New Zealand Cricket has today [Tuesday 22 December] announced a commercial partnership with Action Indoor Sports – the country’s largest indoor cricket network.
* Mark Cini (Managing Director of Action Indoor Sports) with Justin Vaughan (New Zealand Cricket CEO)
The move brings thousands of registered indoor cricket players – playing at Action’s 17 indoor cricket stadiums nationwide – into the wider New Zealand cricket family, making cricket an integrated, year-round sporting activity with a total of close to 200,000 players.
New Zealand Cricket Chief Executive Justin Vaughan said the move is a significant strategic partnership, with cricket the first major sport in New Zealand to develop such a relationship with its indoor equivalent.
“We’re delighted to be developing this partnership with Action Indoor Sports,” said Vaughan. “With this new relationship we look forward to building cricket as a 12-months a year sport, and increasing participation in the game, both indoors and outdoors.
“There are tremendous opportunities to grow both forms of the game. Increasingly the skill-sets required in traditional and indoor cricket are very similar, and there are many opportunities for both forms to use each others’ facilities and resources.
“Outdoor teams, for example, can benefit from using indoor facilities for off-season or wet-weather training.
“There are also opportunities to promote and market the game across both platforms.”
Mr Vaughan said the New Zealand move followed international trends, with Cricket Australia and the England and Wales Cricket Board both integrating with the indoor game, and similar steps under way in South Africa.
Action Indoor Sports Managing Director Mark Cini said the Action group was very proud to be welcomed into the New Zealand Cricket Family
“I firmly believe that the two forms of the game can not only lift cricket into a 12-month product, but with over 120,000 players of all ages coming thru the doors at Action Stadiums Nationwide the opportunities are endless,” he said.
