Why more needs to be done to get working class children in Yorkshire involved in the game of cricket

People need only look at Headingley over the next few days, where England and India are battling it out in the first test of the series, to see how much this region loves the game.

There will be countless villages where local communities will be coalescing around cricket.

That is why the report from York St John University warning of a significant decline in state school cricket opportunities for working-class boys will be a major cause for concern.

It highlights the problem of bridging the gap between soft ball cricket played by young children and hard ball cricket that is played by those at an older age. The report makes a sensible suggestion of introducing a new 'harder' ball format.

There is also a clear need to empower teachers so that they have the confidence and competence in delivering hardball cricket. More grassroots funding targeted at schools is also required

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) needs to take on board these findings. A failure to get more working class children involved in the game will only make the game poorer, especially in a region like Yorkshire. The platform is already there with existing initiatives such as Kwik Cricket. That momentum needs to be carried on into the hard ball format, ensuring young people carry a love of the game into adulthood.