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.

© ECB