ST JOHN’S, Antigua, – Cricket West Indies (CWI) has created a new Emerging Players Academy, aimed at supporting the development of world-class players from the Caribbean.
CWI said the academy, which will run annually starting from July, will utilise the facilities at the Coolidge Cricket Ground – the new Home of West Indies Cricket – where the best young male and female cricketers will come to Antigua throughout the year for several High-Performance training and development camps.
The aim is to bridge the gap after the West Indies Under-19 level and assist their progression into one of the six territorial board franchise squads, with the intention that they will graduate to earn one of the 15 retainer contracts available in each team.
“For some time, CWI has been looking at ways of bridging that critical gap between our junior and professional levels and this Academy initiative provides us with a great start towards achieving this,” said Jimmy Adams, Director of Cricket.
“The programme will also play an important role in building regional capacity within High-Performance player support – technical, physical, mental, and personal development. The programme will also set a template for our territories to mirror as they build out their individual High-Performance pathway programmes.”
The academy’s programme will focus on developing the players holistically and include specific aspects of the game away from the pitch such as media engagements, financial management, personal development, and leadership, CWI said.
Players will also enjoy playing opportunities through the Caribbean Premier League Emerging Players partnership with CWI and the Emerging Players team that participated in the annual CG Insurance Super50 Cup.
Up to 30 players will be selected from both the Men’s and Women’s talent pool, between ages 19 and 25, for the first intake at the CWI Emerging Players Academy. They will have to meet the CWI minimum fitness requirements.