Richard Thompson hopes to make cricket “the most inclusive sport in the country” after seeing a new state-of-the-art venue open in Bradford.
A £1.5million, 10-bay all-weather cricket dome opened at Bradford Park Avenue cricket ground on Friday, the first of its kind anywhere in the world.
The facility features two 40 x 20-metre covered domes with lighting, a real-life like cricket surface and a retractable netting system which fully replicates the features of an elite indoor facility, allowing for both training and matches to be played.
Funded by the England and Wales Cricket Board in partnership with City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, the new facility could provide cricket sessions for around 10,000 people from the local community annually.
ECB chair Thompson is excited by the opportunities that the facility could provide for boys and girls in the area, and to open the sport up to ethnic minorities.
He told the PA news agency: “It is essential. It is everything. My ambition for cricket is for it to become the most inclusive sport in the country.
“You’ve got to do that by taking barriers down. This is a community facility, anyone can play here.
“So if people wants to play in Bradford they can, whatever the weather and whatever the day. So from that perspective, we need to replicate that fast because there are other areas where it is just as great. But Bradford is a hotbed of enthusiasm for cricket so this is the obvious place to start.”
Previously, Bradford Park Avenue had an outdoor nets facility but this will now enable local cricketers to play all year round and in any weather.
The investment is also good news for Yorkshire, who were punished for their handling of allegations of racism and bullying by former player Azeem Rafiq and a failure to address systemic use of racist and discriminatory language over a prolonged period.
Thompson now hopes the facility can help restore pride to the club.
He added: “Hopefully this gives Yorkshire the sense of pride and a feel-good factor back.
“They can say we have the first facility of this type anywhere in the world, it is truly world class and in that sense there is no county that needed it and deserved it more.
“The ECB couldn’t be prouder, the partnership we are in with Yorkshire, the council, local MP, all of that to pull this together. Things like this have a lot of moving pieces to them but now to see it built is absolutely outstanding.
The new facility is the first to be built in the world but the ECB does not want the good work to stop here after sites in Luton and Walsall have also been identified to build something similar.
Thompson said: “We are putting one into Walsall, and have identified three or four other sites.
“It is incredibly exciting for Bradford but probably even more exciting for the game. I’m particularly pleased that this has come from Bradford Park Avenue and Yorkshire. A hotbed of interesting cricket, it’s the first facility of its kind anywhere in the world and it’s not very often you can say that.
“To hear bat on ball played as we speak is a nice feeling given the weather today.”
Salt century gives England winning start to West Indies T20 series
Phil Salt hit a superb century as England drew first blood in their T20 series against West Indies, with a commanding eight-wicket victory at the Kensington Oval.
Salt's unbeaten 103 off 54 balls was the highlight for the tourists, who successfully chased down their target of 183 with 19 balls to spare.
The West Indies endured a difficult start and were reduced to 18-3 and later 117-8, with Saqib Mahmood (4-34) and Adil Rashid (3-32) doing the damage.
However, the hosts managed 65 runs in the last 5.2 overs to finish at 182-8, with Gukadesh Motie knocking 33 off 14 balls along the way.
Salt kick-started England's chase with 50 off just 25 deliveries taking them to 73-1 after six overs, with Will Jacks (17) dismissed with the final ball of the powerplay.
Jos Buttler's first match after four months out lasted just three minutes, as the skipper was caught by Motie for a golden duck.
However, it proved a false dawn for West Indies, with Salt and Jacob Bethall (58 from 36 balls) safely steering England to victory.
Data Debrief: Salt completes hat-trick of hundreds as Bethell makes historic half-century
England put their disappointing ODI series behind them, making history with the highest T20 chase at the Kensington Oval.
Salt was the hero with his third T20I century, all of which have come against West Indies in the past 12 months.
Bethell also made history on Saturday. Aged 21 years and 17 days, he become the youngest England player to score a 50 in a T20I.
Asalanka leads Sri Lanka to ODI series win over West Indies
Sri Lanka wrapped up the ODI series against the West Indies with a five-wicket victory in Pallekele.
The hosts successfully chased down their opponents' total of 189, giving them an unassailable 2-0 in the three-match series.
Sri Lanka controlled the early powerplay - Asitha Fernando (3-35) and Maheesh Theekshana (3-25) took two wickets apiece to leave the tourists at 31-4 in the ninth over.
Wanindu Hasaranga (4-40) then claimed three of his four wickets as Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh and Alzarri Joseph were all dismissed in the space of 14 balls.
However, Sherfane Rutherford (80 off 82 balls) and Gudakesh Motie (50 not out) steadied the ship to take the Windies from 58-8 to 189.
Although Joseph claimed Avishka Fernando (9) in the fourth over, Nishan Madushka and Sadeera Samarawickrama both chipped in with contributions of 38 to get the hosts to 112-4.
Skipper Charith Asalanka (62 not out) led the charge thereon, while Kamindu Mendis (11) comfortably got them over the line with 34 balls remaining.
Data Debrief: Rutherford-Motie historic stand proves academic for tourists
West Indies were looking to level the series, but their hopes were not aided by Sri Lanka's impressive bowling.
Rutherford and Motie did their best. Their partnership brought 119 runs, which is their nation's highest ninth-wicket stand in ODI history, breaking the previous record of 85 between Yannic Cariah and Alzarri Joseph.
However, it ultimately proved in vain as the hosts secured the series with a game to spare.
'I was a tired, grumpy old man' - Stokes apologised to England team-mates after Pakistan defeat
Ben Stokes says he apologised to his England team-mates after his frustrations were evident during the second-Test defeat by Pakistan.
The hosts levelled the three-Test series on Thursday after wrapping up a 152-run win in Multan.
However, it could have been a different story but for fielding errors at crucial stages for the visitors, Jamie Smith and Joe Root notably dropping catches to dismiss Salman Agha, whose subsequent knock of 63 helped Pakistan seal victory with a day to spare.
Stokes, who returned to action following a hamstring injury, could not hide his frustration during a difficult day for England, but insisted he would not let his emotions get the better of him again.
"No one means to drop catches, but it just proves how important catches are in these subcontinent conditions, they don't come along that often," he told Sky Sports.
"I actually apologised to the group last night. It's the first time in my captaincy that I've let my emotions and how I was feeling with the way the game was unfolding show in my body language.
"I owned up to that and was very annoyed at myself for letting that out. It's something that I don't want to do or be seen to be doing, so I apologised to the group about that.
"Poor old me, I was a tired, grumpy old man last night! You won't see that happen again."
However, England coach Brendon McCullum defended the actions of his skipper.
"We all know how passionate Ben is, how much it means for him to play for England," he said.
"We've seen that through his bloody-mindedness to get back from injury, which was significant, and to do so in a nine-week timeframe and to have his first TM [Test match] in extreme conditions, 40 degrees, and be able to give what he gave to the side.
"I think, maybe, that's where some of that frustration led to - certainly, it wasn't directed at any of the players. It was more about trying to assess the rhythm of the game, and to impact on it."
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