play-cricket.com to revolutionise recreational cricket

Specialist internet group Play-Sport New Media has joined forces with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in a new on-line cricket venture to provide an extensive internet network for amateur cricketers and their cricketing communities.

The three-way partnership, which is being announced today but will not go live until Tuesday 18 July, will produce a multi-site network designed to link individuals, clubs and schools throughout the country, thus forming an interactive on-line recreational cricket community.

The site will be found at www.play-cricket.com, or via a link though the ECB and MCC's internet site www.lords.org.

Terry Blake, ECB Marketing Director, welcomed the partnership as a key part of the game`s developing internet strategy: "This is undoubtedly one of the most exciting and innovative on-line initiatives in the market today. The sites will be tailored to meet the needs of all amateur cricketers, young and old, and their local clubs or communities but the play-cricket network concept provides enormous potential for the game as a whole. The possibilities are endless."

The concept will enable individuals and groups to build, develop and manage their own customised satellite sites, which will provide key information and services to its members and interested parties.

Individuals will consequently be able to register on the site through his / her club, school, district, regional or representative team, and will gain access to, for example, team news, playing calendars, team selection and player statistics.

Teams will also be linked to group sites so individuals can check on, for example, league or school playing schedules, competition rules, league championship tables, results, statistics, and see how other teams are performing throughout the country. In this way, an on-line 'virtual' community will be established.

These sites will greatly benefit the recreational cricketer and amateur cricket administrator in the areas of communication and organisation, and will allow cricket communities not only to save money but also to generate income.

"The days of team captains spending all week on the phone trying to fill sides for Saturday and Sunday may finally be over!" added Terry Blake.

Further advantages for the individual include the possibility of setting up training and nutritional programmes on-line, building player profile databases and creating separate chat rooms to discuss tactics and team issues.

In addition, this ready access to the country's recreational cricketers provides the ECB and MCC with extra opportunities for structured development within the game including, for example, the implementation of coaching programmes. Further potential exists for extensive marketing and sponsorship opportunities to benefit the game at national and local level.

"The MCC wishes to support and associate the club's name with a quality product, designed to help and support recreational cricket. Play-cricket.com certainly meets this criteria," said Tony Dodemaide, Head of Cricket at the MCC.

Justin Ricketts, Managing Director of Play-Sport New Media, commented: "We are delighted to have the endorsement of ECB and MCC, who clearly both recognise the potential of harnessing new technology to meet the evolving needs of cricket at both local and national level. Their contribution and active involvement ensures that the real needs of cricket can be incorporated into our design criteria from the outset and provide even better value to cricketing communities and their participants alike."

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For further information, please contact Mark Hodgson in ECB Corporate Affairs:
Tel: 020 7432 1251. Fax: 020 7289 5619. E-mail: mark.hodgson@ecb.co.uk