Academy receives ECB praise

Leicestershire’s Academy continues to go from strength to strength under Director Phil Whitticase and the coaches and support staff at Grace Road – and is seen as one of the best in the country in the eyes of the ECB.

ECB Performance Manager David Graveney recently visited the club’s facilities after looking around the academies at Durham and Yorkshire, and was impressed with what he saw.

Graveney looked around on Wednesday, November 25 - the same day that new Academy recruits were on their induction at County - and he was pleased that the club continue to deliver excellent standards.

Leicestershire were particularly praised for their role in the joint Learning Skills Council (LSC) and ECB initiative, which helps academy players towards their Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence (AASE).

This new qualification is designed to provide key skills and qualifications to young cricketers aged 16-19, and County are delighted to announce that Harvinder Singh Uppal has become the first player to complete the scheme.

To pass the apprenticeship, Harvinder worked academically for 780 hours (the equivalent of 2 ‘A’ Levels), achieved Key Skills at Level 2 in communication and application, gained a BTEC National Award in Sport, and completed the ECB-delivered NVQ element of the qualification.

The scheme also allows participants to gain elements of the qualification, and George Cairns, Chad Yates and Sundeep Patel have all also passed the NVQ part. They will now work towards completing the full award.

Whitticase is delighted to see the players passing the scheme, and said County are fully committed to making it work.

He said: “We have received praise from the ECB for embracing the apprenticeship. As well as producing players who are ready to play first-team cricket, we are also committed to making them more rounded individuals.

"The ECB and LSC are working towards making this qualification recognised for university applications, so the benefits are great. It could allow our academy players to further their academic careers as well as their playing careers.”

Whitticase said Graveney’s visit was a huge success, and furthers the reputation of the academy as being a leading light.

Earlier this year, Leicestershire were chosen by the ECB to have their facilities checked as part of an Ofsted inspection, which looked at the ECB-delivered NVQ part of the qualification.

The whole inspection received a “satisfactory” grade, which shows academies in the country are delivering on an educational front as well as a sporting one.

Whitticase said: “David popped in after looking around at Yorkshire, Durham and Loughborough, and he got the chance to see our induction night. His comments were nice and it’s always good to be recognised by the ECB for all the hard work that goes into running the Academy.

“Earlier this year, we were part of the NVQ Ofsted inspection. Ofsted chose two counties at random to look at, and the ECB recommended two more. We were one of those recommendations, and everyone was pleased with that.

“Overall, the inspection at all counties got a satisfactory grade, which shows things are moving in the right direction. There is still plenty to work on, but it shows that counties are committed to educating players.”

County’s Academy Director said the visit capped a successful year all round, given four of the Academy’s products in Matthew Boyce, Josh Cobb, Greg Smith and Sam Cliff regularly represented the County last season.

Given graduate Stuart Broad also won an ECB central contract and Nathan Buck and Alex Wyatt also have gained contracts for 2009, it shows the system is clearly working at Grace Road.

Whitticase said: “Of the 28 people who have come through the Academy, eight have played first-team cricket. It works out at around 28%, which we feel is a good return. We are pleased with those statistics, and hope it continues to grow.

“Matthew (Boyce) opened the batting for the whole of last season, while Josh (Cobb) and Greg (Smith) also received international honours as well as playing in the first-team. Moments like seeing Josh make a century at Lord’s makes it all worthwhile.

“Also, Nathan (Buck) and James Taylor will be joining Josh on the England under-19 tour to South Africa, which will be another big step in their development. Shiv Thakor, a current Academy member, has also represented England at under-15 level and has been earmarked for the 2012 under-19 World Cup squad.

"James is another example of the system. Although he spent time at Worcestershire’s Academy, he also played for Leicestershire Young Cricketers up to under-14 level, so he is another to have come through our system.

“He could have come through our academy, but his time at Worcestershire made geographical sense as he was also studying at Shrewsbury School and he received good coaching there too.

“It is just great to see so many Leicestershire-born lads enjoying their cricket, coming through the system and playing in the first team. Tim Boon, the coaching staff and the board of directors have made their policy very clear and it is great to see the lads given their opportunity.”

Whitticase said the hard work for 2009 has already begun, and added the whole system can only benefit the future of Leicestershire cricket.

He said: “Our new recruits have joined along with our current members, and they will receive the specialised programme at the Academy. That includes fitness work, strength and conditioning, lifestyle coaching, psychology work as well as specialist skills training.

“The lads benefit from the experience of the senior professionals, who act as excellent role models. Then, those lads who play in the first team become role models for our under-age cricketers, so everyone learns from each other and looks up to each other.

“Our system works at the level we operate it on. As I was saying to David, we are not a Yorkshire, Lancashire or Durham in terms of size or geography, and will never be able to cater for hundreds of cricketers - but we don’t set out to do that.

“We have a good system that can cater for a smaller group of youngsters and we will continue to work hard to ensure Leicestershire has a bright future.”