Warwickshire's new Academy and EPP intake has been launched with a visit to the ECB's National Performance Centre in Loughborough
Warwickshire’s new Academy and EPP intake has been launched with a visit to the ECB’s National Performance Centre in Loughborough – while several of the intake have also received recognition with involvement in ECB male and female squads.
Eleven cricketers (seven boys, four girls) aged between 15 and 19 have been selected in the Bears’ academy group for 2019. Five of the eleven are retained from last season while six are new to the academy.
They all have ability. Now they need to also show the required work-ethic and mental strength, as Henry Brookes has done.
Paul Greetham
They will be aiming to emulate the likes of Henry Brookes, who made a big impact in Warwickshire’s first team in 2018, and Liam Banks who featured for England U19’s in the World Cup in New Zealand and summer series against South Africa. Dan Mousley has been selected for the England Young Lions training camps at Loughborough and in India this winter, whilst Ethan Brookes remains on standby for these camps and the Young Lions tour to Bangladesh in the new year. Issy Wong and Ria Fackrell will be in the England’s Women’s Academy training group during the coming months, following eye-catching summers in Women’s 1st XI, RDC cricket and the School Games Festival.
Those achievements delighted Warwickshire elite cricket development manager Paul Greetham who is working closely with recently-appointed head of women’s and girls development Laura MacLeod to bring the best out of all the local young talent.
They are now looking to the next academy generation, and below them the new Emerging Players Pathway intake of 17 (12 boys, five girls), to show the temperament and resilience, as well as talent, to go on and represent Warwickshire, Birmingham Bears and England.
“We have some very good young cricketers coming through and it was great to see several gain recognition from the ECB this winter,” Greetham said. “This follows on from a 2018 season which saw Henry Brookes excel in the men’s first team while several other young players challenged hard for places.
“One of our key criteria for boys coming into the academy is how close they are to playing Second XI cricket. We need to think they can play for the 2nds within 12 to 18 months, if they haven’t already. For girls, it is how close we think they are to Super League squads and the England pathway.
“Our coaches will now be working hard to give these young cricketers the best chance to play cricket at the top level.
“They have been selected because we believe they have potential to play for Warwickshire and England so we decided to launch this year’s academy with a visit to the National Cricket Centre to show them the facilities that hopefully they will one day experience for themselves
“They all have ability. Now they need to also show the required work-ethic and mental strength, as Henry Brookes has done. Henry’s progress through the pathway was not straightforward. He had to take a few punches and show significant resilience and, having done that, has developed into a player with a very exciting future.
“It’s also really pleasing to see many Staffordshire players make their way into our EPP and skill set groups, as we strengthen our relationship with Staffordshire as our minor county partner year on year.”
ACADEMY
- Roshan Balaji
- Grace Ballinger
- Jacob Bethell
- Ethan Brookes
- David Burnell
- Ria Fackrell
- George Garrett
- Ben Griffin
- Milly Home
- Daniel Mousley
- Isabelle Wong
EPP
- Zain Ahmad
- Daniel Bevan
- Alfie Blundell
- Jacob Clarke
- Vikai Dass
- Sachin Dubb
- Nyah Edwards
- Sam Graham
- Logan Hughes
- Sophie Hughes
- Amir Khan
- Amelia Kite
- Awais Mohammed
- Emily Naylor
- Tommy Rex
- Hamza Shaikh
- Laura Smitten
