English cricket has been shaken by a fall in the numbers playing recreational cricket with clubs going out of existence, leagues struggling to survive and teams held together by players who have known better days.

That is the narrative, accepted by the ECB which is developing strategies to address the situation - encouraging an expansion of the pyramid system in the local leagues and advocating a shift to Twenty20, especially at lower levels, and perhaps evening cricket, to rally interest among young players.

So how is it that Sport England has now presented what, superficially at least, seems to be a contradictory picture? According to Sport England team sports are fighting back after the downturn caused in part by the London Olympics and cricket is beginning to feel the benefit.

The after-effect of the London Olympics, which boosted individual sports, especially athletics, might be coming to an end with swimming, strikingly, suffering a fall of nearly 10% and cricket, football and rugby union all finding comfort in the latest figures.

Never have cricket's participation figures been more political. Every fall is grabbed for those pressing for a return to some form of free-to-air cricket coverage. Every positive figure is succour for Sky TV and, indeed, all those who advocate the substantial financial benefits to cricket from keeping the game entirely behind a paywall.

The first observation is that Sport England's figures concentrate on the most committed: once-a-week participation in cricket by those aged 16 or over - although presumably they do allow a bit of licence for the off season! Figures include cricket inside and out, everything from net sessions and indoor cricket right through to competitive local leagues.

These figures, which include the 2014 season, show a bounce back of 13% on a year ago - although they remain 14% below the peak achieved shortly after England's 2005 Ashes series was shown on free-to-air TV.

The ECB's own survey - the one which understandably caused so much disquiet - looked not just at the most committed cricketer, but occasional players, too, those who keep the outdoor recreational game alive, and the latest available statistics showed a disturbing fall.

It is these occasional cricketers who the ECB feels it is most losing in a more impatient world faced by endless choices. It is those occasional social cricketers who will help fill the grounds in the NatWest Blast and protect cricket's reputation as the nation's summer game for whom they need to find an outlet.

Sport England's 2014 figures suggest that the hardcore cricketer may be returning to the sport after the disastrous figures a year earlier, but if these figures are a relief, and show that the picture is not all bleak, the wider picture suggests that a lot of work remains.