Photo © ECC

On 6 April 2002, fourteen cricketers and 4 coaches converged on the Spanish coastal town of l'Alfas del Pi for the inaugural European Cricket Academy. Ten countries were represented and the Adademy was formally opened by the Mayor of Alfas, who was clearly delighted to have the honour of hosting the first ever ECC Academy bestowed on his town.

After a ceremonial evening, the first morning gave the players a taste of what the fortnight would demand of them, with Simon Shephard, the former Middlesex CCC physiotherapist, putting the players through their paces at the local athletics track. Most pleasing was the fact that the two Scottish participants, John Gray and myself, were found to be on the whole, two of the fittest, a credit to the work of Andy Vince, the SCU strength and conditioning trainer.

The first week of the Academy took a very hands-on, interpersonal style of training at the Alfas Cricket Club with the group split into four groups, each being assigned to a coach. These were Richard Cox of Warwickshire, Mike Hendrick of Scotland, BrÌan O'Rourke of Ireland and Academy Director Richard O'Sullivan. Whilst much of the time was taken up with skill work and net practice, one day did allow for a forty-over match played amongst Academy players and some local guests. The match proved to be fiercely competitive and provided all with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills in a real situation.

For four days the Academy moved up the coast to the town of J·vea, where the introduction of cricket to the local indigenous community was very much on the agenda. Two coaching sessions were held with the Academy players taking centre stage. Most encouraging was the enthusiasm and, indeed, skill levels demonstrated by the Spanish children. This shows exactly what benefits the European Cricket Academy can bring to the wider community and not just to those fortunate enough to be selected for it.

It was also in J·vea that three new coaches, Ole (Stan the Man) Mortensen, Adam Cole and international umpire John Holder arrived to replace Messrs Cox, Hendrick and O'Rourke. Given that the players had expressed some concern at adopting a new set of coaches midway through the fortnight, the fact that the transition went so smoothly is a great credit to these coaches.

For the remaining five days, the Academy reverted to Alfas, with match preparation being paramount. This went well and was reflected in the two matches, even though the results were not as the Academy would have wished, with one defeat and one tie. Nevertheless, there were many encouraging individual performances, some showing a real progression from the beginning of the fortnight. The tied match was also a source of great excitement for the viewing local public with a great fighting team ethos on show from the Academy XI.

Having been on a number of cricket tours now, I can safely say that this proved to be one of the most enjoyable whilst at the same time being extremely physically testing. The fact that such a diverse group of people was assembled and bonded so well in such a short space of time is a great credit to all participants, players, coaches and in particular, Academy Director Richard O'Sullivan. On the whole, the Academy was a superb advertisement for European Cricket and as such, one must hope for it to become an annual fixture.