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In Hove and Away Spring Edition 2000 there is a plea by Chris Pickett, Assistant Secretary to the Sussex County Cricket Board for information in respect of cricket clubs in the County of Sussex. We wish him well.
The identification of Club Officers working in the area of youth cricket is very difficult to ascertain from the vast majority of clubs. Each year various bodies - the Sussex Cricket Association; the Sussex Junior Cricket Festival; the Sussex County Cricket Club; the Sussex Schools Cricket Association struggle in vain to obtain specific information. Perhaps the time has come for a common database to be maintained centrally and we await the outcome of the Board's appeal.

One piece of information will be required by the Board if the National Government's plans go ahead to establish an audit of playing facilities. Over the past three decades School teachers have noticed a steady diminution of playing facilities as school grounds have been sold off for other development but now fresh hope is to be provided by the Government who will insist that :
All children must have access to grass playing fields
All school pitches must be used for a minimum 7 hours per week
The access and usage should be monitored
.( Information extracted from D.Tel.28/03/00)
The application to provide sporting facilities through the launch of CYZ could not have been better planned. The Chancellor made beneficial changes through the donation of gifts to Charities and now it may well be that an independent assessment of each playing field application will be made to ensure dual use by the community and sports Clubs.
The plan at Blackstone makes every provision to ensure that football and stoolball, at present played on the ground, are retained . Indeed one would welcome the return of Blackstone Stoolball Club achieving the heights of previous years.
We await an announcement from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
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