TV show highlighting global development of cricket available for free download and use by broadcasters and websites

A high-quality TV documentary about the ongoing global development of cricket has been produced and released on behalf of the ICC.

The 25-minute programme, brought together by production company Three Feet High in association with the ICC, is aimed at highlighting the work of the Pepsi ICC Development Programme and showing just how far the great game is spreading around the world within the ICC's 94 Associate and Affiliate Members.

Within the documentary, ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat says: "It's important that we spread cricket across all corners of the world. It's amazing how much interest there is in the game and therefore we have an obligation in some sense to provide people with the opportunity to access it. So from every respect, including a strategic objective of the ICC, the global growth of the game is very important."

The international success of Ireland in recent years has been well documented and is highlighted further in the documentary. Cricket Ireland Development Manager Brían O'Rourke recalls that interest in cricket wasn't always so high in Ireland and that the Pepsi ICC Development Programme has played a key role in the game's expansion there.

"The ICC has been brilliant since 1998 when we were very much starting out," says Mr O'Rourke in the programme.

"We didn't have any equipment or any sources of getting any but a lot of assistance then came through their Development Programme. We received simple things like materials for schools, posters, as well as equipment, and more recently have been able to send our better players to (ICC) academies. So now we are able to move from a participation focus and concentrate more on performance," he adds.

Cricket's popularity in East Africa is also featured in the documentary, with particular focus given to the 40,000 cricket participants in Uganda. National team captain Junior Kwebiha talks about cricket's rise in his country.

"ICC has helped cricket develop a lot in Uganda, right from the grass roots to the national teams," he says.

"Crowds are building as people get to know more about the game, and we are working with the ICC to have more cricket, more teams and more tours. We want to blow the crowds away and keep changing the way people look at cricket in Uganda."

The show is free to use for all broadcasters and websites around the world and can be downloaded from www.nuview.tv. On that site click on 'Pepsi Development' within the green FEATURED bar at the top of the page.

There are also broadcast-quality three-minute and five-minute cut-down versions of the show available. These are also being shown on the ICC website at https://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/media_interactive_zone/broadcast.php.

This TV programme is being provided free of charge by the ICC in order to promote and highlight the amount and quality of cricket played around the world, outside of the ICC's Full Member countries.

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