ECB faces cuts to £35m government grassroots funding pledge

A plan to invest £35m of government funding into grassroots cricket to help revive the game in state schools is said to be severely under threat in Wednesday's Budget.

A source close to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has told BBC Sport the pledge made by former prime minister Rishi Sunak in April is susceptible to fiscal cuts.

The cash injection was to be delivered over the next five years with one of the major aims to improve access to cricket for those outside of private education.

However, payments made to the ECB from that initiative were stopped shortly after July's general election with no indication when they might restart.

Lisa Nandy, the Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, and Sports Minister Stephanie Peacock have both held meetings with the ECB over the past few weeks to discuss the future of cricket.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport declined to comment, but it is understood they plan to make further decisions on future funding for grassroots sport after the spending review.

Government officials are also satisfied with the efforts made by the governing body to bring the sport to as wide an audience as possible in the wake of a critical report by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket in June 2023.

But with Chancellor Rachel Reeves looking to make tax rises and spending cuts in the Budget to the value of £40bn to address a "blackhole" in public finances, the package is on course to take a hit.

The ECB has been told it will not find out the full extent of the cuts until next spring when departmental allocations are set, but government sources indicate they have been braced for a major funding setback.

When funding investment was announced earlier this year ex-England cricketer Ebony Rainford-Brent called it a "seminal moment" that can lead to a "generational change" within the sport.

The ECB said in its game-wide strategic plan for 2025-28 entitled 'Inspiring Generations', external that it envisaged the government funding package "turbocharging" an improvement in facilities in towns and cities for state school children.

It was hoped this would dovetail with England hosting both the women's and men's T20 World Cups in 2026 and 2030 respectively and capitalise on a surge in interest in the game.

Central to the plan to revive cricket for state schools is the construction of 16 cricket domes across England which enable local cricket to play all year round and in any weather.

A pilot dome in Bradford was opened in October 2023 at a cost of £1.5m although costs for the other domes has been estimated at £300,000.

It was hoped these domes - two more are currently in development in Luton and Walsall - would help 900,000 young people from inner-city areas play cricket by 2029.

It is understood the ECB does not have the financial contingency to plug any funding gap for the domes in the same timeframe, but they are still committed to delivering them over a much longer period.

The ECB also made commitments to deliver free cricket in 500 state secondary schools, and train up teachers to deliver cricket in PE lessons.

Equally, plans were drawn up for free cricket to 3.5m children in state primary schools and provide opportunities to play the game at schools for children with special educational needs.

The plausibility of these initiatives would also be also be question with a substantial funding shortfall.