Budding cricketers will be able to try out the sport for free as the city’s first public cricket wicket is set to open.

The £9,000 synthetic wicket will be installed at the King George V Playing Fields in Brickfields this week and will be open for the latter half of the cricket season.

Approved by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the wicket is surfaced with an artificial woven cricket carpet that is free draining, spike-resistant and responsive to spin and seam bowling.

Cricket has grown in popularity since the England cricket team’s World Cup success in 2019 and the introduction of The Hundred competition and it is hoped that the new facility will encourage more young people and women to take up the sport.

READ MORE: Council hoping to make cricket more accessible with Worcester's first public wicket

Hundreds of Worcester children already attend the ‘Inspiring Generations project.’

The All Stars Cricket programme was established in 2017 to teach basic skills to five-to-eight-year-olds, who then can progress to Dynamos Cricket, which teaches children how to play using a soft ball, ready for transition to traditional hard ball cricket. 

Another format of the game is tape ball, which is a tennis ball that has been modified to give it greater weight, speed and distance while still being easier to play with than a traditional cricket ball. 

The public wicket was the idea of Worcester councillor Jabbar Riaz.

A keen cricketer himself, he is bowled over with the news that the new wicket is about to be installed.

“I’m delighted to see this project get underway and I’m hoping it sets the ball rolling for even more free cricket facilities across the city,” he said.

“Football has long been an accessible sport and with cricket’s popularity rising, it would be fantastic to see more young people and more women being able to engage with the sport.” 

The artificial pitch installation will also generate a small income for the council as bookings for organised matches would be required – it is planned to use this income for pitch maintenance.

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