Focus for Bay cricket's new boss

Creating a cricketing community in which budding Black Caps of any age have easy access to the game is a bigger focus for Paul Read, Bay of Plenty Cricket's new chief executive, than a winning provincial team.

Read, 43, has been in the job two weeks, replacing David Johnston who left in the middle of last year, and said his views on accessibility for everyone were shared by the minor association's board.

"Rather than focusing on winning competitions, which is still important, make the focus around creating a really good cricket community across all levels, where the kids are involved right through to adults playing the game.

"I'd be there with bells on with all my mates if there was a Friday night 15-over competition, and we need to create the opportunities to get people engaged and involved, whether it's playing or watching.

"We need to make it easy for people to get involved in cricket so they can turn up, put the pads on and play, rather than having to phone three numbers to find out how to get involved."

Read played for Northland's Kamo High first XI but did not go on to playing club cricket, moving instead to Tauranga, where he got involved with surf lifesaving at the Omanu club.

At 25 he began studying for a business degree at Waikato University and has since worked in public relations, marketing and IT in Hamilton, Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington, with his most recent role general manager business at Surf Lifesaving New Zealand in the capital before that organisation's recent restructure.

"Hopefully, this time I'm back for a long time."

Read's focus on strengthening cricket beneath first class level doesn't mean he'll cut adrift the region's successful high performance cricketers, who recently yielded Black Caps Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Daniel Flynn and Graeme Aldridge.

"High performance needs pathways, from junior through to elite, but it's an expensive game to support at the premier level and the challenge for a lot of sports is finding the balance.

"New Zealand Cricket and other organisations put a lot of weight on their premier product and less on development, whereas at Bay level it needs to be an even resource making sure players are being developed from a young age through the grades."

Read also wants to improve the Bay Cricket brand, building a better profile for the clubs and players which, in turn, should help attract more sponsorship.