The program is designed to address the low percentage of women in leadership positions in global cricket and build a pipeline of new female leaders in cricket

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday launched the next phase of the 100 per cent cricket campaign, with the launch of the 100 per cent Cricket Future Leaders Programme — a mentorship programme for all female future leaders in cricket as part of their long-term commitment to accelerating the growth of women’s cricket and women in cricket.

It is designed to support emerging female talent in cricket across administration, coaching and officiating, broadcast, and journalism as well as marketing, digital and technology and events. The programme is designed to address the low percentage of women in leadership positions in global cricket and build a pipeline of new female leaders in cricket. Commenting on the programme Greg Barclay, Chairman ICC, said: “Cricket is a genuinely inclusive sport for all, but that is not widely reflected in how our game is led globally so it gives me great pleasure to launch the Future Leaders Programme.

“This is a practical approach towards solving the underrepresentation of women in leadership positions in our sport to enable us to build a strong pipeline of future female leaders and ultimately inspire more women to take up roles in cricket.

“The response from the global cricket community has been fantastic as you can see from the mentors who have enthusiastically committed to bringing their knowledge and expertise to the programme and I am personally looking forward to being part of it,” added Barclay.

The application is open for all female future leaders of cricket to apply and will be matched with a mentor to support their development growth.

The role of a mentor is to unlock their mentee’s potential and help them to be at their best. This could include being a confidential sounding board, providing advice, guidance, and connections to reach their potential.

The philosophy of the 100 percent Cricket — Future Leaders Programme is to be participant lead, with the ICC acting in support to match the mentees with suitable mentors and provide guidelines and evaluation frameworks for the participants and opportunities to network and interact.

The program will last for a period of 6 months and include a kick-off workshop with Belinda Clark, followed by monthly check-ins and a 3-month review with the mentees and mentors agreeing to the frequency and method of communication.

Commenting on her involvement Belinda Clark AO said: “I have experienced and witnessed some amazing leaders within cricket over the last 20 years. It is pleasing that these quality leaders are willing to help females starting out on their leadership journey. We have made great progress, but cricket understands it has a big responsibility to be more inclusive across all areas of the sport.

“The breadth of this program is unique — not only covering the areas of administration, coaching, officiating, governance, broadcast, digital but also matching people across borders to make it a truly global experience. I applaud the ICC for undertaking this program to facilitate greater diversity in all areas of the game. I encourage emerging female leaders involved in cricket to think about this unique opportunity and submit an application to be involved.”