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A National Cricket Centre, a facility at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex, which is to include a cricket ground, pavilion, indoor nets, office, cricket library and museum, is a major part of the Barbados Cricket Association's (BCA) four-year Development Plan.

The object of the centre, according to a 58-page document in which the plan is presented, is to provide Barbados' cricket with a home and the BCA will employ a phased approach in establishing the centre.

Barbados needs a cricket development centre and a home for Barbados cricket, the document said.

The BCA already experiences difficulty in scheduling age-group coaching clinics and training for venues outside the jurisdiction of the BCA.

Estimated costs for the centre over the four-year period amount to $4.4 million.

The costs are split over preparation and construction costs, maintenance, wages and salaries.

Phase 1 of the BCA's strategy includes the acquisition of sponsorship to assist in the financial support of the centre's operations, the clearance of the area at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex for the establishment of practice facilities and the installation of a water supply for pitch preparation and electrical machines from which bowling machines can be operated.

The second phase comprises the construction of a pavilion and the preparation of a cricket ground to accommodate at least three pitches.

Phase 3 is the construction of a building to house the centre which will include office space, a cricket library, museum, special projects room, two changing rooms, assembly hall, lunch room, viewing area, three rooms for workshops and indoor nets with four bays.

The centre, which is to be staffed by a full-time manager, cricket development officer, manager's assistant, coach, curator, will seek to assist players and teams in the development of physical, technical, mental and life skills, the plan said.

The BCA will also seek to address values, work ethics, image, confidence and discipline as well as teach the fundamentals of sports medicine, physiology, training, fitness, nutrition, sports psychology and biomechanics.

The curriculum will also include the history of West Indies cricket, personal finance, AIDS awareness, communications and media skills training.

It is also proposed that the centre serve as a home ground for the Combined Schools first team, as a preparation and practice venue for national, West Indies and other international teams and as the location where training for umpires, coaches, scorers and groundsmen takes place.

© The Barbados Nation