Ten questions you must be able to answer to make the right choices about your next steps towards streaming at your club

Sometimes it's just the satisfaction of watching back a hard-fought win, or capturing that diving catch, but streaming works best to engage the club community. It gives the wider community a chance to follow your club's teams - whether that's junior parents and grandparents; members who've moved away or are on holiday; old players, your rivals, a sponsor. But it's worth asking at the outset: how many people, honestly, would tune in to your matches?

So what: If you can't put thirty names to that list, park streaming and spend the money on the square. If you've got a thriving junior section, you've got a guaranteed audience from day one - streaming's best case.

Play Cricket Scorer, Play Cricket Scorer Pro or paper? Who scores, how they do it and would they be prepared to change? These are all critical factors in which streaming solution is going to be right for your club. Whilst Play Cricket Scorer and PCS Pro sound like similar pieces of software they run on completely different servers, and your equipment and platform has to suit the one you choose. Given the costs involved you'll want to choose one platform or the other - and that boils down to what your scorer is happy to use.

So what: Your scorer decides your shortlist. A laptop scorer points at one kind of system, a phone-app scorer at others - and paper rules streaming out until someone goes digital. If your choice means changing the scorer's world, budget for retraining (and diplomacy)!

Do you have an ideal place for a permanent camera - somewhere the camera can see all the pitches but not be directly behind the bowler's arm, which leagues don't like? Ideally somewhere the camera can be raised high up but not be blown about. The sun should always be behind that position, especially for matches that stretch into the evening. Would that position upset people on the other side of the fence - and can you get power and internet to that site?

So what: That spot decides your picture and your price. Near the clubhouse means a simple install; the far side of the ground means wireless links and a power question. And if no spot puts the sun behind the camera, your evening streams will squint.

A socket in the clubhouse, a feed to the scoreboard, or nothing at all? How far away is the nearest live cable? Solar can be an option if there is no power at all, but it's all so much easier if mains is in reach or can be extended.

So what: Power at the spot means a straightforward install. A scoreboard feed can usually be extended. Nothing at all is the single biggest cost variable on any quote - solvable, but plan it, don't discover it.

Do you have fibre broadband to the clubhouse, or at the very least decent 4G/5G mobile signal - or is the club in a not-spot? If there's 5G or good broadband then you're in luck; anything less than that will struggle with 1080p streaming, or Starlink could be a viable option.

So what: Under about 3 Mbps upload at the camera position, clubhouse broadband won't carry an HD stream. Strong mobile signal rescues most grounds; neither means Starlink - and a monthly bill to plan for, but fortunately it can be reduced to a minor cost in the off-season.

Is the ground yours to drill into - or is it leased or council-owned, where everything has to be temporary? Who would you even ask? Can you affix a camera to the building, or would everything need to be attached to a pole? If it's not in a building, what's security like at your ground for cabinet-mounted equipment?

So what: On leased or council ground everything must be removable - and finding that out after buying kit is the most expensive mistake in club streaming. One conversation with the landlord now saves a re-install later.

Some systems ship you a temporary camera system that needs hoisting on a tripod before every match. The positives are that they are portable, accessible and can be locked away. On the flip side, someone has to set it up every match - and when a stressed junior coach is late back from work, has the ground to set up for the match and then has to raise the camera as well, this may be the last thing they want to worry about. Who's going to take it down after the seniors' match on Saturday evening when everyone's in the bar? Normally this falls to one person - but they're not always about. In this case, if you know you're keen to stream, then a permanent install may be a viable way forward.

So what: If there's no name, the streams stop by July - that's how it always goes. For most clubs the honest answer is “nobody” - which is exactly why permanent, automated setups exist.

Who at your club could fix a dead stream mid-innings - and who would they call? Sometimes the internet or server goes down, the battery dies or a loose connection develops. How do you diagnose this and get the stream back up? Match-day support is crucial for reliable streaming - or at least being able to talk to someone who can help diagnose the issue.

So what: If there's no answer, every failure costs a full match day. Support that keeps office hours doesn't exist at 2pm on a Saturday - ask any supplier when their help desk actually answers.

The major use-case for cricket streaming is the engagement of the family of the junior players. Parents at work, grandparents in another part of the country - or simply for the players to review their performance after the match, bragging about their ‘5fer’. But if under-18s are to appear on a stream, how will the club collect photo and video consent at registration - and does your Welfare Officer know this is being considered?

So what: Without consent sorted you can't safely stream half your fixture list - and juniors are the audience that makes streaming worth having. It's a season-start form, not a crisis, if you do it now.

No streaming option is a cheap option. The hardware needs to be acquired and in some cases installed, plus an annual/season streaming pass fee. Some savvy clubs have links to a local business who will support them in return for advertising on the stream - do you have one in mind that could put its name on your matches? Local grants may exist to support the acquisition of infrastructure to build engagement for girls' or junior sections. Would the junior parents chip in?

So what: If a local business would take its name on the stream, streaming can cost the club nothing. If not, it competes with the mower fund - and the mower usually wins. Line the funding up before the committee meeting, not during it.