Ideas to improve the MCCF Hub programme.

Despite massive investment the MCCF Hub expansion plan has hit a road block. Nowhere near the numbers expected are reaching county ‘talent pathways’ which is the MCCF’s mission in the UK(1). What can be done to improve delivery?

Train ALL Age Groups

The talent pathway starts at age U10-U12 with the Early Engagement Programme and continues into a County Age Group (CAG) programme from U13-U18. However most of the MCCF hubs only run at U14 & U16. This means that at best only 50% of the age groups are covered.

It is also likely that there may be much less than 50% from within the younger year for each double year age group, i.e. U13 & U15, further reducing the ‘coverage’.

Cricket takes a long time to learn. Starting at U14 & U16 is probably too late in order to compete with CAG players who may have started at U10.

Also training U16s is tricky because you’re aiming for them to get into a double year age group at CAG U18 as U17s, in the following year’s programme.

Coaches also are invested in the CAG players they may have been training for multiple years by U16 which makes selecting ‘another’ player instead that much harder. It is easier to get into ‘the system’ at earlier stages.

Locality Issue

All hubs are competing with each other for a finite number of local CAG places. If within a locality, which may cross county borders, the spread of age groups was greater this should allow more transfer, i.e. instead of multiple U14 boys hubs in the locality, why not have U12 in one area, U13 in another, & U14 somewhere else? 

Photo by vicky adams on Unsplash

Expand Delivery

Are 10 1.5 hr sessions of group coaching enough? Are a relatively small number of summer matchplay opportunities enough? No. Would it be better to replicate the 24 hours worth of training their peers at CAG are receiving, even if this means a lower overall total of MCCF players? I.e. quality over quantity to be effective. Some MCCF hubs only play a handful of matches. Clearly much more summer matchplay is essential for learning.

Place more emphasis on bowlers?

If only training relatively older players, U15 & above, perhaps for those players it is better to concentrate resource on bowlers who will have a better chance of reaching a CAG squad than batters,in general. Because of the perception/action requirement of batting skill it takes a long time to develop. Most inexperienced batters at U15 & above will find it extremely difficult to be selected at CAG, as performance, rightly or wrongly, is a key factor for decision makers. 

Run at capacity.

We often see marketing for players to join hubs very late on. I suspect that capacity for many hubs is a long way from 100%.

Evolve the model
Some changes have already been done: more experienced coaches are working in hubs now, sometimes the same coaches working with CAGs; Springboard programme to help the most promising players with the allocation of further resources. But the model needs to change. Its clearly not working. What changes would you make?

Appendix

1. ‘Within the UK, our mission is to open up access to the talent pathways so that every young cricketer has the opportunity to reach their full potential in the game, regardless of race, gender, or economic circumstance.'

https://www.lords.org/mcc/mcc-foundation/mcc-foundation-in-the-uk