ICC Cricket World Cup campaign inspires new generations

ICC Cricket World Cup campaign inspires new generations of BLACKCAPS

The cricket fever that has swept New Zealand has fuelled a surge in the number of young Kiwis wanting to pad up for our main summer sport, with thousands more expected to be playing the game next season.

New Zealand Cricket and New Zealand Post, through its ActivePost community programme, have put at least 120,000 young Kiwis through their paces this summer as a part of the ActivePost National Schools Programme (formally Milo Cricket).

After a strong season and a spellbinding ICC Cricket World Cup, that’s expected to increase by at least 5 per cent for the 2015/16 season – an additional 6000 young people learning and playing the game.

New Zealand Post’s Sponsorship Spokesperson Malcolm Shaw said there has already been a huge jump in the number of young Kiwis taking part in the ActivePost six-week Cricket Skills Challenge in schools over the summer.

“As this season draws to a close, we’re working with New Zealand Cricket to capture the huge excitement that’s been generated by the World Cup to get even greater numbers of young Kiwis playing the game and, in the process, discover the next generation of BLACKCAPS,” Malcolm Shaw said.

“For New Zealand Post, supporting New Zealand Cricket is about building a long-term legacy for cricket, starting at the grass roots, by introducing as many youngsters as possible to the game and encouraging them to carry it on.”

New Zealand Cricket General Manager for Amateur Cricket, Ed Shuttleworth, says his team is working to remove some of the traditional barriers to participation by putting more emphasis on making the game fun, fast and easy to play.

“Programmes like ActivePost’s Have-A-Go Cricket and ActivePost Kiwi Cricket are designed to attract busy youngsters to the game without the players and their parents necessarily having to spend full days out on the pitch at weekends.

“Our junior programme has really gained momentum and the BLACKCAPS’ success this past season has inspired a generation of children to enjoy and play the game of Cricket,” Ed Shuttleworth said.

ENDS

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