We’re already known as one of cricket’s biggest supporters through our sponsorship of the npower Test Series, but a couple of years ago we decided to get involved at a grass roots level too. Working in partnership with the England and Wales Cricket Board, we developed the innovative Urban Cricket scheme to introduce cricket to a new, young audience, and to get children active.

62,000 kits and counting

The philosophy of Urban Cricket is to keep it simple. The kit is a plastic bat and tennis ball in an easy-to-carry case. There are no complicated rules, and there’s no need for a pitch or teams.

We’ve now delivered more than 62,000 kits to over 130 separate organisations, including councils, regeneration initiatives, police forces, schools, junior cricket clubs, community clubs and youth clubs.

England cricket stars, such as Kevin Pietersen and Monty Panesar, have helped us raise the profile even further and we’re now well on the way to building a series of cricket-specific sporting facilities in inner-city locations, called Urban Cricket Arenas. The first, in Wyck Park, Brixton, was opened in 2007.

In 2008, we built two more Urban Cricket Arenas at Abbeyfield Park in Sheffield and Highgate Park in Birmingham. Ten primary school playgrounds were also transformed into ‘Urban Cricket Zones’, with cricket markings and targets painted on the playground to encourage the children to get involved.

Find out more about Urban Cricket by visiting our cricket website.

Urban Cricket