Bay of Plenty Cricket is hitting the reset button on the way it goes about its business to refocus on strengthening the game on the field.

Administration roles are being reduced, including the abolition of the Chief Executive position, while staff numbers at the coalface of delivering cricket programmes, building participation numbers and fostering talent are being increased.

The key changes Bay cricketers will see are the creation of new manager roles, reflecting parent association Northern Districts' desire to clarify the distinction between development of the game at the grassroots level and the high-performance pathway, and greater emphasis on upskilling its coaching strength.

The dedicated Women's Cricket Development Officer position, reflecting the weight the association puts on growing female participation numbers, will not be affected by the changes.

The job of Cricket Administrator is being re-graded to a part-time role, while the BOPCA board will be taking a more direct hands-on approach to help fill the gap left by the demise of the CEO position.

The restructuring process has been driven from the top of New Zealand cricket, as part of a nationwide strategic realignment. It has come with the renewal of the funding agreement which sees money flowing down from the national body to help grow the game at the grassroots level, says BOPCA chairman Richard Dey.

'In doing that NZ Cricket had a look at how that process has worked for the money they provide through the cricket network, down into the community game.

'They've basically said we want to have some more accountability.”

Coach development, diversity – including a good representation of women in the governance of the game, and strengthening the capabilities of district association boards are among New Zealand Cricket's priorities. They will be more actively monitoring performance in those areas as well as improving channels of communications between the different levels of the game.

All six of Northern Districts' regional associations are going through the restructuring process. In the Bay of Plenty the key outcome will be the appointment of a Cricket Development Manager charged with developing the grassroots of the sport, and a Cricket Pathway Manager whose brief will be to identify and support players, coaches and umpires with the potential to achieve at a higher level.

Ensuring coaches and others at the frontline of the sport are suitably qualified is a high priority, says Richard.

'We're going to have a black and white target that says we're expecting to have 75 per cent minimum of our coaches registered and having completed this fundamental coach training.

'For our grassroots people we're going to put all the support we can around making sure that's in place.

'So all of our cricket participants - players and people who are joining the game - have a quality, consistent experience, where they're all under the guidance of somebody that's been through the same programme, and they know the majority of people they're going to be dealing with have all been through the same programme.”

The disappearance of the CEO position is another notable outcome of the restructuring.

A large part of the reason for that is the two new cricket manager roles will report directly to general managers at Northern Districts, who will be taking on greater leadership responsibilities in the delivery of the game, says Richard.

'We'll have a much closer working relationship with ND, which means that a chunk of that CEO role just doesn't exist anymore.”

Managing relationships with sponsors and community grants funders is also getting a greater emphasis under the new arrangements, Richard says.

'That's something we'll have an increased focus on, but that will be a combination of the board and the admin position that have those connections.”

Richard says the cricket community will directly benefit from the changes Bay of Plenty Cricket and Northern Districts are putting in place.

'This is employing another cricket-facing person. There's a really clear message from ND that they believe they have needed to play a greater role in leadership, and they've put their money where their mouth is.

'That is extra resource that's going into the game, and it's purely focused on cricket. It's not administration, it's people leading the delivery of cricket.”

'We're very clear that this is the way forward.”