What looms on the horizon for cricket in 2026? In England & Wales we are contending with new ownership of The Hundred teams and the threat of player strikes in the Men’s County Championship, while looking forward to hosting a T20 World Cup, and a maiden women’s Test match at Lord’s. Globally, cricket is poised for entry into the Olympics in 2028, while governance issues loom large in the USA and elsewhere. As we come together in Cambridge, it’s important to look at our sport through a critical lens.
Following conferences at Cardiff (2024) and Loughborough (2025), this will be the third conference organised by the Cricket Research Network (see below for a statement of aims), which is chaired by Dr Raf Nicholson.
The conference will include a Q&A panel on “The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026: Catching the Spirit?” Keynote speakers TBC.
Registration details will follow, but for now, please see our Call for Papers below. Please do circulate this to all your networks, as we would love to see a diverse range of papers presented at Cambridge – from both academics and non-academics.
We are seeking proposals for individual paper proposals (max 20 minutes) OR themed panels made up of 2-4 presentations, from anyone who has original research into cricket which they would like to share. We welcome presentations from PGRs, ECRs, independent researchers and non-academics.
Panels could address the following questions / themes (note: these are not exhaustive and we welcome all proposals):
- Issues of EDI in cricket, including sexism, racism, class-based discrimination and ableism
- Will the 2028 Olympics herald a truly global era for cricket?
- Mega-events in cricket: can they create legacies?
- Player welfare & mental health
- Recreational cricket: is it succeeding or stagnating?
- The Hundred: what impact will the new owners have?
- The governance of English and international cricket: does it need reform?
- Media coverage, marketing & sponsorship of cricket
- Cricket and the environment
- Can international and franchise cricket continue to co-exist?
- The future of Test cricket
If you would like to present your research, please email Raf Nicholson on rnicholson@bournemouth.ac.uk with the following information:
- Your name and the proposed title of your presentation
- Your institutional affiliation (university / cricket organisation / other), if any
- A short summary of what you propose to speak about (max 200 words)
- A short biography (max 50 words)
The deadline to apply is Friday 21 November 2025.
