As Australian Cricket celebrates Play Cricket Week this week, Cricket Victoria is proud to see the sport continuing to grow, with the number of players statewide boosted by 7% between seasons 2022/23 to 2023/24. Women and girls club cricket had the highest increase across all categories, rising by 11%, while Woolworths Cricket Blast registrations increased […]

As Australian Cricket celebrates Play Cricket Week this week, Cricket Victoria is proud to see the sport continuing to grow, with the number of players statewide boosted by 7% between seasons 2022/23 to 2023/24.

Women and girls club cricket had the highest increase across all categories, rising by 11%, while Woolworths Cricket Blast registrations increased by 6%- and 5-12-year-old registrations increased by 3%. However there has a small year-on-year decline in the number of players registered in junior cricket (-3%).

Within the national plan to safeguard the future of the game and ensure participants can continue to play the sport for longer, Cricket Victoria will be implementing a number of strategies across the upcoming season and beyond.

Central to this, Cricket Victoria will work alongside clubs and association to create more opportunities for people to play cricket, including a multi-season calendar and alternate formats (e.g. Tape Ball) plus a focus on increasing the opportunities for women and supporting Cricket Australia’s review of Junior Cricket.

Liam Murphy, General Manager Premier Cricket & Community Cricket at Cricket Victoria said we have been very pleased to see the ongoing growth of cricket participation in Victoria, but now is not the time to rest.

“As we strive to keep developing the game we all love across new and existing audiences, finding new ways that people can play the sport is critical to our growth, as we develop from a traditional summer sport into a multi-season option,” he said.

“We are also working closely on the development of a formal Tape Ball cricket competition to become even more accessible for people to play.

“Cricket Victoria appreciates the dedication of our volunteers, whose tireless efforts are the backbone of our clubs and associations. Their passion and commitment are what make it possible for us to bring cricket to so many, and we extend our thanks to them for everything they do.”