The participants on the High Performance Pathway Programme visit the Olympic Channel

ICC support Members in identifying and developing tomorrow’s stars

The participants on the High Performance Pathway Programme visit the Olympic Channel
  • ICC Academy Manager, Will Kitchen: “Associate cricket is growing with the top-performing countries getting closer to Full Members each year. With this growth comes different challenges, this is where these programmes really help.”
  • Sixteen representatives from eight countries

Sixteen representatives including Chief Executives, Performance Directors and National Coaches from Canada, Hong Kong, Namibia, Netherlands, PNG, Scotland, UAE and Ireland travelled to the workshop that was delivered in partnership with the World Academy of Sport.

Following the recent rapid rise of Afghanistan and Ireland, the success stories of both countries laid the foundation for the programme. The agenda focused on identifying new talent within Associate Members, elevating their current pool of cricketers onto the world stage and ensuring players are performing consistently in international competition.

Those ideas will form the basis of a country-specific High Performance Plan 2019-2023 for each of the seven Associate Members, which will be supported and reviewed by the ICC. The main objective of the project is to help the likes of Namibia and PNG follow in the footsteps of Afghanistan and Ireland.

ICC High Performance Manager Richard Done said: “It is crucial to the sport that teams develop and continue to be competitive. The ICC High Performance Pathway Programme is an important investment to help Members produce sustainable plans that focus on improving on-field performances. This edition has come at an ideal time as we start the next cycle of 50 over competition in 2019. We are at an exciting time for cricket with the skills, tools and opportunities that Member countries have at their disposal. With the support from the ICC, we should hopefully see more success stories.”

Whilst in Madrid, the group also had the opportunity to visit the Olympic Channel who presented best practice on connecting with audiences. The focus was on digitally marketing star athletes, which is a crucial element in growing cricket in new markets.

ICC Academy Manager and representing UAE in the programme, Will Kitchen said: “Associate cricket is growing with the top-performing countries getting closer to Full Members each year. With this growth comes different challenges, this is where these programmes really help in giving tools and ideas to capitalise on growth and ensure there is sustained momentum.

“Social media coverage, was one of the key aspects that came from the programme. Through the visit to the Olympic Channel we learnt how to build a strategy and maximize the use of our digital platforms. We gained a very powerful understanding of the analytics behind social media profiles of organizations versus athletes and which content we can use where.”

General Manager of the Olympic Channel, Mark Parkman said: “The Olympic Channel provides a platform for the promotion of all sports and athletes within the Olympic Movement. We are happy to have the opportunity to present our ground-breaking digital platform and demonstrate best content practices in efforts to extend our growing fan base worldwide.”

Notes to Editors:

  • The ICC High Performance Pathway Programme is open to Members who currently sit in the ICC World Cricket League Championship and ICC World Cricket League Division 2.
  • It is held annually at different venues in order to engage with different sporting and educational bodies.