With the Women’s Cricket World Cup starting on 12th June, the sport is entering another moment of real visibility and growth.

As audiences grow and participation increases at all levels, there is a parallel conversation that matters just as much but is often less visible, and those are the ones around the spaces where cricket actually happens.

From grassroots clubs to elite training centres, the quality and design of facilities play a key role in how welcoming, inclusive and sustainable the game is for everyone.

Facilities need to catch up with the game

For many years, cricket facilities were not designed with inclusivity in mind. Changing areas, circulation and shared spaces often reflected a more traditional user base, which could create barriers for women, girls and many other groups.

That is now changing, and there is a growing recognition across the sport that better-designed environments can support wider participation and improve the experience for all users.

Good design is not just about aesthetics. It is about making spaces easy to use, safe, and genuinely welcoming from the moment someone arrives.

What does a well-designed cricket facility look like?

Through our work with the England and Wales Cricket Board on the Welcoming Environments design guide, seven architecture has helped shape guidance focused on improving accessibility and inclusion across community cricket.

In practice, this means:

• Clear and intuitive layouts that make movement around the building simple
• Inclusive changing facilities that support different users comfortably
• Strong connections between social and playing spaces
• Durable, easy-to-maintain materials suited to high-use environments
• Flexible spaces that support both cricket and wider community use

At the heart of modern cricket pavilion design is a simple idea: facilities should work for everyone who uses them.

Listening to players and communities

Developing more inclusive environments starts with understanding real experiences.

Ruth Sienkiewicz, Associate at seven architecture and a Trustee of the England and Wales Cricket Trust, was closely involved in research that informed the ECB guidance on creating Welcoming Environments.

As Ruth explains:

“We carried out a lot of research and conducted multiple surveys with recreational cricket clubs to understand what the current barriers might be within club facilities. One thing that really stood out was how women cricketers noticed that honours boards and displays were often dominated by male-focussed imagery and memorabilia.”

 

Small details like that can affect how welcome people feel in a space. We also looked at how to create more family-friendly environments, so that someone dropping their child off at cricket might feel more comfortable to stay, perhaps getting involved and eventually becoming part of the club.”

These insights highlight how design goes beyond layout and materials. It shapes how people feel in a space, and whether they feel it belongs to them.

From grassroots to elite level

This approach applies across the full spectrum of the game.

At community level, well-designed pavilions and clubhouses help create spaces where people feel comfortable joining in, whether they are playing, watching or simply connecting with others.

For example, at Harrogate Cricket Club, a new multi-functional pavilion was designed to support both match days and wider community use, including its role as a centre of excellence for women’s cricket. This kind of flexibility helps ensure facilities are used more often, and by more people.

At the same time, thoughtful masterplanning can help re-establish cricket as a focal point within a community. At Bradford Park Avenue, new facilities have been designed to support women’s, disability and community cricket, forming part of a wider strategy to bring a historic ground back into active use and widen participation.

Masterplanning for Bradford Park Avenue

Harrogate Cricket Club

Supporting performance and progression

At elite level, the focus shifts slightly, but the importance of design remains just as strong.

High-quality training and changing environments support player preparation, recovery and wellbeing, which are all essential as the women’s game continues to grow.

At Lancashire Cricket Club, upgraded changing and training facilities were reconfigured to improve circulation, usability and overall performance standards, creating a more coherent and professional environment aligned with international competition.

Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground – Changing Rooms

Across both grassroots and elite settings, the aim is always to create spaces that support participation, encourage progression and reflect the evolving diversity of the game.

Looking beyond the World Cup

The Women’s Cricket World Cup is an important milestone for the sport, but its long-term growth depends on more than what happens on the international stage.

It depends on the everyday environments where people train, play and feel part of the game.

By continuing to invest in thoughtful, inclusive design, clubs and organisations can help ensure cricket is open, accessible and welcoming for future generations.