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The ECC Coaches Conference recently took place at the University of Warwick. Coinciding with the ECB Coaches Conference around 28 coaches from various European member countries were invited to travel to the UK for three days in January. The first day of the conference was a one day seminar with the main them covering national junior and senior squad training and team preparation.

Presentations were carried out throughout the day by European coaches and ECC staff coaches. The programme included presentations from Richard Cox and Stuart Barnes, Academy Directors for Warwickshire CCC and Gloucestershire CCC. Several coaches in attendance were due to take their sides to the 2006 ICC Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka while all other attendees work closely with national squads back in their countries. Christian Steriopulos, from the Isle of Man, said 'the content was of great use for my role in developing junior players in the Isle of Man and working as part of the senior Island squad.

Days 2 and 3 took up the main body of the conference organised by the ECBCA. The programme included sessions from guest speakers such as Nasser Hussain (ex-England Captain), Matthew Maynard (England Batting Coach), Terry Jenner (Shane Warne's leg-spin coach), Nick Knight and Peter Moores (ECB Academy Director, right). This all-star cast was of great use to all the European attendees, as they joined coaches from county cricket boards and clubs across the UK in soaking up the information passed on. With the continued strong relationship between the ECC and the England and Wales Cricket Board, conferences such as these are becoming more accessible for European based coaches and players and this can only bode well for the future of cricket on an international level in our region.