The central governing body of cricket in England and Wales, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced a partnership with Cognizant, an American multinational IT services and consulting company.
The relationship between the two businesses is expected to enhance the digital experience of recreational cricket fans, players, and volunteers as part of the ECB’s continuing digital transformation.
Cognizant, as the official digital technology transformation partner and official IT consulting partner, will be an essential strategic collaborator for the ECB’s recreational game systems program, which will create incorporated and user-friendly digital systems that will streamline the administrative tasks associated with running recreational cricket. The first phase is scheduled to be functional in 2025.
Furthermore, Cognizant will also assist the ECB with broader digital and technology efforts to drive cricket expansion in England and Wales. A fundamental component of this will be an annual innovation fund, which the ECB will use to evaluate early-stage concepts that have the potential to develop the game in areas such as commercial, fan interaction, and infrastructure.
ECB Director of Digital and Data, Alison Crowe, said, “The ECB is delighted to collaborate with Cognizant to advance its digital technology transformation. Cognizant bring a wealth of experience in this space and hugely impressive credentials. It’s a new approach for us to be able to work with a partner in this way and the Digital & Data and Technology teams at the ECB are excited to be working with Cognizant, to help transform the recreational game.”
Rohit Gupta, Managing Director UK&I at Cognizant, said, “Cognizant is proud to advance innovation in grassroots cricket in partnership with the ECB. Together, we aim to serve its community better with personalised digital experiences that can scale with the ECB’s evolving technology landscape and the needs of everyone involved in the great game. This will mean the ECB can make playing and organising cricket more enjoyable and streamlined, and also unlock new and deeper engagement for cricket communities with their services and commercial offerings.”
Cognizant assists organisations in modernising their technology, improving processes, and providing superior customer experiences. The tech behemoth has ventured into sports, by partnering with Formula 1’s Aston Martin team, Major League Cricket (MLC), SailGP, and the Football Association (FA).