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.
To jump to a specific section, use these chapter links for convenience:
⏮️ 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.
Best wishes for a fantastic year and thanks to everyone who reads our articles, comments on and shares them as well as getting involved in awards and competitions.
A shoutout to all those who are part of our newsletter and Facebook communities. Your support of Cricket Yorkshire – and knowledge of the game – is always appreciated.
- 15 Not Out: The canal walk that changed everything - January 8, 2026
- Cricket Teamwear: Upgrade for the 2026 season - January 7, 2026
- Bespoke Scoreboards: The Yorkshire family behind it all - January 6, 2026
A great thought provoking article as always John. It’s great to see how the game has developed since my retirement. Whatever direction the game decides to go, it must have human and financial resources to develop and more importantly to sustain. The game itself is setting the template for the next decade and there is one chance to get it right. Volunteers are the backbone of the recreational game. Without them there wouldn’t be a game at any level at all- even the first class game. It’s great to see much better facilities which will bring more people in to the game, but ground and facilities issues (and the need for many more) are the biggest perennial problem where grounds are lost forever .but the game will evolve thanks to all our wonderful people who give their time so generously.
Thanks Andrew – I’ve replied on LinkedIn but agreed around volunteers. If you surveyed every cricket club in Yorkshire, (done many times I’m sure including by you once upon a time), they’d all need different things but plenty of common ground. I can’t imagine many wouldn’t need help, inspiration, guidance around new volunteers. Just asking isn’t enough, however well meaning. No quick and easy answers but promoting the benefits and values of cricket volunteers more is perhaps a start.
Fully agree John on volunteers and facilities
Lisa Wainwright is asking people to sign a petition to endure sport England remains a consultative body.
The message is via LinkedIn
See below:
‘ I can not express how crazy this suggestion is…we MUST #ProtectWhereWePlay…
Please share this and sign, activate by sharing on social media and write to your MP.
Sport England does an excellent job in its Statutory Planning role…protecting where we play, but also providing expert advice through its team…on design, planning, section 106. And they respond well within the time parameters, so ignore the it delays planning tripe…
Before SE had this right we LOST 10,000 playing fields over a 10 year period, once they became one it dropped to 3,000.
Seriously, if we want a active, healthy and happy nation…sign this petition as a minimum!
Less facilities and green spaces..do we need to even talk about the consequences?
https://lnkd.in/eJZbSnVc
Great article I think most clubs will agree there is trepidation regarding the push to more women’s cricket and wonder where the money is coming from particularly when small clubs are struggling against the tide of regulation and lack of volunteers. Can they not help these clubs first as women will want good facilities which smaller clubs struggle to have. Sustainability!
Thanks John, all the best for 2026 – I think trepidation is fair enough in some quarters. Agree that it has to be sustainable both for the volunteers delivering but also so the first experience for women and girls coming into the game is as good as it possibly can be, including facilities. That said, there are loads of examples of clubs building that across Yorkshire so advice and expertise is there to learn from.
Noticeable that the only sour comments in this well balanced article come from an official of the ECB attacking those who do not support the Hundred. A pattern of behaviour I have witnessed from ECB staff across several areas. It is this kind of comment which is driving away long standing volunteers who have reached a stage where they no longer want to accept conflict as part of their life and hang up their scorebook/white coat/shed keys.
One area not commented on is the effect on Sunday league cricket, some of these new fixtures will be pushed to Sundays impacting on ground availability at clubs which are already running at or close to maximum, which gets priority ?, the ECB sponsored games or the Sunday league, many of which have a long history in the local community . For clubs which become dependent on ECB handouts there will be only one answer.
Thanks Mark, good to hear from you. As you know, women and girls cricket is already often on Sundays to attempt to not clash as much with the Saturday leagues. I think you raise an interesting point around priorities as there is bound to be a juggling act with more fixtures happening on the same day.
investing in clubs is absolutely desperately needed and to stop it being paid out in match fees to players there needs to be a plan put in place to stop this from happening.
Hi Andrew – do you meaning paying players? Isn’t it down to clubs to invest (or not) in that way? It’s impossible to stop a busy transfer market, not least because it would need to be policed locally which league volunteers can’t do. I don’t think it should be stopped but somehow more transparence around who is a paid pro and who is not might be useful across all leagues, not just Premier Leagues.
across the board we need more umpires.
So it ever was Linzey! Best wishes to you and the YCSPL for 2026. I believe has done well with recruitment across divisions but beyond the usual methods of carrot, stick or both, I’m not sure how best to drive this up across Yorkshire. The example your league did a few years back of interviews with umpires was an angle I liked. The benefits of umpiring might be obvious but they regularly need spelling out all the same.
The umpires problem never seems to move on from the carrot or stick approach. it needs a new approach (apprenticeships), getting into colleges, universities, funding (by leagues) and making use of modern techniques (video blogs, insta case studies). worth a try surely?
Absolutely – I like all of your suggestions, some of which I’ve advocated for in the past too. A league-by-league approach on these and other ideas I suppose.
I agree, but also disagree.
We umpires need more support at all levels for when we have to deal with disciplinary issues. We need leagues that back us and support umpires.
Far too many umpires have packed in their jackets and counters due to the abuse received and the lack of support. I for one no longer umpire and league cricket due to it.
And it’s great to recruit “umpires”, but I’d rather see less numbers and better quality. Nothing worse than playing (or standing with) an umpire who’s been pressganged into it, has limited interest and is poor on the field, in terms of both field craft and decision making
Thanks David – good points. Tricky to push for quality over quantity when there’s so often a shortage of umpires (but I agree with you).
Very interesting article. Just some personal thoughts which overlap your thoughts on women’s and girls cricket aswell as volunteers, Both overlap as we at stokesley cc (NYSDpremier) struggle to get volunteers in general never minds volunteers for ladies cricket but ECB are pushing the need for all top two tier clubs to have this in place it appears more emphasis on ladies game than men’s cricket which is where clubs generate revenue from.
With the increasing demands on player reimbursement the need for revenue is more relevant. The ongoing demands of volunteers to have numerous checks for safeguarding /DBS etc which I understand but volunteers are often prepared to give time but all admin that’s is entailed is often a distraction . One feels it all is a vicious circle but every more time consuming and personally feel if created huge hurdles. You may happen to visit our ground under lovely Cleveland hills we could discuss in more detail
Kind regards
Hi Mark, thanks for the comment on here and all the best to everyone at Stokesley for 2026. I know circumstances, volunteers and funding differ club to club in the NYSD (and other leagues) but I’d imagine there are enough successful examples to draw inspiration from? Ultimately though, it can be very hard to get people to give up their time, can’t it….
I know women’s cricket generates revenue (maybe not early days) but I take the point around cost of paying players in the NYSD. I’m not sure what the answer is around safeguarding / other aspects of volunteer admin but it needs to be as easy as possible for volunteers to be encouraged to help while providing a safe, inclusive and enjoyable experience for all.
That’s easier to write (!) than maybe to deliver for every club… your views on admin battles echo others I’ve heard for sure.
Go well with Stokesley’s plans for the coming season. If I’m up your way, I’ll explore a trip to the cricket, a beautiful part of the world.
I am involved in a PL down south and the ladies initiative is a brave new world, its frankly pie in the sky. Where we are based we have three PL teams within a 2 mile radius all without a ladies section. Our part of the world is football mad. Its all year round and one team alone has a junior section of 37 sides. If you miss a week there are lots of kids waiting on a list to join. We as a club have tried every avenue to recruit, from local press, instagram, facebook, X, mail drops, schools. If its ‘law’ this happens by Autumn 2026 then I am done with Club Cricket. How are we to find 15 girls to learn the game, enjoy the game, stay loyal, all be available to play – when would they play? where would they play?
Who pays for the coaching, the work that goes into this?
ECB paid our club £2k a season in 2004 to assist covering bills and improved facilities. Fast forward 22 years as a recognised PL team we get £1K a season. This no longer covers the bill for the umpires, let alone the Magna Carta of rules and regulations we have to abide by. If it weren’t for volunteers many clubs would just go pop.