that have junior teams. It needs to be stressed that a good junior set up leads to a strong Club. The late arrival of “Get the Game On” literature at the end of July led members to think that whilst it was a good idea, it was felt that the money getting it going showed that there was too much marketing and not enough substance. The Craven League had generated information through Play-Cricket which was being used at seminars to show what problems were occurring.

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Our chairman, Richard Webster, has visited Clubs in the Craven area and supplied reports to Craven District Council’s Sports Development officer, Bruce Dinsmore, for Non-Technical Visual Quality Assessment. As yet we had not heard the outcome of the exercise.

An umpire’s level one course was held at the end of the season and was attended by 9 umpires. Another course for Club umpires is to be held in March 2016. Four clubs in the area had been re-accredited for Clubmark, and a Safe Guarding Children course was to be held in March 2016. Trevor Coe