debut: 2/16/17
39,840 runs
Ken Gordon final summary in 2007 as President of WICB
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The Academy: Now I turn to the foundation we must put in place. Over the past two decades all the major cricketing nations of the world, other than the West Indies, have established cricket academies. That is where they work on developing the whole cricketer: the player, his mind and the man the type of development we have been talking about for 22 years, according to Clive Lloyd. It is long overdue that we broaden the horizons of our players and lift them above learning on the job.
Now finally it is going to happen.
The Academy will operate on the basis of a hub, with five spokes. The hub will be in Barbados and it is proposed that the spokes be in Jamaica, Leewards, Windwards, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.
The University of the West Indies and the WICB have already signed a MOU which makes the facilities at the 3Ws ground in Barbados available to the WICB. Similar assurances have been given by the governments of Antigua and Barbuda for the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and with the Trinidad and Tobago government for the Brian Lara Stadium.
We are pleased to advise that a Caribbean company has now agreed in principle to the sponsorship of the Barbados hub for the first five years and this is likely to be confirmed in a matter of days. We also hope to be in a position to shortly announce the sponsors of the spokes in the other five countries.
The Academy will not only train and develop, it will give cricket a home. The debates on issues need no longer be conducted as a knee jerk reaction in the public gaze. When former West Indies Test players can be programmed to meet systematically with current younger players, this lifts the level of communication, assists understanding and tends to shift us all closer to the same page. Less tangible, perhaps, but in the longer term an unquantifiable benefit.
A project which has been talked about for more than a decade will now ensure the ongoing viability of the Academy.
The Governments of Caricom have collectively made a commitment to assist in its financing. They have agreed to make a percentage of the funds from a Caribbean Superball Lottery available for this purpose. The Trinidad and Tobago government, which will not be participating in the lottery for policy reasons, has made a commitment to provide an annual sum via a Trust Fund or otherwise, equivalent to what would have been earned had they participated. Finally therefore, Caribbean people will have the long awaited opportunity to demonstrate their support for Cricket by participating in the lottery. We expect their response to be loud and tangible.
Professor Beckles of UWI, who has done an excellent job in developing the 3Ws Centre of Excellence in Barbados, has been appointed Chairman of the Committee responsible for implementation and will shortly be meeting the media to outline the details of the Academy Structure. The sum expected from the lottery is US$6 million per annum and the start-up date to which Caricom Governments have committed is October 1, 2007.
The new regime took the helm...Nothing happened.
