Rod Marsh to head ECB National Academy
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has appointed Rodney Marsh as Director of its new National Academy
ECB Media Release
29-Jul-2001
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has appointed Rodney Marsh as
Director of its new National Academy.
The former Australian wicket-keeper, who relinquishes his role as Director
of the Australian National Academy and Coach to the Australian Under-19
team, will be responsible for the day-to-day functioning of the Academy and
will act as Head Coach to the Academy players. He will be supported by John
Abrahams, Assistant Coach, and Nigel Laughton, National Academy Manager.
ECB Performance Director, Hugh Morris, said: "I am delighted. This is great
news for cricket in England and Wales. We have recruited someone who not
only was a great player in his day, but who, more importantly, has helped
make the National Academy in Australia the success it is today. We believe
he is the perfect man to head the ECB National Academy and develop our most
talented emerging cricketers."
Marsh, who signed with the ECB on Wednesday 25 July, said: "The Academy
system has been fantastic for Australian cricket and I am sure that the same
will apply to English cricket. It excites me to think that we can have a
strong England team as a result of hopefully some of my labours.
"My major target over the next three years will be to develop a base of
perhaps 20 players who, in three, five or seven years' time, will be very
good Test Match and One-Day International cricketers, so that when the
selectors sit down to pick a side it will be damn difficult to choose
between them."
The ECB National Academy
The ECB National Academy (ECB CA) is currently the highest-funded single
project in the ECB's World Class Plan, requiring approximately 25% of its
£2m annual budget - £500,000 p.a.
The aim of the National Academy is to identify and develop players,
predominantly aged between 19 and 23, who have the potential of
representing, and winning games, for England at the highest level of the
game - senior Test Match and One-Day International level.
Philosophy
To identify and select the most talented cricketers, and develop them
through excellent coaching and support services in excellent facilities in
order for them to achieve their potential.
Concept
The concept has been developed from research undertaken over the last two
years into all the best components of the most successful cricket academies,
and indeed academies from other relevant sports, around the world. The
programme will be centrally co-ordinated, designed, managed and delivered by
the ECB Performance Department.
The National Academy will deliver individually tailored development
programmes, which provide selected cricketers with the opportunity of
fulfilling their potential. The Academy will be staffed with high-quality
technical coaches, and supported by some of the best sports scientists and
medics in the world. It is hoped that it will become the most innovative
and advanced technical development programme in the world.
Objectives
To select players who have the potential of winning matches for
England;
To provide each player with an individually tailored development
programme;
To provide each player with a comprehensive and individually
tailored sports science and medicine programme;
To provide a challenging competitive programme which reflects a
balance between preparation, competition and rest
To provide dedicated coaching and support staff whose common goal is
excellence both on and off the field;
To provide excellent facilities to deliver the programme;
To provide an efficient, effective and accountable administrative
structure which delivers the programme;
It is hoped that by 2007, 95% of England players will have been
through the National Academy structure.
Staffing
In addition to the National Academy Director (chief coach), Assistant Coach
and Manager (administrative post), there will also be an Information and
Research Manager (to be recruited in 2002) who will be responsible for
producing and maintaining a comprehensive video library on the world's best
teams and players. A number of specialist coaches and other support staff
will be used on a part-time basis.
Programme - Winter 2001-2002
The Academy will open in November 2001 and, for the 2001-2002 winter, will
be based at the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy (CBCA) in Adelaide,
Australia, which is recognised as the leading Cricket Academy in the world.
The ECB will offer Academy contracts for up to 16 players in 2001. These
players will be selected in early September by a panel of selectors,
comprising the current England team selectors as well as ECB Performance
Director, Hugh Morris.
Before the players depart for Australia, they will meet for a week's
preparation at RMA Sandhurst in mid-October.
The players are due to depart for Adelaide on Saturday 27 October 2001 and
the programme will finish on Friday 15 March 2002. There will be a month
break over the Christmas period when players will return to the UK.
Individual tailored programmes will be developed for each player to address
the areas of technical development, mental development, tactical
development, physical development, and lifestyle management. Players will
use the facilities available in Adelaide as well as, on occasions, those at
the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.
The ECB NA will play a number of competitive fixtures both before and after
the Christmas break. It will contest four-day matches against the CBCA and
Australian State 2nd XI teams, and will also play in two one-day tournaments.
The Academy players will follow a 12-month training and development
programme. This means that, for the domestic season, goals and targets for
each player will be agreed by Academy Director, County Coach and player, and
these will be monitored by the Academy Director.
Winter 2002-3 onwards
The ECB and Sport England are hopeful that Bisham Abbey will act as the base
for the National Academy from the winter 2002-3 onwards, and this is
dependent on gaining planning permission for the proposed facilities. In
the event that planning permission is not possible, the ECB is currently
undertaking feasibility studies into alternative sites. Decisions on the
future base for the ECB NA will be made in due course.
Hugh Morris said: "The Academy is a major new initiative for the ECB. It
will build and improve upon our successful A Team programme by providing
players with a clearly defined development programme which will be tailored
towards each player's individual needs.
"We have said that players between the ages of 19-23 will be chosen for the
Academy, but clearly we need to be flexible on this because we do not want
to deny 'early maturers' or 'late developers' the opportunity of benefiting
from the programme. I do anticipate, however, that nearly all future
England players will have been through the National Academy structure."
Background
The ECB is working in partnership with Sport England to develop cricket
from the playground to the England Test side. In December 2000 Sport
England approved the ECB's 10-year World Class Plan, and agreed funding of
up to £2 million per annum, for initially the next four years. Sport
England is committed to supporting the ECB in its aim of producing the best
cricket development infrastructure in the world by 2007.
Rodney Marsh
Marsh, now 53, played 96 Test Matches for Australia as a wicket-keeper and
batsman. He is placed second in the all-time wicket-keepers list for
dismissals (behind Ian Healy) with 355 victims - 343 catches and 12
stumpings. He scored 3,633 runs at an average of 26.51, which included three
centuries and a top score of 132.