Cricket Australia (CA) launched a five-year strategic plan on Monday with the intention of doubling the number of boys playing the sports in the age group of 5-12-2,10,000. They also hope to quadruple the number of girls in the same age bracket to 60,000 apart from prioritising the need to get the spectators back into the stadiums.
The country's premier cricket board also wants to spread their own brand of positivity by providing more opportunities to girls and women, which will be accessible to people from culturally diverse backgrounds as well. Anticipating that cricket will also be a part of the 2032 Olympics Games in Brisbane after women's cricket's successful inclusion at the Birmingham CWG, Cricket Australia also wants to build a culture for the sport in the country ahead of the premier multisport event.
"Australian cricket's priorities will now be to strengthen the engagement between fans and players, continue to produce world-class teams, entrench a strong and innovative business model and establish a framework for the game's positive social impact," according to a report by cricket.com.au.
"The strategy also sets an ambitious target of doubling the number of kids aged 5 to 12 registered to play cricket to 210,000 and quadrupling the number of girls registered in this age group to 60,000 over the next five years. With cricket likely to feature at the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane, following its re-introduction at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, CA wants to use the time period to create a culture for the sport in the country," the report further read.
Further, getting spectators back into the stadiums has been earmarked as a top priority with a special focus on BBL and WBBL.
Both the men's and women's events have a target of annual attendance of 1.25 million across the competitions, with a wider goal of an average of 2.4 million fans.
"Cricket is rapidly evolving and, with that, so too are the ways cricket is played, watched, and consumed. This strategy contains both a vision and a clear plan for how we can achieve bold, transformative change while also meeting our core responsibilities," CA chief executive Nick Hockley said.
"This includes ensuring that cricket has a positive social impact, whether by providing more opportunities for women and girls, making the game more accessible to participants from culturally diverse backgrounds or taking the necessary steps to make the game environmentally sustainable," he added.
