The Lancashire Cricket Board (LCB) have taken the bold decision to expand its operation and be ‘fit for purpose’ in this ever-evolving world of sport. This bold step will enable the LCB to deliver ECB’s National Strategy for Cricket “Building Partnerships”, up to 2010, which includes the delivery of 6 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
 
KPIs: 
Increase in participation through LCB-driven activity 
Increase number of active accredited cricket clubs 
Increase number of active members of cricket clubs 
Increase number of qualified and currently active coaches and teachers delivering instruction in cricket 
Increase number of active volunteers supporting cricket 
Performance by teams and/or individuals in significant international championships and world rankings
 
Without achieving year on year targets the LCB will not be able to access funding it requires to deliver cricket programmes throughout the County.
 
The new structure includes the introduction of a Business Manager based full time out of the LCB office at the County Cricket Ground and appointment of 3 Cricket Support Officers to support the Cricket Development Managers. These Cricket Support Officers will ideally be based at the 3 County Sports Partnerships who are our key partners in the delivery of cricket.
 
The LCB have already embarked on meeting KPI 4 – Coaches, by cementing a sponsorship deal with Barclays Wealth to employ Community Cricket Coaches. Currently 11 out of the 27 Local Authorities within the County have a full time community cricket coach. This will rise to 14 this autumn/winter.
 
Tony Crook, Chairman of the LCB, said: “Since County Cricket Boards were formed some 10 years, we have evolved over the years and are now required to be more professional and run the LCB as a modern business. This is further highlighted by the Board receiving large influx of funds and demands from us are inevitably high. It is therefore imperative we expand our structure so as not to compromise our position as one of the leading County Cricket Boards in the country.”
 
Andrew Hayhurst, Director of the LCB, further commented: “When Building Partnerships was presented to County Boards, it was vital that we were able to build our workforce in order to deliver in such a large cricketing County. We have received a huge amount of support off the Board itself, private enterprise and many of our local partners to give us these opportunities. This expansion also gives people coming into cricket development the chance to pursue a structured career, something that did not exist some 3 years ago.”
 
The new structure will enable the LCB to ultimately facilitate and service our Focus Club Community Clusters, which include Focus Clubs, plus the schools and communities linked to those clubs. It is through these clubs that the LCB will be able to deliver all the outcomes through to the end of the ECB Strategy in 2010.
 
Bill Robinson, Treasurer of the LCB, further commented: “Before the LCB was formed in 1996, if we had £3,000 a year to spend on cricket development and coaching, we thought we were doing well. Next year with the additional funding from the ECB and other agencies, our turnover will be over £500,000, provided we meet all our KPIs. It is essential, therefore, that we put in place an appropriate structure to ensure that we maximise our funding for the benefit of cricket throughout Lancashire.”
 
The new LCB staffing structure to achieve our KPIs is provided below.
 
LCB Staffing Structure © 2007
 
About the Lancashire Cricket Board (LCB)
 
The LCB (National Governing Body for cricket in Lancashire) want to promote the game of cricket at all levels through partnership of the Professional and Recreational Cricketing bodies and all other appropriate agencies within Lancashire.
 
LCB works hard to promote cricket from Playground to County and in all areas including: Minority Ethnic Community cricket, Disability cricket and Women's and Girls cricket.
 
County Sports Partnerships (CSPs)
 
“A County Sports Partnership is a partnership of agencies committed to providing a high quality single system for people to benefit from sport” (Obtained from Sport England website at www.sportengland.org).
 
There are 3 CSP organisations in the LCB boundary, these include: Greater Manchester Cricket Partnership (www.greatersport.co.uk), Merseyside Sports Partnership (www.merseysidesport.com) and Lancashire Sports Partnership (www.lancashiresport.org.uk).
 

 
For more information please contact: Dipesh Asher, Lancashire Cricket Board, County Cricket Ground, Old Trafford, Manchester, M16 0PX; Tel: 0161 282 4021; Fax: 0161 374 2179; E-Mail: dasher@lccc.co.uk; Web: www.lancashirecricket.co.uk.
 
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