Following a recent review, it became clear that Cricket Kit Recycling didn’t align with our strategy to focus on areas of our work that deliver the greatest impact. As such, going forward we will be prioritising our disability and community cricket programmes where the demand for our work has never been greater.

We had been in discussions with several partners to help support this programme going forward, but no permanent solution was found. Given there was a break clause in the lease of our storage facility which had to be activated earlier this year - or we would be committed for a further five years – we have taken the decision to close down our warehouse.

We are proud of the impact we have had in this space, but we can no longer afford to run the scheme while also delivering the impact we want to have for our programme participants. Cricket Kit Recycling has developed into a national programme supported by 64 collection hubs and has cost more than £1million over the past five years. This year alone, we have delivered more than 10,000kg of kit and more than 30,000 items to 58 projects – 40 of which are in the UK and include partner cricket charities.

“This is not a decision we have taken lightly,” explained Taverners CEO Mark Curtin. “Our strategy is to grow the reach of our work and be as impactful as we can be. Having more than doubled the number of participants on our Super 1s and Wicketz programmes along with our work to take cricket in to SEND schools, these will be the core focus of our work moving forward.

“We are very proud of the impact that Cricket Kit Recycling has delivered in the UK and across the world, but we cannot afford to do this on our own without detracting from our core purpose.

“However, we are not turning our backs on this, and we want to be part of a sustainable solution that can meet the environmental and inclusive needs of the game, while ensuring that access to safe and affordable equipment is not a barrier to playing cricket and the health, wellbeing and life skills it delivers.”

Thank you to everyone who has helped support this programme since it's inception - those who donated kit, were local collection hubs, helped transport and deliver, lead and assisted in our warehouse, and to all the young people and communities we reached.