On Monday 20 March I had the exciting job of visiting the world famous Trent Bridge Cricket Ground in Nottinghamshire to speak to Nottinghamshire Men’s Fast Bowler Luke Fletcher and coach Paul Franks, with one of the Ann Craft Trust Safeguarding in Sport Managers, Nicola Dean.
As a cricket fan living in Nottingham, it’s hard not to know the history of Trent Bridge, one of the oldest cricket grounds in the world, or about the success of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. Nicola and I were interested to hear and see how culture, good or bad, plays its part in the success of one of England’s top sports clubs.
As you'll hear in the podcast, Nottinghamshire Cricket Club places a lot of emphasis on building a positive culture. As soon as Nicola and I stepped through the gates at Trent Bridge, you could feel and see that staff were happy in their work. The person working on the gate gave Nicola a brief history of the ground, and we could tell that he enjoyed coming to work.
This continued as Luke came to greet us with a box of new kit, excited about his new stash for the upcoming season. After 15 years, ‘Fletch’ could be forgiven for taking his stunning work surroundings for granted. But you can still see the excitement as he walked down the steps of the pavilion and took us out to the pitch. He stopped briefly to see how the ground staff were before talking us through what a good cricket pitch looks and feels like.
The impromptu tour continued to the kitchens, where Fletch and the chef had a light-hearted exchange about what was on the lunch menu for the upcoming pre-season friendly. We could sense a culture based on mutual respect, where everyone was comfortable and appeared happy in their work.
As we discuss in the podcast, a good culture means encouraging everyone to be the best version of themselves and to have fun in their work. But, if anyone sees, hears, or feels anything isn't right, they call out the poor practice early so that it doesn't become "the norm".
Thanks to Luke, Paul and Nottinghamshire Cricket Club for their wonderful welcome and openness to sharing with us what a safe culture means for them. Good luck for the season ahead!
- Stuart Sale, CEO, Ann Craft Trust
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