Warwickshire County Cricket Club has launched a new talent identification process to improve accessibility for aspiring young cricketers who want to join the county’s talent pathway.
From September 2022, the Club will accept video footage online to give every aspiring cricketer the opportunity to showcase their talent. This will be open for boys aged between under-13 to under-18s in the first instance with a desire to widen the process to all boys and girls in due course.
Previously, only local clubs, schools and other cricketing organisations have been able to nominate players, but this process will open more opportunities for local talent to be identified and allow increased time for coaches to make informed decisions, in an attempt to remove bias.
The decision follows PhD research that was part-funded by the Club to identify how a errors, bias and a lack of objectivity can impact selection decisions.
In 2021, over 800 young players took part in the Warwickshire County Age Group trials, meaning that decisions regarding players were, in some cases, based on only one or two training sessions. Offering personalised feedback to all trialists was becoming an unmanageable commitment, plus coaches feel they wish to spend more time with fewer players to understand them better as players and people.
Paul Greetham, High Performance Manager, said: “This new ID process is the culmination of a lot of hard work and we’re incredibly excited to launch and share with the local community. Our processes have continually evolved over time, and we are attempting to flex with an evolving game, and a 21st century talent pool.
“By attempting to remove bias, all aspiring professional cricketers now have the opportunity to showcase their talent in a process that is fair and neutral.
“We welcome all applicants who fit the criteria and strongly advise them to watch the tutorial videos before sharing. This will give us as much information about their skillset as possible.”
The nomination process will be open to anyone who matches the entry criteria with details on how to apply available via the tutorial video. Players who are successful will be selected for a five or six session programme running from October to December where coaches will have ample time to assess players ability and developmental needs.
Players who are unsuccessful will be given group feedback on what criteria the Club is looking for in our young cricketers and instruction on how they can achieve it.
The process for the Under 10s, 11s and 12 boys and the women’s pathway will remain the same as previous years and information has already been relayed to the recreational game.
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