Department of Education must recognise sport in order to encourage sport

Last Saturday at Welbeck was very much a case of who could get through their overs most efficiently, with both teams missing key bowlers. For us, James Mann was unavailable due to an injury and George Bacon was not bowling due to resting his shoulder. With new captain Alex King still recovering from a knee injury, and only able to get through 6 overs himself, our options were limited.

In saying that, it was great to see Tom Rowe bowl so well again. Tom obviously joined us with a batting pedigree, but we also had been given reports that his bowling was a useful weapon, even though it had never been used during his time with the Notts Academy. He has made a massive impact in the changing room with his dry humour, and has been a great addition for us this year.

This weekend will see us reach the half way stage of the league season as we face Mansfield Hosiery Mills. They are still catching up on lost ground from their 50 point deduction at the start of the season, and have probably not made the progress they would have hoped for. We know that have a strong group of players though and that it will no doubt be a very competitive game.

Sunday will also see us take on Alfreton in the first round of the Derbyshire Cup. This is a competition that the club holds very close to its heart and we are desperately keen to have a good run in it this year having reached the quarter finals and semi finals over the last couple of years.

After the game last week, I headed up north back to my family home in Lancashire. This was because on Sunday, I had been invited to captain my old school’s ‘Old Boys XI’ against the current school first team. This is something I have done a few times over the past few years, and it is always a pleasure to visit Lancaster RGS. It is quite phenomenal what they provide for students as a state school, and is a great example to all schools across the country of how you can balance academic achievement while developing sporting talents.

Lancaster RGS is a great example of how sport can be run in a state school

It is a major concern to me that so much of the development work of younger players is now falling solely on cricket clubs and private schools. I really don’t see why state schools can’t do more to develop young players, not only in cricket, but also in a range of other sports. It was something that was noticed this week by the Head of OFSTED Michael Wilshaw, who had had research commissioned after it was discovered that over 40% of the medals won by Team GB at the London Olympics came from athlete who had attended the 7% of private schools we have in the UK.

While there is no doubt that lack of suitable resources and facilities is a major stumbling block, it is not a suitable excuse. Ultimately, it is down to the enthusiasm and emphasis placed on sport by the Head Teacher and Governors of any given school. With Head Teachers quite rightly focused on the measures that OFSTED and the government places uses to rate school performance, if they do not have any reflection on the sporting activities and performance of schools, then ultimately it will never be a priority.

For there to be a real sea change in state school cricket, and sport in general, then the Department for Education must start to include sporting provision and performance in its school assessment criteria. In doing this, Head Teachers would then be more inclined to allocate resources, and create an environment where young athletes could thrive.