NOT OUT

Cricket seeks to halt falling participation, seize on success

Adecade ago, New Zealand Cricket’s success at international and community level couldn’t have been further apart.

The Black Caps were ranked eighth in test match cricket, and seventh in the 50-over game. But at home, 107,271 people were playing the game in its various formats, about 2.5 per cent of the population.

Fast-forward a decade, and the success has flipped. The Black Caps are now the top-ranked team in both test matches and One Day Internationals. They’ve made three straight world finals, one in each format of the game. But at community level, numbers have plummeted, with 68,383 people now playing the sport – roughly 1.3 per cent of the population.

Analysing the rise of the Black Caps is happening across the country, and around the world. In fact, New Zealand Cricket has commissioned a review by lawyer and former board member Don Mackinnon to better understand their success.

But that success has come at a cost, with NZ Cricket’s high performance arm being prioritised ahead of the community game.

Now, cricket officials are working to arrest the slide, and capitalise on the success of their flagship national team.

Kent Stead, head of community cricket at NZC, said some of the momentum in community cricket was lost a decade ago. ‘‘Up until 2010 we had in place a national development plan – that was from 1998 to 2010 – that created really strong alignment across the country in terms of what was delivered and the experience that people were having. Unfortunately, at the time that was moved away from and so some of that delivery became a little bit splintered. It created a bit of a disconnect across the country.’’

There are a number of issues cricket faces when trying to attract people to the sport.

People still have a perception that cricket is a game for white men who wear whites and spend all Saturday out on a cricket field, shouting ‘‘howzat’’ at a gentleman wearing a wide-brim hat. Everyone has heard someone say they would rather watch paint dry or grass grow than watch a game of cricket.

Those perceptions are tough to break, but Stead is working on it.

‘‘It’s perceived to be boring, and it’s for white, middle class males,’’ Stead said. ‘‘But I guess the reality is, we’ve certainly moved away from that, and for a long time it hasn’t looked anything like that.’’

At junior levels, Stead said the game has been changed dramatically to get away from the old image of cricket, and bring fun and excitement. For nine to 12 year olds, games are now much shorter, have fewer players to emphasise scoring, and give more of a backyard cricket feel to the sport.

It’s all about engagement. ‘‘We’ve had really positive feedback from [the changes]. It’s challenging for some, I think, because those who are more traditionally minded with cricket have a memory of how they learned their cricket, and it doesn’t look like that now.’’

The call of ‘‘it’s just not cricket’’ is a common phrase used by the traditionalists, but tweaking the format is having positive results.

In Porirua, cricket had essentially disappeared from the sporting landscape until recently. A couple of years ago, none of the secondary schools in Porirua – Aotea College, Mana College, Porirua College and Bishop Viard College – had a cricket team.

Aotea College now has a boys’ side, and is working on getting a girls’ team together, but it’s absent from the other schools.

The city is also without a cricket club. The closest cricket hub is in Tawa, where Tawa College remains strong and the North City Cricket Club has good player numbers.

Matt Wills, Cricket Wellington’s head of community cricket, said the organisation was trying to move back into the Porirua region.

‘‘Cricket historically, for the past five or 10 years, has retreated a bit from the northern part of Wellington,’’ Wills said. ‘‘In the senior space, there’s no real club out there. Porirua juniors do a good job, but in general there’s not a lot of cricket out there.’’

While boys’ cricket continues to struggle in Porirua, girls are picking up the game in encouraging numbers. A programme called Yeah! Girls has been set up across the country, and has been particularly successful in Porirua with hundreds of girls taking part.

Frances Stewart is the community manager of women’s and girls cricket in Wellington, and said Yeah! Girls has girls play modified versions of cricket with a soft ball and plastic bat.

‘‘Sometimes we use different ball sizes depending on the girls’ ability, so it’s really easy to scale the programme up and down depending on what they’re able to do. It really sets them up for success and encourages them to come back,’’ Stewart said. ‘‘We get lots of girls coming back, and a few of the girls go on to play club cricket and I think that’s why we’re seeing so many girls teams playing.’’

Last year there were 22 women’s club teams across the Wellington region, but that’s increased to 37 teams this year. ‘‘Yeah! Girls has been really important for that,’’ Stewart said.

But as players step up to the club game, or any more traditional format of cricket, other challenges arise as a result.

One factor in Porirua secondary schools aborting cricket as a sport has been cost, and it’s an issue Stead said can’t be easily remedied.

For a junior cricketer, buying the cheapest gear costs more than half a week’s wages for the average wage earner. They need a bat, pads, gloves, helmet and shoes, not to mention the possibility of those dreaded whites. Playing fees sit on top of all of that.

For a parent on minimum wage, you’re looking at up to a week’s wages to deck a child out in the required equipment.

Black Caps and White Ferns sponsor ANZ does have a programme where they buy equipment for sports clubs or college teams, but it can’t cater to everyone.

‘‘It is a barrier,’’ Stead said. ‘‘One thing we’ve been working really hard on is, for those that are just exploring and wanting to find out more about what cricket is, the last thing we want is for them to go out and spend a significant amount on equipment. But you do reach a level in cricket where, using a hard ball, you need protective equipment, and it costs what it costs.’’

All the barriers to youth participation in cricket have led to a situation where very few tamariki Mā ori or Pasifika children play the sport.

At an elite level, there are few Mā ori or Pasifika players to aspire to. Ross Taylor is of Samoan descent, while Trent Boult of the Black Caps, and White Ferns like Suzie Bates and Lea Tahuhu are Mā ori.

To try to appeal to more diverse groups, cricket officials have started national and regional Mā ori representative sides, and have a relationship with Cricket Australia for matches against indigenous Australian teams. They’re also trying to appeal to the Pasifika community by integrating kilikiti into grassroots programmes.

‘‘A programme that’s being run in Wainuiomata is dedicated to kilikiti,’’ Stead said.

Kilikiti is a variation of cricket formed in Samoa. The bats can be more than a metre long, and are based on the lapalapa, a three-sided Samoan war club.

Stewart said it was hoped the programme would be popular in Wainuiomata.

‘‘NZC have been really great at sourcing some authentic bats that have been made in Samoa, so we’re hoping they arrive ahead of term one, and then we can work with some schools to work on this kilikiti based hub.

‘‘I think it’s really important that we go into it trying to support what’s already happening. We can’t go in dictating, this is how you play cricket. We have to see what’s already happening in the communities, and ask what support do you guys need to help provide better experiences?’’

Player numbers across almost every playing district have increased over the past few years, and officials now feel they’re on the right path to player growth.

Having world champion teams doesn’t hurt, and the Black Caps and White Ferns are aiding community development by attending school visits and community events.

The Black Caps, for instance, attended dozens of virtual school visits while in lockdown after their World Test Championship victory.

White Ferns players are also hugely popular among girls, with hundreds turning out to Super Smash Twenty20 games to specifically watch their local heroes.

Wellington Blaze games, for instance, get good numbers of female supporters, who often leave before the Wellington Firebirds men’s game begins soon after.

‘‘Our biggest challenge at the moment is making sure that we maximise the support we have,’’ Stead said. ‘‘Wouldn’t it be great if we could be the number one sport in New Zealand.’’