Will England's World Cup run inspire a new generation of cricket fans?

The World Cup was hailed as a huge opportunity for the growth of cricket in its birthplace but the jury is still out on whether the tournament will inspire a new generation of fans.

The flag-waving hysteria that accompanied England's march to last year's football World Cup semi-finals in Russia has been largely absent and many England players could walk down the street without being recognised.

The game's chiefs are all too aware that cricket, little played in British state schools, is slipping off the radar for young people and participation rates are falling sharply, hurt by its absence from free-to-air TV.

According to the England and Wales Cricket Board's own research, just five percent of British children aged six to 15 list cricket in their top two favourite sports -- a figure that should strike fear into anybody with the long-term interests of the game at heart.

Earlier this year, The Times reported that dozens of smaller clubs face closure and quoted figures saying the number of cricketers registered in England had fallen sharply -- from 428,000 in 2008 to 278,000 in 2016.

Those gloomy numbers have focused the minds of authorities, with one of their initiatives being a controversial 100-ball-per-side competition being introduced next year aimed at attracting a new audience to the game.

England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Tom Harrison talked before the World Cup about "huge plans" to use the tournament to grow the game in England and Wales, describing it as an "unbelievable opportunity".

In the run-up to Sunday's final between England and New Zealand at Lord's, the ECB and International Cricket Council (ICC) celebrated the fact that more than one million children aged five to 12 had "connected with the sport" through various initiatives, highlighting the impact of the World Cup.

"We set ourselves the ambitious target of connecting with one million young people and we are delighted to have met our goal ahead of time," said Harrison.

- Colourful crowds -
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