The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has set the inspirational goal of becoming the nation’s most inclusive team sport – and technology is a key enabler for realising this ambitious vision. By transforming the digital experience for players, fans and volunteers, the ECB aims to grow and unite the sport by promoting a sense of belonging for all; the conviction that “cricket is a game for me”.
Cognizant is proud to be the ECB’s Official Digital Technology Transformation Partner and Official IT Consulting Partner for the grassroots game. Recreational cricket is the sport’s foundation, bringing together diverse communities with a shared love for the bat and ball.
Working together, we are turbocharging the use of technology to create an integrated, user-friendly digital ecosystem, driving engagement and removing barriers to participation for cricketers of all backgrounds.
The first phase of our partnership focuses on upgrading the ECB’s existing grassroots digital products and is already driving accessibility through enhanced, more intuitive systems navigation for an improved user experience. Future phases will deliver consolidated, well-integrated digital tools to provide seamless experiences for recreational players and coaches.
Equality and diversity: the grassroots focus
The ECB has had huge success in nurturing cricket at all levels through the grassroots game across England and Wales. There are 5,500 recreational clubs and more than 2.5 million active grassroots cricketers – and behind these headline figures lie some encouraging trends. With 1.4 million players under 16, the number of junior teams stands at 17,900, up from 13,200 in 2021. There were over 20,000 women’s and girls’ grassroots fixtures in 2023.
There is still work to do to ensure that cricket reaches new audiences and creates larger community networks. The ECB’s Inspiring Generations strategy for 2025-28 sets out the steps for making cricket even more accessible and equitable. At grassroots level, this includes simplifying the administration involved in running local clubs, empowering participation and enhancing enjoyment.
“Accelerated discovery”
To develop a high impact strategy for streamlining the digital experience, Cognizant’s first task was to audit the ECB’s existing suite of products for recreational clubs and cricketers. Our cross-functional team studied feedback from over 10,500 users and ran 18 workshops with 60-plus volunteers, administrators, coaches, umpires and other stakeholders. This yielded three key insights:
- Users found most of the existing administration systems difficult to navigate
- Their data was not joined together across different processes, and they had to enter the same information multiple times
- They preferred fewer systems – there was an overlap in usage and utilities: “I have too many logins”.
We then created a comprehensive roadmap to address these pain points in three stages: rapid design improvements to existing products for easier systems navigation, a medium-term programme for joined-up data processes to streamline the user journey and, over the longer term, system rationalisation to integrate and modernise the digital tools.
Quick wins and long-term strategies to enhance the user journey
We have recently completed our first phase of work, focusing on quick wins to improve the user journey in selected high visibility, high usage recreation products. Cognizant’s tightly focused execution approach was central to the success of the first phase, encompassing navigation tool evaluation and selection, stakeholder management and granular project tracking.
Key improvements across these systems include a customised navigation assistant and enhanced signposting so that users are rapidly guided to the right area of the portal and next steps are clear. Users told us that functionality within existing portals is “a matter of guesswork”. By embedding a guided video for first time users, clear navigation options and “what next” user guides, our work is empowering recreational cricketers to find all the information they need and successfully administer the game.
David Payne, Head of Data & Product at the ECB, shared: “The Cognizant team has rapidly started to address some of the key pain points across our cricket administration. They quickly understood our issues and brought in expertise to develop and implement a plan for design improvements that are intuitive, meet the needs of our users and make the overall user experience a more positive one. We look forward to working with Cognizant on the next phases of our partnership as we deliver seamless experiences across our digital tools.”
For the 2025-26 season, the second phase of our partnership will focus on streamlining and accelerating the user journey through automation to significantly reduce the number of times a parent, volunteer or coach is required to input the same data. From 2027 and beyond, we will turn the spotlight to systems rationalisation and data modernisation, future-proofing the ECB’s tools and platforms and supporting the game to grow.
A partnership to inspire generations of cricketers
Cognizant is delighted to partner with the ECB to support its ongoing digital transformation and to advance innovation in grassroots cricket – a key part of the ECB’s strategy to inspire generations and make cricket the most inclusive team sport.
Cricket is a sport close to the hearts of so many of Cognizant’s people worldwide, particularly due to our rich Indian heritage and diverse workforce, whilst the ECB’s ambition to increase equality and diversity closely aligns with Cognizant’s values. We are excited about offering streamlined and personalised digital experiences to recreational cricketers, leading to deeper engagement in this great game.
To learn more about our work in recreational cricket with the ECB visit www.cognizant.com/uk/cricket.
