New Flicx UK partnership to support State School cricket growth in Essex

Flicx UK have joined forces with Essex Cricket in the Community and Eclipse Cricket Consultancy to support their senior school cricket competitions and the wider development of cricket facilities within the county. In the past few years, the Essex County competition structure which is split into 3 tiers and includes both boys and girls has grown up to beyond 260 teams.

Tier 1 is for well-established cricket schools playing hard ball cricket but the recent growth has come from Tier 3 which is an introductory 5 aside festival format. Schools entering at this level, may not have access to a fine turf pitches so some amount of thinking outside the box is required. The 2G Flicx Pitch is an ideal solution to these schools developing a cricket programme with its versatility to perform on various undersurfaces including grass fields, playgrounds, sand dressed astros, indoor sports halls, tennis courts, 3G rubbercrumbs etc with the results of transforming these surfaces for cricket and making the game look and feel much more authentic to pupils.

As part of the partnership Flicx UK will provide a discounted pitch bundle to participating schools as well as rolling out pitches for the finals days which will allow Essex Cricket in the Community and Eclipse to divide venues such as the county ground and Billericay Cricket Club and host 4 games plus simultaneously whilst also providing other activations to enhance the cricketing experience.

More widely, the 2G Flicx Pitch is being used by club and schools worldwide to maximise their green space and host more cricket whilst also saving time and money versus and giving more flexibility other artificial solutions. Any pitches purchased by clubs and schools Essex will now also create a funding pot to help the Tier 3 programme expand and benefit more pupils in more state schools whilst Flicx UK, Essex Cricket in the Community and Eclipse Cricket Consultancy are also offering pitch sponsorship opportunities and are hoping to secure a funding award from the Essex Cricket Foundation.

Speaking about the partnership Kate Costin from Flicx UK said “This partnership truly aligns with our values at Flicx to create more opportunities for more people to play cricket. We are fully committed to supporting and helping Paul and Dan to build on the fantastic competition structure that is in place in Essex and am sure that the 2G Flicx Pitch will further enhance pupils’ enjoyment of the game. Schools who invest in a 2G Flicx Pitch also can attract facility hire income from local clubs and look to develop a relationship to support their pupils to develop a lifelong love of the game”.

Eclipse Cricket Consultancy owner and Director of Cricket, Paul Davidge said “We look forward to working with Flicx to further develop the Tier 3 competition. Many schools entering really struggle with suitable facilities to host cricket so the portability and flexibility of the great Flicx solution, mean it will be a fantastic product for schools to invest in to take their cricket programmes to the next level”.

I have also seen with the growth of cricket in independent schools and clubs, that the pressure on turf wickets is high so the ability to roll out Flicx Pitches on the outfield is a great way to increase space for matches and training”.

Paul Davidge, Eclipse Cricket Consultancy

Dan Feist at Essex Cricket in the Community added. “At Essex we have a strong history of State School cricket with currently over 50% of the pathway having attend state school, Creating an offer that is not just exciting for the pupils but also Engages Teachers by creating a format that fits in with the school timetable, is absolutely the right thing for us to do. With the Tier 3 strand growing rapidly it’s great to have Flicx on board to enhance the player experience at finals days and allow us to grow the game further in these schools. Together with Flicx we also have an innovative way in which sponsors can support the development of cricket in state schools with logo branding the bright, bold, bespoke pitches that can pave the way for girls and boys to develop a passion for cricket in all schools.

“Having Flicx attend and support the festivals will also enhance the experience we can offer pupils which will only help to grow the game further. There are so many opportunities for schools and clubs alike to grow the game with 2G Flicx Pitches”.

Dan Feist, Essex Cricket in the Community