Recreational cricket is set for significant change in 2026 and as ever, I’ve gazed meaningfully into my tea leaves to see what’s brewing. If you want likely trends across the game and my own thoughts on how things may pan out then make yourself comfortable.
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⏮️ 2025 recap
🎉 The Hundred: Windfall
2025 recap
My predictions for 2025 were not earth-shattering but they did broadly materialise as expected. Girls cricket has been given strategic importance, funding and direction from the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and regionally where I’m based, the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation (YCF).
We can expect that to be ramped up in 2026 – with the national target of trebling the number of girls cricket teams in England and Wales needing a massive, collective push.
The ECB’s goal (as on the EDI section of their website) is ‘6,000 volunteers recruited to grow girls’ cricket so there are 2,000 clubs with a girls’ section and 6,000 girls’ teams by 2026.’
National programmes such as All Stars and Dynamos have seen thousands of girls involved with the latter seeing 50% female sign-ups in Yorkshire, over 70 girls-only programmes and dozens of festivals under the umbrella of Roses Cricket.
Add in a growing number of players, teams, divisions and leagues for women and girls in Yorkshire cricket (hardball and softball formats) to get a sense of the direction of travel.
Do we have enough grounds?
As for grounds, the two are naturally interlinked. A strategic push to treble girls teams, plus a huge boost in women’s cricket needs many more places to play. There has been investment here in Yorkshire and nationally but the landscape is complex around ownership, contracts, councils, finances and physical spaces to use, indoors or outside.
If that sounds vague, it’s because it’s a labyrinth. I admire – and agree with – the vision of so many more women and girls involved in our incredible game. Those opportunities bring countless benefits to communities and clubs but, and I bang this drum often, it has to be done sustainably.
One of the chief concerns I repeatedly hear from right across the spectrum (administrators to volunteers) is the lack of grounds and the need for more volunteers to aid this growth in cricket. Meanwhile, groundskeepers confide that some are at absolute capacity and creaking under the pressure.
On the point about numbers of volunteers, I genuinely don’t know to what extent that’s true. I’m sure more women and girls are becoming involved in the administration of recreational cricket at all levels but it is still overwhelmingly governed by men.
Do they bring their own prejudices? Perhaps – but volunteer recruitment and retention is as difficult as it ever was (more so I’d argue).
So, is there a lack of volunteers in men’s cricket, women and girls’ cricket – or both? Answer: It’s nuanced and likely has wildly different situations geographically – but broadly, I’m sure more help would be enthusiastically welcomed.
Through conversations, direct messages, emails, calls, social media and a plethora of other channels, I am trusted with lots of feedback by those well and truly plugged into the game. A constant theme in our content is praise of volunteers because they are the backbone of the game.
Not to be lazy with my crystal ball-gazing – but new teams, grounds and capacity will be at the forefront once again in 2026. I am wary about the goals being set – not for their ambition and impact – but the reality for those delivering that locally.
Take the top two tiers of all ECB Premier Leagues needing to have a girls team by autumn 2026. Five Premier Leagues in Yorkshire. Back-of-a-napkin maths: 24 clubs (across the two divisions) so 120 girls teams in Yorkshire, minus however many clubs already have them.
Of itself, that sounds fine but it’s the quietly accumulating extra load on potentially the same volunteers from the admin, fixtures, grounds, safeguarding, on and on. Should we force clubs to have extra teams? Would it happen organically or not?
I’m acutely aware of the optics of a bloke (me) in any way being perceived to pull a metaphorical handbrake on progress. It’s not that. I just want the support to be there for those who give up their evenings and weekends to provide cricket for others.
This is incredible, much-needed impetus and diversity that allows everyone to connect with cricket at grassroots. Besides, we are still very much playing catch up.
Here on the website, our coverage of women and girls cricket has shown a light on some of those stories and I’d really like to have have more articles, perspectives and contributions from women in recreational cricket.
The Hundred: Windfall for recreational cricket
Leshia Hawkins, Managing Director, Recreational Game at the England & Wales Cricket Board, said in December on LinkedIn:
“We will also have the opportunity in 2026 to start to invest the Recreational Game’s share of the capital proceeds from the auction of The Hundred team rights, with a plan to focus on developing, improving and expanding our facility stock and access, to ensure we can continue to support the unprecedented interest in our sport.”
The ECB has made a commitment to spend £50 million of that on grassroots cricket. For all of the doom-mongers and The Hundred-bashers, that is an amount of money that can make a difference.
The final sum doesn’t matter to me as much as the impact and benefits directly felt at recreational level. This might sound strange – but £50m could easily be frittered away without some parts of the game ever seeing any change whatsoever.
All eyes will be on how that money is spent, on which projects and how equitable that decision-making is – but Leshia’s comments suggest facilities will be front-of-mind. I hope to get an interview in 2026 to discuss this and other areas of the game with her.
More volunteers needed
I have now been running Cricket Yorkshire for 15 years. Imagine that, eh? In that time, the demands on volunteers has grown and grown. Many cricket clubs operate as a company would in terms of legal requirements, funding challenges, staffing, health and safety, site maintenance and plenty of other things to consider.
How grassroots cricket now looks is much changed and at the same time, many of the themes, grumbles and concerns haven’t really altered.
My editorial, ‘Grassroots cricket is not dying – but it is changing’ struck a nerve with some who are deeply concerned that investment and more teams is all well and good – but too few volunteers carry the lion’s share of the burden. In some areas, that goodwill is drying up.
The ECB and Metro Bank vowed to recruit 6,000 volunteers to grow girls’ cricket by 2026. That’s three volunteers for each of 2,000 clubs with a girls section earmarked (no idea how far off this target is).
In terms of volunteers, there is abundant opportunity for female coaches, umpires, scorers, club treasurers (insert your own role here) to make a transformative contribution at grassroots, as many already do. Add in parents spending more at clubs, getting involved themselves, their connections through work and the ripples are seen everywhere.
The potential clash within the game comes with those coming into volunteering alongside those who already embedded, have a way of doing things and perhaps either don’t want to share or it’s easier to do it themselves.
Showing clubs ways to recruit, retain and reward volunteers is not something that has enough emphasis behind it, in my humble opinion. While not as headline-grabbing, I can’t think of a more important part within recreational cricket.
If you spent £1m of that £50m windfall from The Hundred team rights sale on nurturing current and future volunteers across England and Wales then that would have lasting and powerful benefits. The trouble is that volunteering is ultimately optional and so there are no guarantees.
ICC Women’s T20 World Cup
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup brings international women’s cricket to seven grounds across England and runs from 12 June to 5 July 2026.
It will be a lightning rod for inspiring the women and girls’ game and its importance is going to be huge. Here in Yorkshire, we can expect lots going on at grassroots that connects in with this showpiece.(The photo is the county softball finals at Headingley from September).
As just one example, the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation (YCF) has been recruiting volunteers as Community Champions to serve Bradford, Castleford, Teeside, Ripon, Cawthorne, Hull, Leeds and Sheffield.
Meanwhile, Yorkshire moves to three Women’s Premier Leagues from 2026 and the new structure has to be fully worked out, not least because the Yorkshire Women & Girls Cricket League isn’t one of those leagues. Instead, they are planning to rename to Yorkshire Women & Girls County League and continue as a standalone entity.
Player pathways from club cricket into the Yorkshire set-up, allocation of those county players, the formats leagues play and other variables are points of difference but while the dust has yet to settle on some of the detail, this is a big, collective moment at grassroots in Yorkshire.
With the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, Yorkshire Women back in Tier 1 cricket, the growing momentum in hardball league cricket, softball cricket ever-popular, All Stars, Dynamos and Roses all happening in clubs, it is going to be quite the season.
Bails off
I haven’t mentioned the myriad of components within the ECB’s EDI efforts and some quite forthright views on systems and IT that clubs have to grapple with but that must wait for another day.
I’m sure you have your own interests and could fashion a very different shortlist to pore over. That is the beauty of cricket. Have your say below, all views are welcomed as ever.
There are inevitably questions galore for all aspects of the recreational game as it changes year-to-year. I am really looking forward to seeing as much cricket as I can squeeze in, while meeting as many of you as opportunity permits in 2026.
We are fortunate in Yorkshire to have an enormous volume and variety of cricket in which to indulge across the year. I cannot wait…
There is lots planned here at Cricket Yorkshire for the coming year that I’ll share in due course – but, tell me, what are you looking forward to for 2026?
Leave a comment below about plans or thoughts about this article.
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- 2026: Predictions and trends for grassroots cricket - December 19, 2025
- Cricket Gifts: The shortlist full of surprises[2026] - December 12, 2025
- 6 ways for cricket clubs to earn with easyfundraising - December 10, 2025
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