JOURNALISM students in Gloucestershire joined forces with the England Over 60s Cricket Team to deliver media coverage of the ‘Grey Ashes’ series against Australia.

Students from Sports Journalism and TV Production courses at the University of Gloucestershire teamed up to create content and live broadcasts across multiple social media platforms to amplify awareness of England Seniors cricket.

The Grey Ashes is a cricket series played between the England and Australia Over 60s teams. It acts as a celebration of the sport and the passion of older players.

Ivor Richards, Technician Demonstrator, said: “The collaboration between UoG students and England Over 60s has been incredibly successful and has given students the opportunity to develop industry-level skills. It has pushed them to be increasingly creative and learn from one another to deliver professional-quality broadcasts.

“We have covered numerous games and training sessions across the country and met with cricketers from all over England. This has allowed us to send material that we have created on to regional TV and media outlets, who have then covered the story, resulting in greater exposure for the game.”

The collaboration began two years ago, when Sports Journalism students took over the England Over 60s Men’s Cricket Team’s social media accounts. The partnership has now expanded to include filming and live-streaming matches.

Students have brought together their areas of expertise to make the project possible. A satellite truck system enabled games to be streamed with TV Production students taking on the roles of camera operators, vision mixers and directors. Meanwhile, Sports Journalism students worked on commentating and presenting the live streams.

As a result, students covered 16 matches this year, leading to greater exposure for the cricket team, including being featured on BBC regional TV. The first four days of coverage of the Grey Ashes produced by the University drew 66,000 views across 23 countries.