Wiltshire Cricket Talent Pathway Programme 2020-2021 - Holding Message

FAO Club Junior Coordinators

Over the past couple of weeks we have started to receive a number of enquiries about what the junior talent pathway programme for the winter may look like, and what the process for player nominations and trials for this winter will be. The purpose of this email, therefore, is just to provide a holding message regarding our winter talent pathway programme.

Delayed Playing Season – Firstly, we just wanted to acknowledge that at this time of year we would normally be running outdoor trials. However, in this Covid interrupted season we are playing representative (and club) fixtures much later in to September. As such the normal window for trials is clearly disrupted as the focus is still on playing this season’s cricket

Indoor Facility Guidance – We are currently awaiting the release of ECB’s game wide guidance for the use of indoor facilities. Much like the guidance that was issued for the return of outdoor cricket, this guidance will be comprehensive and will mean this winter’s programmes at all levels of the game (club sessions, indoor cricket leagues, talent pathway cricket etc) looking a bit different. The challenges with indoor activities may also present challenges with regards availability of facilities and so we are having to both wait for this guidance and also gauge availability of facilities before being able to confirm the exact structure of our winter programme

Structure of Winter Programme – In terms of the structure of our winter programme, it is likely that our talent pathway structure will look different for this winter and in to next summer. Some of this may be driven by challenges presented by Covid but also regardless of Covid our team of county coaches have been discussing ideas around how we can improve our talent pathway structure to ensure that it is providing the best possible experience for our players.

Trials will happen – Whilst there will be challenges presented by Covid with regards what we are able to do indoors, and despite our normal trial window being disrupted, it is still our intention that there will be an opportunity for clubs to nominate players for trials this autumn. Below you will see a bit more information on expected timeframes for our nomination and trial process, however one thing that I would like to ask for club cooperation on at this stage is an appreciation that in current circumstances we will not be able to cater for large numbers of trialists due to restrictions on bubble sizes. We would also ask that when clubs see the new structure that they consider that new structure when making nominations, as opposed to making nominations based on historic talent pathway structures in Wiltshire.

Prospective timeframes:

  • ECB Indoor Facility Guidance issued – w/c 7th September 2020
  • Wiltshire Talent Pathway structure Details issued to clubs – Friday 11th September
    • Invitation to nominate for trials issued in same communication
  • Deadline for nominations – Wednesday 23rd September
  • Trials take place – weekends of 3rd/4th and 10th/11th October

Many thanks for your patience and understanding on the above and we look forward to being in touch next week with further details of this winter’s structure and the nomination process.