The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the English Institute of Sport(EIS) today announced that work on the ECB National Cricket Academy at theLoughborough University site is due to begin on Monday 28th October
Media Release25-Sep-2002The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the English Institute of Sport(EIS) today announced that work on the ECB National Cricket Academy at theLoughborough University site is due to begin on Monday 28th October.A “funding agreement” is due to be signed in October between Sport Englandand Loughborough University which will rubber-stamp the £4m costs ofdeveloping the Loughborough site into the ECB National Academy facility.The costs include the development of the to-be-built indoor cricket centre,the development of Loughborough’s outdoor net facilities and therefurbishment of residential accommodation.At the same time, the ECB will sign an exclusive “user agreement” and”residential agreement” with Loughborough University and with the EIS.These agreements will confirm the ECB’s use of the site for the next 20years. It will cost the ECB approximately £350,000 per annum for the use ofthe site i.e. the indoor cricket centre, including the offices therein, theEIS’ sports science and medical facilities and the residential properties.The facilities will be ready for use for the start of the 2003-4 NationalAcademy squad intake on October 1, 2003.Hugh Morris, ECB performance director, who has been responsible for settingup the ECB National Academy, said, “We chose Loughborough for a number ofreasons. The facilities will be world class, all the facilities will beon-site together and, being at Loughborough, we will be mixing with many ofthe country’s best athletes from a range of other sports which can only bebeneficial to cricket.
Rod Marsh, Wilma Shakespear and Hugh Morris outline the Academy plans to thepress at Loughborough
Photo © ECB
“Our new facility will be more than just a centre for our National Academysquad. It will be a national centre for the whole family of cricket, aplace of our own where the very best male and female players can bedeveloped and looked after to give them the best chance of achievingexcellence at the highest level. When finished and working to itspotential, it will be a huge boost to cricket in England and Wales.”Wilma Shakespear, national director at the English Institute of Sport, said,”The EIS are keen to develop a strong working relationship with thisimportant sport for England. We are working closely with the ECB andLoughborough to help develop the next generation of cricketers to thehighest standard possible in order to give the national teams the very bestchance of gaining success on the international stage.”Rod Thorpe, director of sports development at Loughborough University, said,”We are continuing a culture of excellence at Loughborough and this is ashining example of the world class standards that we are developing inconjunction with partners like the EIS and ECB.”The cricket centre at Loughborough will be the largest bespoke indoorcricket centre in the world. Measuring approx 70m by 25m, there will be sixlanes and the hall will be long enough to accommodate a fast bowler off afull run-up bowling to a wicket-keeper standing back.The Hawkeye tracking system will be installed as a coaching aid in alllanes. In addition, a “force plate”, which will be able to monitor apressure exerted by a bowler in his or her delivery stride, will be builtinto one of the lanes – a first for any cricket centre in the world.Outside the sports hall area, but in the same building, a variety ofancillary services will be accommodated on three floors. There will be alarge fitness and conditioning centre, Academy changing rooms with arecovery area including hot and cold spa baths, and two changing roomsspecifically to service the outdoor cricket pitchesThe cricket centre will also offer office accommodation for the NationalAcademy staff, who will be based permanently at Loughborough. A”performance analysis” suite, which will include an editing suite, will beavailable to analyse data from the Hawkeye and “force plate” systems; itwill also house a comprehensive video library of the world’s best teams andplayers. In addition there will be seminar rooms, a bar and a viewingbalcony.The Cricket Centre will overlook the outdoor cricket facilities on offer atLoughborough.There are already two high-quality cricket pitches at LoughboroughUniversity, to which the ECB will have access for up to 45 days a year. Inaddition to these pitches, a bank of up to 18 grass nets will be developed,for which the ECB will have exclusive access. A dedicated cricketgroundsman will be employed to work solely on the cricket facilities withexisting Loughborough groundstaff – a joint appointment will be made byLoughborough University and the ECB in due course.The ECB will have exclusive access to two houses, situated a short walk fromthe outdoor cricket pitches and cricket centre, which will be refurbished tothree-star standard. There will be nine bedrooms in each house, as well askitchen and laundry facilities.Priority for the use of facilities will be given to the National Academy,for which the ECB can pick up to 16 players for the annual six-month winterprogramme (1st October – 31 March). Apart from a 5-6 week tour, the squadwill spend the majority of its time at Loughborough.The National Academy facility, however, will be much more than just atraining centre for the National Academy squad. It will provide anall-year-round facility to benefit cricket as a whole:- Age group squads: the England U19, U17 and U15 squads currently traintogether at Lilleshall, Trent Bridge and Old Trafford but in future theywill meet at Loughborough instead.
– England women’s squads (senior and junior): likewise they will move theirtraining base to the National Academy.
– England’s squads for players with disabilities: they will also have accessto the centre.
– Coaching: staff coach training for levels one, two and three of the ECBcoach education programme will be undertaken at Loughborough. Level threeand level four of the ECB coach education programme will also be deliveredat Loughborough.
– County coach conferences will take place at the new facility, as willseminars for cricket’s sport science and medical groups.
– Terry Jenner will use the facility for the ECB wrist spin developmentprogramme, and it will also enable the ECB to better organise training campsfor cricket specialists such as young fast bowlers.
– The National Academy will be used as a rehabilitation centre for injuredplayers, from England players to potentially county players and the bestup-and-coming youngsters.
– Loughborough UCCE will also use the facilities.Loughborough University currently provides a training base for around 250high-quality athletes, helping them to reach and excel at the highest levelsof their chosen sport as well as continuing their education. Housing theNational Academy at Loughborough therefore allows the best young cricketersto interact with other top-level sportsmen and coaches to help them developtheir sporting potential.Loughborough University also has an excellent track record in applied sportsscience and medicine; the ECB will have access to the new EIS sports scienceand medicine facility, which will be completed by autumn 2003. In addition,the ECB will have access to Loughborough’s new £7m EIS athletics indoortraining venue and the existing olympic-size swimming pool.