Case Study

TWO PROJECTS, NO STONE LEFT UNTURNED
The ECB unlocked tremendous potential by simultaneously reviewing and transitioning its County Talent Pathway and National Performance Centre programmes ready for its new ‘Cricket Unleashed’ era.

Client challenge:

  • A lack of clarity within the game as to the best talent pathway, the role of the Loughborough national centre, and appropriate contribution of all stakeholders – ECB, First Class Counties, County Cricket Boards.
  • Little synergy between the two programmes, combined with an outdated/disjointed delivery strategy.
  • Finding the next world-class spin bowler to play for England.
Munster

THE INSIDE TRACK:

We honoured the ECB senior leadership team’s request to leave ‘no stone left unturned’ and collate significant opinion from all stakeholders in the game to help design and implement operational improvements via:

  • Benchmarking analysis against four priority cricketing nations, and eight other sports – including England Rugby, GB Hockey, German Football, British Gymnastics, FA Premier League.
  • Staging senior executive interviews, online surveys, focus groups – domestic and international – to inform long-term development strategy with inputs from c400 people including over 250 parents of 16-18-year-old Academy players.
  • Redesigning the best role of the ECB to ensure functionality, efficiency, and game-wide collaboration.

IMPACT:

The ECB recognised the importance of refreshing both of its player pathways to create two new ‘Performance Pathway Manager’ lead roles – men’s and women’s – to drive development. In parallel, it redefined the role of the National Centre at Loughborough to be the genuine ‘home’ for those aspiring to play cricket for England, and the ‘performance hub’ for all future research and innovation in the game.

Testimonial

“We very much appreciate all the hard work Inside Track has put in to get us to where we are now.”

Tom Harrison CEO, ECB

Testimonial

“A huge thanks for all the work Inside Track have done. It is a really robust overview of what is currently happening, and gives us a clear path forward to take the development of talented young cricketers in this country to a new level.”

Andrew Strauss Director of Cricket, ECB

Testimonial

“Many thanks for sending this excellent final report through. This has been a really worthwhile process and Inside Track’s report provides us with a very strong strategic direction.”

David Parsons Performance Director, ECB