Urban Cricket is an exciting grassroots initiative run by npower and ECB.

Aimed at children aged between seven and 12 years old, the ethos of Urban Cricket is simple - get out there and play.

The project aims to introduce the game to a new young audience, and encourage children to actively participate in sport.

The focus for npower Urban Cricket 2007/8 is on facilities and in particular the development of arenas in London, Birmingham, Sheffield, Newcastle and Cardiff. With the addition of recently received funding from the National Sports Foundation, which has matched npower’s initial investment, designated areas will be fully refurbished and transformed into Urban Cricket arenas.

England's Ryan Sidebottom is among those already involved with Urban Cricket in 2008

The facilities project extends to the renovation of 25 school playgrounds, five in each city, to providing inner-city schools with facilities to develop kids sporting abilities.

The principle behind Urban Cricket is simple – the chance to play the game anytime, anywhere. And there are 60,000 Urban Cricket kits, being made available to youngsters across the UK.

The free kits comprise of a plastic bat and tennis ball with tape in an easy to carry case – no rules, no pitch, no teams, just you and your mates!

England's Kevin Pietersen, who helped launch Urban Cricket ahead of the 2006 and 2007 summer seasons, said: "The first rule of Urban Cricket is – there are no rules! It is all about simplicity, by putting the equipment to try the game in the hands of young fans it will give them the chance to try cricket in it’s most basic form.

"I first became interested in the game by playing with my mates using a tennis ball and dustbins for stumps.

"Urban Cricket will give tens of thousands of youngsters the chance to get involved."

Kevin Peake, Head of customer marketing for npower, added: “The aim of Urban Cricket in 2006 was simple – distributing tens of thousands of kits to kids around the country to increase participation in cricket. 2007 focuses on specially created Urban Cricket arenas – a lasting legacy that will hopefully start the careers of future England stars.

"Urban Cricket is cricket’s equivalent of 'jumpers for goalposts'. We want to build on the increased interest in the sport by giving young fans the chance to try out the game without having to join a club or go through their school.

"Urban Cricket is simple – once you have the kit you can play."

To find out more about Urban Cricket, download the PDF document below:

Urban Cricket (1.7 MB)

You can also visit the Urban Cricket website