ECB announces £450,000 drive to encourage women and minorities

Sports Minister Tracey Crouch (back row, centre) was at Lord's for the launch

The England and Wales Cricket Board has announced a £450,000 initiative to promote diversity within the game.

The scheme, funded by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) hopes to encourage more women, girls, and black and ethnic minority participants and to improve access for disabled people.

It aims to recruit 450 new coaches from black and ethnic minority communities.

It will also provide 175 coaches and mentors to improve the experience for women and girls playing cricket.

Other targets include:

• Offering 2,000 members of the South Asian community the opportunity to play indoor cricket

• Creating opportunities for 7,500 women and girls to play cricket across 1,000 cricket clubs nationwide

• Training 700 people in understanding the values and behaviours of women and girls in sport

• Conducting accessibility audits for disabled access at 16 of the 18 first-class county grounds.

Sports Minister Tracey Crouch said: "This is a fantastic initiative that will encourage thousands more women to participate in cricket and increase the number of coaches from ethnic minority backgrounds to help grow the game at the grassroots."

ECB chief executive Tom Harrison added: "Cricket is an inclusive sport and today's announcement provides us with a fantastic opportunity to encourage even more people to take up the game.

"The additional funding from EHRC will help us to do more to tap into the enthusiasm for cricket within South Asian communities, who make up nearly one third of our overall participation base."