Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman
Minister for Sport and Recreation

5 February 2015

Smart new cricket programme for schools

Sport and Recreation Minister Jonathan Coleman has taken part in a Cricket Smart lesson at Northcote Primary School in Auckland today.

“Cricket Smart is a new range of curriculum-based learning and teaching resources for primary and intermediate students in Years 1 to 8. It is a fun and interactive way to bring cricket into schools,” says Dr Coleman.

Made up of five different resources with themes spanning eight subject areas, it has been designed to celebrate New Zealand’s co-hosting of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and will last long into the future.

There are also practical components where students can develop their cricket skills in the school yard. To support this, all schools who register for the programme also receive a free cricket kit.

55 per cent (1,231) of eligible schools have signed up to the programme across the country.

Dr Coleman and ICC Cricket World Cup ambassador, TV personality Toni Street, today led a classroom cricket quiz and observed skills based activities.

“It has been 23 years since New Zealand hosted the ICC Cricket World Cup – so it is a once in a generation opportunity to see the best players and best teams going head to head in our back yard,” says Dr Coleman.

“With a potential broadcast audience of more than one billion people, the tournament will showcase New Zealand to key international markets and serve as a catalyst for new opportunities in tourism and trade.”

The tournament will see 23 matches played across seven New Zealand host cities, including a Wellington quarter-final and Auckland semi-final. Further information and tickets can be found here: www.cricketworldcup.com.

ENDS

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