Britain's young cricketers battle for the future

After last year's epic Ashes win, cricket is hot. But decades of underfunding mean that few schoolchildren are able to play it. Nick Jackson reports on attempts to take the sport to the inner cities

Against the unusual backdrop of a Peckham estate's concrete towers, the England cricket star Kevin Pietersen this month took a break from preparations for the Sri Lanka Test series by swapping willow for plastic in a knockabout with local schoolchildren.

As breakdancers bopped to the Black Eyed Peas and Pietersen posed for the press with his celebrity girlfriend, the Liberty X singer Jessica Taylor, the message was clear: cricket is hot.

The knockabout was set up to publicise a new initiative, Urban Cricket, set up by the energy company and cricket sponsor NPower to bring cricket to the inner cities. Under the scheme - sold as "no pitch, no teams, no rules, just cricket" - 60,000 Urban Cricket kits are being distributed to schoolchildren across the country. NPower is clearly bending over backwards to make a break from the buttoned-up image of village green and leather on willow.

On the face of it, supporters of cricket have a lot to be cheery about. The effect of last year's spectacular Ashes win has been enormous, with participation in the sport shooting up nearly 50 per cent in the last year. And, according to the Government, there is already plenty of cricket in schools. The Department for Education and Skills reckons that 85 per cent of sports partnership schools in England (nearly 70 per cent of all schools) provide the sport.

Recently, there have been some remarkable new investments in school cricket. At St Margaret's Church of England High School in Liverpool, a combination of Lottery and DfES money has built a new £2m indoor cricket facility. "All of a sudden we're looking at top-of-the-range facilities," says John Ledger, head of PE at St Margaret's. "There's a real buzz around the school now." But he admits that his own school's recent good fortune is taking time to knock on to other local establishments. "We still have to travel considerable distances to play fixtures," he says. "We tend to play against a lot of independent schools."

However, despite the Government's figures - and success stories like St Margaret's - the reality is that provision across the country is more patchy. Within a few miles of the St Margaret's multimillion pound facility, Gateacre Community Comprehensive School and Croxteth Community Comprehensive School are both nominally part of the 85 per cent of sports partnership schools that provide cricket, according to the DfES, but neither has fielded a school cricket team in years. The DfES says its figures are based on the number of schools that do striking and fielding at Key Stage 3 and 4.

"Cricket's too difficult," explains Anthony Allen, head of PE at Croxteth. "It doesn't particularly fit in with the curriculum. It's much easier to get good marks at rounders." There is little enthusiasm to make the extra effort among pupils for whom, says Allen, football is the be all and end all.

Gateacre's head of PE, Ged Watkins, admits that cricket provision is "minimal", with Years 7 and 8 taught striking and fielding in the form of Kwik Cricket, played with plastic bats and wickets. "I would like to have loads more," he says, "but we don't have a lot of support." Without coaches or adequate facilities, fielding a team has so far proved impossible. Gateacre simply does not have playing fields large enough to act as cricket pitches.

Gateacre is not the only school without adequate grounds. While the DfES now takes a firm line on local authorities eager to sell up school fields, cricket in schools is still being affected by local authorities' eagerness to make a quick buck out of prime real estate. Community playing fields, which even St Margaret's uses for grass pitches, are still being sold off at what campaigners say is an alarming rate.

Cricket fans also blame an exam-orientated system, which encourages schools to opt out of cricket and go for easier options such as rounders. Nick Gandon, the director of the charity Cricket Foundation, is dismissive of the Government's figures on cricket provision in schools. Research by the Foundation found that only 10 per cent of schools have regular practices and fixtures.

Gandon insists that to get the most out of cricket you have to play it properly. "Playing games is where the benefits of cricket arise," he says. "Competition teaches people about life, about leadership and teamwork. Competition prepares youngsters for a competitive world."

Gandon believes that the dearth of cricket in schools should not just be a worry for fans and clubs looking out for the next Andrew Flintoff. He says that cricket has something to offer every child, not just the future stars of the Rose Bowl. "Cricket's a unique game," says Gandon. "It demands both individual and collective responsibility; it advances character and it reaches out to everyone - boys and girls, those with disabilities and all our major ethnic communities."

The Cricket Foundation is hoping to bring back the virtues of competitive cricket to schools with its £50m Chance to Shine initiative, organising for local clubs to provide facilities and coaching to schools. This year, 100 clubs will develop competitive cricket at 600 schools. Over the next 10 years the Cricket Foundation hopes to bring competitive cricket to 10,000 schools and nearly two million children.

Chance to Shine was launched last spring at Bethnal Green Technology College. "Cricket wasn't big in the school before last year; now it's looking quite promising," says Eswee Prinsloo, head of PE at the college. "The main thing is the enthusiasm and the energy Chance to Shine creates." Irfan Baibando, 13, would not have been playing cricket at all if it wasn't for Chance to Shine. Now a keen bowler and Shane Warne fan, he represents some evidence of the team spirit fans talk about. "I don't care about wickets," says Irfan. "If you're stopping the runs you're helping the team win."

It is not just clubs that are lending a hand. While cricket in the state sector has shrunk massively in the last 30 years, at independent schools it has flourished, with bigger budgets for coaches and readily available green spaces.

It makes sense for independent schools to engage with local communities as they defend their financial status as charities. But there is more to this, say advocates, than a bit of wily generosity.

Brighton College has opened up its facilities and provided coaching to the local comprehensive Falmer High School. Clare Connor, a former England captain and PR director at the school, explains the benefits. "It's not rich kids' charity," she says. "They learn from each other. Sport brings people together. It's part of a wider life education."

For fans, the focus is on finding the future stars of Lords. Anyone who shared the thrill of last year's Ashes will want us to be beating the Aussies a decade or two from now. That means finding and nurturing talent early. "Cricket at school was very important for me; it all went from there," says Charlotte Edwards, captain of the England women's cricket team. Edwards was spotted as a schoolgirl at Chelmsford cricket club. Last year, she led the England team to victory against Australia in the Ashes.

A repeat of last year's double Ashes victory looks unlikely, with Australia playing strongly and England crippled by injuries. Is the cricket season in danger of being overshadowed by the football frenzy of the World Cup?

Not according to Edwards: "Cricket is now exciting in a way that in the past it's not been," she says. "Cricket is the word on the street. It's phenomenal, really. It's an exciting few years ahead."

Stars of tomorrow?

Frankie Cadby, 13, has been playing cricket at City of London Academy for the past six weeks

I started playing at school for two hours a week, and I was really good at bowling. That got me interested. Now I play outside school, too.

Tobi Fayeun, 13, has been playing for four years

When I was younger I used to watch cricket on TV. I wanted to get involved so I started playing at school and then at clubs. It's great fun. Now I play in after-school clubs and I go down to the nets on Wednesdays with friends.

Seniz Hussein, 11, has been playing for five years

I started at primary school, and then with a few friends. Watching TV got me in to it. I play with boys and girls. Girls should know it's not just a boy's game, it's for everyone.

NJ