Police help cricket stars hone leadership skills

Australian Test cricketers have gone back to school to learn leadership skills - from the police.

Nine of Australia's top cricketers including Test captain Steve Waugh and vice-captain Adam Gilchrist have taken a three-day leadership course run by the Victoria Police.

Speakers at the course include Australian Army chief Lieutenant-General Peter Cosgrove, coach of AFL club Essendon Kevin Sheedy and Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates.

Others including corporate leaders and Victoria Police training experts have been also addressing the players on all aspects of leadership.

Waugh said the course had already proved valuable for the players, and even as captain of the national side, he felt the exercise was worthwhile.

"There's plenty I can learn," he said on the second day of the course today.

"I'm just the leader of a cricket side. These other people we're talking to are leaders of corporations and big business and that gives a different perspective to where I come from, so there's certainly a lot to learn.

"It's not so much about ourselves, but looking at other people and their attributes and how they've got into the position they're in."

Program co-ordinator Superintendent Don Grigg said the course focused on corporate skills, planning for success, team building and ethical issues.

"The program is based on practical experiences and draws on the similarities between police leadership and the pressures placed on high profile sports people," he said.

Also doing the course are Michael Bevan, Jason Gillespie, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds and Simon Katich.

Katich said that as a younger member of the squad, he had gained a lot from the course.

"You never stop learning and I'm only young, so I've picked up a lot of things," he said.

"A lot of the things that are brought up, you probably have an idea of, but you probably never talk about them.

"Stuff like vision and knowing what your targets are and where you're going to be, so there's a lot to pick up."