In November 2013, ECB released the findings of a comprehensive new study into recreational cricket which shows that 1.7 million people played the sport in the last twelve months.

Revamped and restructured for 2014, Chance to Compete has been all around the County so far in May. Three headline competitions are available to schools this year which are the Super Eights (entry level hardball), Girls Only and Mixed Softball.

Before the half term we've seen the cluster festivals followed by Finals Day for the Super 8s as well as the Girls Only competitions, all of which have showcased some excellent Cricket.

With the support of Waitrose, England Cricket's new Team Sponsor, ECB is encouraging clubs to host a Club Open Day this summer. Last year 310 clubs took part in opening their doors to their local community seeing thousands of people involved and over £149,000 raised across England and Wales.

Thanks to our friends at Waitrose we are offering a unique and unforgettable experience for one of our Chance to Shine children: the chance to walk out this summer with the England cricket captain as the official England mascot at the Lord’s (12/06/2014) or Headingley (20/06/2014) Test matches against Sri Lanka.

Check out our Super 8 reasons to come to the matches this year! All these matches are floodlit fixtures, at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, with seven on Friday nights!

Canterbury Christ Church University is continuing its successful partnership with Kent County Cricket Club by becoming the sponsor of their Women’s team for the 2014 season.

After the success last year, the 'Schools Day Out' returns for 2014.

Tickets are available to schools free of charge, please click continue reading for full information.

The NatWest OSCAs are the ECB’s Outstanding Service to Cricket Awards and are aimed at recognising and rewarding those volunteers who give so much of their time to the game of cricket.

We've posted a few stories and photos following NatWest Cricketforce 2014 and we've now proud to announce our video diary with Dartfordians CC, featuring Paul Bedford is now complete! 

Head on over to our NatWest CricketForce page to check it out.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has announced that 18 players from the England Women’s Performance Programme have been awarded new contracts, which have come into effect from this month.