Former West Indies stars praise cricket academy scheme

The establishment of the Shell Cricket Academy of St George's University (SGU) continues to be lauded by West Indian cricketing personalities as a "brilliant" and "decisive" move.

Praise for this three-way initiative involving the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), Shell and SGU is coming from as far away as Australia where former West Indies fast bowler, Michael Holding, has hailed the all-round approach as the right formula for the future of regional cricket.

"I think the idea behind the academy is a brilliant one, especially with the emphasis being on the overall development of each awardee, both on and off the field.

"I think that has been lacking in recent generations of West Indies cricketers. I hope all the plans for the curriculum are fulfilled and I wish the programme every success."

His sentiments were echoed by the most successful West Indies captain ever, Clive Lloyd, who flew in from England to attend last week's launch of the academy at SGU in Grenada.

"We've started a very important part of our cricket future. I'm sure there are a lot of good things that can come from it. To me, it's excellent that the educational side of it will coincide with the cricket.

"It means we wouldn't only be producing cricketers. We're going to be producing cricketers who can be developed in all aspects of their life. I'm glad that we've made these strides."

Chairman of Selectors and former West Indies wicket-keeper, Mike Findlay, sees the academy not only as the perfect mix of cricket and education but as a vital avenue in getting potential West Indies Test players "to understand and appreciate the game of cricket".