B4 CEO Richard Rosser speaks to Alex Mitchell, Director of Development and Commercial Partnerships at Oxfordshire Cricket, about his journey into the game, the organisation’s ambitious 2025–2028 strategy, its growing community impact and why stronger business partnerships will be essential to its future.
For Alex Mitchell, working in cricket is the fulfilment of a long-held ambition. Having previously worked in the fire service and sporting charities, Alex spent several years working towards a career in the game he has always loved.
But his motivation goes far beyond cricket itself.
“I have always loved cricket and had a long-held dream of working within the game,” Alex explains. “My motivation is that my role enables the organisation to make an even greater difference in our local community. I love the values that cricket represents, and the more people I can help experience this, the better.”
That commitment to community impact is central to Oxfordshire Cricket’s ambitious plans for the coming years.
The organisation has recently committed to a further three years as a B4 Platinum Member, strengthening a partnership built on collaboration, community engagement and a shared ambition to create opportunities across Oxfordshire.
With participation increasing, an expanding range of community programmes and a strategy running through to 2028, Oxfordshire Cricket is looking to build on its growing influence both on and off the pitch.
Richard Rosser caught up with Alex to explore the organisation’s ambitions, the challenges facing sporting charities and how Oxfordshire businesses can help.
Building on Growing Momentum
Richard Rosser: Firstly, Alex, thank you for committing to another three years as a B4 Platinum Member. Looking ahead to 2028, where would you like Oxfordshire Cricket to be?
Alex Mitchell: I want us to be one of the strongest and most visible sporting organisations in the county. Participation is increasing, our community work is fantastic and we’ve got some exciting plans, including the possibility of developing our own facility.
For me, the community side represents our biggest opportunity. That’s where we can make a real difference, and partnerships with organisations like B4 can help us grow.
Richard: The participation figures are impressive. What does your latest impact data tell us?
Alex: We’ve recorded just under 11,000 school and community engagements, including approximately 8,000 in schools and another 2,500 to 3,000 through other activities, predominantly involving young people under 16.
Our Future Leaders Academy has contributed 2,274 volunteering hours, while we now have 109 women’s and girls’ competition teams, an increase of more than 30% on the previous year.
Participation in All Stars and Dynamos, our introductory programmes for younger cricketers, has also increased by around 350 participants.
The growth has been significant, and we’re determined to build on that momentum.
An Ambitious Strategy for 2028
Richard: You’ve launched a strategy taking Oxfordshire Cricket through to 2028. What are the principal ambitions?
Alex: One of our headline targets is to engage 35,000 children through schools and community programmes.
We also want every junior cricket section to offer opportunities for girls, achieve a further 20% growth in junior participation and develop 150 new female coaches.
We’re equally ambitious about helping young players progress into academy and professional cricket.
The strategy gives us clear objectives and a way to measure our progress. We’ll also produce an annual impact report to demonstrate the difference we’re making.
Launched at St Edward’s School, Oxfordshire Cricket’s 2025–2028 strategy focuses on four priorities: engaging and inspiring communities, accelerating women’s and girls’ cricket, empowering people and building a sustainable future.
Read Oxfordshire Cricket’s 2025–2028 Strategy.
Becoming a Charity — Opportunities and Challenges
Richard: Oxfordshire Cricket became a registered charity in December. How has that changed things?
Alex: Becoming a charity was probably the only realistic way to achieve our ambitions. We’d operated as a not-for-profit for years, but charitable status opens up more opportunities for funding and partnerships.
It’s also changed our mindset. We now operate much more like a charity, although there have been challenges around governance and administration.
Overall, it’s been an important step forward.
Richard: At a recent B4 Better Business Ecosystem event, we discussed how charities are sometimes perceived differently from businesses, despite needing equally strong leadership, management and financial sustainability. Have you experienced that?
Alex: Absolutely. One frustration is when people say they want to support charities but don’t want donations paying the chief executive’s salary. Somebody has to run the organisation if it’s going to make progress.
Another is the suggestion that we’re not a ‘real charity’ because we don’t address one of the more traditionally recognised charitable causes.
But we’re changing lives, just in a different way. We have some amazing stories to tell, and we need to communicate them better.
Our Managing Director, Nick Pinhol, has driven enormous change. If we want talented people leading charities, we need to recognise their value and pay them appropriately.
Richard: That’s something I feel strongly about through B4 and RAISE. Charities should be recognised for their expertise, professionalism and contribution, rather than treated as an afterthought.
The Wider Value of Sport
Richard: When you talk about changing lives, it’s about far more than teaching somebody how to bat or bowl, isn’t it?
Alex: Completely. Somebody might learn to bat, bowl and field, but what really matters is everything else sport provides.
It’s about camaraderie, friendship, confidence, teamwork and learning how to treat other people.
Cricket has its own spirit and values, built around respect and fairness. Those benefits extend into physical health, mental wellbeing and social connection.
Research suggests that every pound invested in community sport generates more than five pounds in wider social value, through better health, stronger communities and reduced pressure on public services.
Sport is an incredibly powerful investment because the benefits go so much further than what happens on the pitch.
Why Business Support Matters
Richard: You’ve got ambitious plans, but how important is commercial support in helping you deliver them?
Alex: It’s essential.
Around 50% of our funding comes from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), but much of that is tied to specific programmes.
Those activities are valuable, but they don’t necessarily cover everything our local communities need.
Walking cricket is a good example. We launched it last year, but it wasn’t centrally funded by the ECB. We had to secure support from councils, businesses and other organisations.
That’s why we’d love more commercial partners to come on board.
Long-term partnerships are particularly valuable because they allow us to plan with confidence, rather than continually applying for grants and hoping the funding comes through.
Richard: And that’s where the business community can make a real difference. It’s not simply about making a donation; it’s about supporting programmes that deliver measurable benefits locally.
Alex: Exactly. We know there’s more to be done in Oxfordshire. The more support we have, the more we can achieve.
A Permanent Home for Oxfordshire Cricket
Richard: You’ve mentioned the possibility of new premises. What’s the longer-term vision?
Alex: We’d love to develop our own Oxfordshire Cricket hub, incorporating our offices and providing a permanent home for the organisation.
Our ambition is to have our own site within the next three to five years.
We’re exploring various possibilities around Oxford and have already had conversations with potential partners. It’s early days, but it would be a major step forward.
Bringing Businesses and Cricket Together
Richard: Beyond sponsorship, what opportunities are there for businesses to engage with Oxfordshire Cricket?
Alex: We’re looking to expand our events programme considerably.
We’re planning our first charity golf day in April, with a discount available to B4 members.
We also offer corporate hospitality around our showcase cricket match against Sussex, alongside presentation evenings and our annual awards event.
There’s definitely scope to do more, particularly outside the cricket season.
One of my priorities is to bring more people together and give businesses different ways to engage with Oxfordshire Cricket.
How Individuals and Businesses Can Get Involved
Richard: For someone reading this who wants to support Oxfordshire Cricket, where should they start?
Alex: Our Friends of Oxfordshire Cricket scheme is an accessible way for individuals and businesses to support us, with contributions starting at £30 a year or £5 a month.
We’re also planning a Patrons’ Club for people who want to contribute more and become closely involved in our future.
There are opportunities through donations, commercial partnerships, events and cricket experiences.
Ultimately, the more people who understand what we’re doing, the more opportunities we have to make a difference.
A Partnership Built Around Shared Ambitions
For Richard, Oxfordshire Cricket’s commitment to another three years of B4 Platinum Membership presents an opportunity to connect the organisation with businesses that may not fully appreciate the scale of its work or the impact their support could have.
Richard: What excites me is the potential to introduce Oxfordshire Cricket to businesses that can help it achieve its ambitions.
We’ve got three years to build on this relationship, develop meaningful connections, explore events and partnerships, and demonstrate what collaboration can achieve.
The challenge is turning those conversations into something tangible, and I think there’s enormous potential to do that.
Alex: I agree. The more people understand what we do, the more opportunities there are for us to work together. We’ve made great progress, but there’s still a huge amount we want to achieve.
Find Out More
B4 would like to thank Alex Mitchell, Managing Director Nick Pinhol and everyone at Oxfordshire Cricket for their continued support and commitment to a further three years as a B4 Platinum Member.
Businesses and individuals interested in supporting Oxfordshire Cricket, exploring commercial partnerships or learning more about its community programmes are encouraged to get in touch.
Visit: Oxfordshire Cricket
Read: Oxfordshire Cricket’s 2025–2028 Strategy
Oxfordshire Cricket’s forthcoming annual impact report will provide further insights into its progress, community engagement and the difference its programmes are making across the county.
Oxfordshire Cricket are also one of the 15 beneficiary charities of this year’s Raise initiative – see www.raise4charity.co.uk