The Shell Cricket Academy, which is located at the St. George's University in Grenada, will soon be accepting its latest set of scholarship winners. The initiative, which is a joint venture between Shell Antilles & Guinas Ltd. and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), will hold its second session of intense training for 24 of the Caribbean's brightest cricketing prospects.

The programme will run from 15th May, 2002 to 15th August, 2002 and will not only deal in cricket matters, but also things such as money management, etiquette, computer skills and literacy in general.

Chief Executive Officer of the WICB, Gregory Shillingford, in expressing the board's gratitude to Shell for their continued financial support to the academy, said: "We can look back with some sense of satisfaction and pride at what the Shell Cricket Academy was able to achieve last year as many of its graduates have advanced their careers in a very meaningful way.

"The WICB looks forward to the Academy reaping similar or greater successes with the Class of 2002 as we all endeavour to reach for a consistently high quality, successful and internationally marketable brand of West Indies cricket."

The WICB was quick to point out that the entrants to the Shell Academy would not be precluded from consideration for the senior West Indies team. Chief Development Officer of the WICB, Dr. Michael Seepersaud, advised that "the mere fact that someone was named to the academy does not disqualify him from consideration by the selectors." Seepersaud went on to explain that the overall needs of the WICB would have to be taken into consideration before any final team is named.

The 24 entrants named for the second Shell Cricket Academy are:

Ryan Austin, Patrick Browne, Antonio Mayers, Dwayne Smith, Antonio Thomas (Barbados), Azib Ali Haniff, Vishal Arjune, Narsingh Deonarine, Ron Matthews, Homchand Pooran, Rayon Thomas (Guyana), Carlton Baugh Jr., Lorenzo Ingram, Brenton Parchment, Darren Powell (Jamaica), Omari Banks, Shane Jeffers, Kerry Jeremy (Leeward Islands), neil Kanhai, Gregory Mahabir (Trinidad & Tobago) and Camilus Alexander, Alston Bobb, Kenroy Peters, Darren Sammy (Windward Islands).

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