Over one million children have engaged with cricket during the ICC Cricket World Cup, according to figures from the ECB.

The achievement comes as a result of the plan to use the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup to connect with children and young people - a key part of the ECB’s plan to grow the game.

To help inspire the next generation to fall in love with cricket, partners and stakeholders across the game have worked on initiatives including Cricket World Cup Club Family Days, the Cricket World Cup Schools Programme and fan zones.

In a landmark year for cricket, the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup has helped bring cricket to thousands of schools across the country through a partnership with the Chance to Shine charity and Kwik Cricket competitions, engaging over 700,000 kids and 12,000 teachers in the sport.

Over 12,000 children have experienced the thrilling spectacle of the Cricket World Cup first-hand thanks to free tickets.

There has also been a wide range of opportunities available to kids to engage directly in the game through interactive cricketing activities.

To ensure clubs continue to be diverse and family friendly, the ECB has made a multi-million-pound investment directly into clubs through the World Cup Small Grants Scheme.

The scheme has allowed 3,000 recreational clubs throw open their doors throughout the tournament, giving over 80,000 kids the opportunity to connect with the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in the first month of the tournament alone. 

The ECB will continue to build on the momentum from the tournament and grow the game through a variety of initiatives including its introductory All Stars Cricket programme for five to eight-year-olds.

Ten thousand kids are scheduled to take part in All Stars taster sessions in clubs after the tournament has finished.

Later this year, the ECB will launch a major new schools strategy with the aim of doubling cricket participation in primary schools - bringing cricket to the playgrounds and playing fields of schools across England and Wales.

The ECB will also invest £20m to transform the women’s and girls’ game, creating a clear pathway from young girls playing All Stars Cricket to the England cricket team.

“We set ourselves the ambitious target of connecting with one million young people and we are delighted to have met our goal ahead of time," said Tom Harrison, Chief Executive Officer of the ECB.

"This has only been possible thanks to the hard work of people right across the game. Our five-year strategy, Inspiring Generations, will build on this as we look to continue to grow the game and engage more young people in the sport.”

Steve Elworthy, ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 Managing Director, said “When we started the planning for the tournament almost four years ago, we set ourselves the ambition to use it to inspire and have a positive impact on the game.

"Working closely with the ECB, Chance to Shine, Lord’s Taverners and a number of other partners, we have hopefully been able to play a role in inspiring each of the one million children we have engaged with to fall in love with the game.

"World Cups are very special events, and it is hugely pleasing to see that the ECB and the whole cricket network have taken the opportunity with both hands to grow and diversify the game.”

To find out more about how you can connect with cricket please visit ecb.co.uk.