St George cricket training camp opens up

Thirty of the most promising cricketers from the recently hosted West St George cricket competition will, for the next 20 weeks, be engaged in cricket training at the Dauphine Playing Field.

The first cohort in the programme, is made up of six students from each of the five schools which participated in the competition: the Belair Government, the Belmont Government, the Dorsetshire Hill Government, the Gomea Methodist and the Sion Hill Government.

Funded by VINLEC at the cost of $15,000, the training programme, during the July/ August period, will take place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9.30 a.m., and thereafter, on Saturdays only.

Students from the Belmont Government, the Dorsetshire Hill Government and the Sion Hill Government, will be bussed to the venue on those days.

Additionally, snacks will be provided to the students on the days assigned for the training.

Heading up the programme is former St Vincent and the Grenadines, Windwards and West Indies fast bowler Ian Allen, who is the current cricket development officer for St Vincent and the Grenadines and the Windward Islands.

Speaking at last Saturday’s opening ceremony, Allen outlined: “We will be looking at the basics in batting, bowling fielding and wicketkeeping… We will also be looking at nutrition, rehydration, and other life skills that you will be exposed to.”

Allen noted that from his observation over the years, that at the youth level, there has been little attention paid to “leadership and captaincy” in cricket, hence, the training programme will seek to address that area.

Pointing to other aims of the programme, Allen stated, “Additionally, the national cricket academy usually recruit players around your age every year and the reason for that is to basically build up to the national Under-15 for the Windwards tournament, so it is another opportunity for us to identify the better players in this programme to suggest to the SVG Cricket Association (Inc.) [that] we need to encourage these guys to get into the national set up”.

He therefore called on the 30 players, to make full use of the opportunity they are getting by being selected for the specialised training.

“I expect to see a lot of potential coming out of this programme … I want you to take it seriously and have fun… Looking back at my cricket career, if we were exposed to these sorts of programmes, we might have still been playing for the West Indies,” Allen quipped.

Expressing similar sentiments was parliamentary representative for West St George Cecil ‘Ces’ Mc Kie, who also holds the portfolio for Sports, along with Tourism and Culture.

“We want each and every one of you to maximise on the opportunities that we are providing for you,” Mc Kie told the aspiring cricketers.

Imploring them to look beyond the 20 weeks of the programme and aspire for the highest, Mc Kie advised, “The sky is your limit and you can also be representatives of St Vincent and the Grenadines, the Windwards and the West Indies”.

Apart from Allen, Samantha Lynch, Kenroy Martin and Cordel Jack will be responsible for the training, which would be both theoretical and practical.