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The 2019/20 Australian Cricket Census has revealed a 3.8% increase in registered participation (709,957) following three years of decline. Registered participation includes registered programs, club cricket, indoor cricket, organised school competitions and non-club cricket competitions.

Cricket Australia’s Executive General Manager of Community Cricket, Belinda Clark advises that “these results are testament to the tireless work of our many volunteers around the country and the support States & Territories and CA is providing.”   

The 2019/20 Australian Cricket Census is the 19th annual audit of Australian cricket participation. The Census has become an important measure for Cricket, and assists understanding and monitoring successes, areas to develop and trends for the long‐term enhancement of Australian cricket.

In addition, there was a 10% increase in the number of children exposed to the game in the schoolyard, resulting in reaching more than 1 million school kids (10% growth YoY).

The combined total of children in school programs and registered participation is 1.77million (7% increase YoY).

While this is the longstanding method that most sports participation has been calculated, Australian cricket has shifted to focusing on registered participation; people choosing to play cricket in competitions and programs outside of school hours.

The combined efforts of volunteers, State and Territory Associations and CA has resulted in strong growth across a number of key registered participation areas: 

• Female Participation grew to 76,400, an increase of 11.4% YoY,
• Woolworths Cricket Blast participation increased to 59,300 participants, up 14% YoY,
• Junior Club Cricket grew to 5,800 in teams for boys aged 12-and-under, an increase of 8% YoY,
• Non-club cricket competitions grew to 54,000, up 29% YoY.  

In addition, club cricket experienced increases in Indigenous participation (up 12.6% YoY), multicultural participation (up 12% YoY) and participation among people living with a disability (up 10.3% YoY).

Clark also notes “we have experienced an overall increase in the number of teams playing as well as strong interest in Woolworths Cricket Blast (WWCB) registrations. I am also thrilled with the continuing growth in female participation across WWCB, junior cricket and senior cricket. 

“This result was no doubt helped by a big summer of cricket with the women’s and men’s Ashes and the historic ICC Women’s T20 World Cup victory in March.   

“We will soon launch our new female participation strategy to accelerate this momentum. Cricket clubs around the country, today more than ever, will become an important place for the community to connect, feel safe and accepted as well as grow the sport we all love.  

Clark added “our focus is to continue to support associations, clubs and their local communities, make participation options more enjoyable and accessible and to make volunteering easier, particularly as we navigate our way through the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“Cricket is more than a sport and has a huge role to play in the coming summer to help re-connect communities after a challenging period.

“We understand that there will still be plenty of challenges over the next few months, particularly for our regional clubs, volunteers and participants.

“We’re focused on supporting clubs and volunteers as best as we can, particularly starting the season in a safe manner, as well as providing fun, active, and social opportunities for the community to enjoy.

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