New cricket coaches wanted: how the ECB is backing community coaches in south-west London

The ECB says its Cricket Cities programme has helped around 170 people take their first steps into coaching, including in south-west London. Here is what it is, and why good coaches matter to every club, including ours in Cheam.

Every good cricket session starts with a good coach. That is the idea behind an article published by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on 28 October, about how its Cricket Cities programme is helping more people from communities that are under-represented in coaching to become cricket coaches.

What is Cricket Cities? It is an ECB programme working in 21 urban communities across England and Wales, alongside county cricket boards and local partners, to make the game easier to get into and more welcoming. Its coaching strand funds locally designed projects that find, train and support new coaches: introductory and formal coaching courses, community work, mentoring and tailored support.

Closer to home. Eight county boards are taking part, and Surrey's work covers south-west London and Lambeth. The ECB says the work has supported around 170 people so far. Its examples include a coach in Luton who now manages girls' teams at her club after completing the ECB Foundation Coach course, and a London coach who now works across Middlesex's community programmes after the same course with mentoring.

Why it matters to a club like ours. A coach shapes a player's first experience of cricket, whether they are eight or forty-eight, and the ECB's own coaching lead describes coaches as fundamental to that experience. At Cheam, our Tuesday winter training for school Years 3 to 11 is led by ECB-qualified coaches in small groups, using drills and game-based learning. Full details and booking: https://www.cheamcricketclub.com/winter-program

Thinking about coaching? The ECB Foundation Coach and Core Coach qualifications mentioned in the article are run with county cricket boards, and the ECB website lists coaching courses. If you are a parent, a player or a former player in Sutton who might enjoy helping at sessions, we would love to hear from you: https://www.cheamcricketclub.com/contact

Source: ECB, How Cricket Cities is helping to create a more diverse coaching workforce, 28 October 2026: https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/4600294/how-cricket-cities-is-helping-to-create-a-more-diverse-coaching-workforce

Cricket has been played at Peaches Close, Cheam, since 1864, and it has always depended on people willing to give their time.