July saw the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) continue to celebrate a major year for women’s cricket through an integrated brand platform and marketing campaign called ‘We Got Game’.
The multi-stranded initiative sets out to help young women and girls access the game and thus to discover and support a new generation of female players and expand women’s passion for and participation in the sport.
A hero ‘We Got Game’ rolled out from 14 July which featured dynamic action from across the professional English cricket women’s landscape – Vitality Blast, LV= Insurance County Championship and Royal London One-Day Cup – and sought to drive viewers online to follow the organisation’s social channels and to find out more at ecb.co.uk
Launched to leverage cricket excitement around the start of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, the lead spot was supported by the ongoing #WeGotGame social content programme.
It was back in March 2022 that the ECB initially unveiled ‘We Got Game’ to boost the profile of women’s cricket as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 kicked off in New Zealand on 5 March.
‘We Got Game’ is a fresh platform designed to elevate the profile of women’s cricket and welcome more young women and girls into the game to drive greater gender balance from the grassroots to the highest level.
The initiative, which was developed in collaboration with the England Women’s team, is spearheaded through the launch of a standalone Instagram channel @wegotgameofficial which showcases content inspired by both professional and grassroots players and it also seeks to illustrate and showcase the societal, mental wellbeing and physical benefits of cricket to young women and girls. The aim is to unite a community of like-minded young women to share their passions both on and off the pitch.
“On the eve of the Commonwealth Games kicking off, which women’s cricket will feature in for the first time, we are unveiling a new suite of content featuring players from the elite to the grassroots to support the We Got Game campaign,” explained ECB Chief Diversity and Communications Officer Kate Miller. “The new look and feel for women’s cricket will demonstrate the relevance and relatability of the players as well as the benefits of getting into the game – friendship, fun and the ability to express your individuality in the supportive team environment. Together we all have a role to play in raising the game, so gender parity is at the heart of what we do and this campaign will take the women’s game to a new generation of fans and players. It will tap into a community of girls who are coming together, inspired by a vibrant group of women’s players, to power the future and take women’s cricket to the next level.”
Comment
Following record breaking attendances and TV viewing figures of The Hundred’s women’s competition in summer 2021, 2022 is a big year for women’s cricket: with the second iteration of the ECB’s The Hundred tournament as well as female cricket appearing for the first time in the Commonwealth Games at Birmingham 2022, followed by a long-awaited homecoming for England Women at Lord’s in a One Day International game against India on 24 September.
The ECB is using the schedule as a springboard to support the game and turbo charge its women’s cricket commitments as it aims to transform women’s and girls’ cricket with six priorities within its ‘Inspiring Generations’ strategy which will see the ECB invest £20m in the women’s game by 2023 and £50m by 2025.
According to the ECB, more than 1,000 clubs are offering women and girls the chance to play this summer and there has been a 33% increase in the total number of women’s and girl’s teams across the country from 2019 (2,042 to 2,712).
Plus, there is now a record number of female professional players (68) with the women’s cricket salary pot doubling.
Yet, girls only make up 27% of sign-ups to ECB’s national participation programmes and only 10% of girls aged 14-to-24 are doing enough sport to benefit their health and as they hit puberty there is a 30% drop-off in self-confidence.
In the first year of ‘We Got Game’, the ECB aims to increase girls sign ups to All Stars Cricket and Dynamos Cricket by 25% from the previous year.
“Being part of a supportive team means being completely free to express myself, it’s one of the things I love most about playing cricket,” said England Women’s player Kate Cross at the initiative’s original launch event. “When we win, we celebrate together, when we lose, we stick together, we lift each other up. We know what we need from each other because we’re like a family. We Got Game is an extension of that, it’s our community. We want young women and girls everywhere to know that our game is a place where, whoever you are, you’ll be accepted and supported, and your confidence can grow. You can be who you are. We want everyone to feel welcome.”
ECB Managing Director of Women’s Cricket Clare Connor added: “This year the opportunity for women’s cricket is greater than just winning trophies, it’s about grabbing hold of moments to raise the profile of women’s cricket, making cricket accessible, more culturally diverse and more relevant to every young woman and girl across England and Wales. That’s why the time is perfect to launch We Got Game and encourage more young women and girls to believe that cricket is a game for them.”
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