The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the English Institute of Sport (EIS) today announced that work on the ECB National Cricket Academy at the Loughborough University site is due to begin on Monday 28th October.

A "funding agreement" is due to be signed in October between Sport England and Loughborough University which will rubber-stamp the £4m costs of developing the Loughborough site into the ECB National Academy facility. The costs include the development of the to-be-built indoor cricket centre, the development of Loughborough's outdoor net facilities and the refurbishment of residential accommodation.

At the same time, the ECB will sign an exclusive "user agreement" and "residential agreement" with Loughborough University and with the EIS. These agreements will confirm the ECB's use of the site for the next 20 years. It will cost the ECB approximately £350,000 per annum for the use of the site i.e. the indoor cricket centre, including the offices therein, the EIS' sports science and medical facilities and the residential properties.

The facilities will be ready for use for the start of the 2003-4 National Academy squad intake on October 1, 2003.

Hugh Morris, ECB performance director, who has been responsible for setting up the ECB National Academy, said, "We chose Loughborough for a number of reasons. The facilities will be world class, all the facilities will be on-site together and, being at Loughborough, we will be mixing with many of the country's best athletes from a range of other sports which can only be beneficial to cricket.

Rod Marsh, Wilma Shakespear and Hugh Morris outline the Academy plans to the press at Loughborough Photo © ECB

"Our new facility will be more than just a centre for our National Academy squad. It will be a national centre for the whole family of cricket, a place of our own where the very best male and female players can be developed and looked after to give them the best chance of achieving excellence at the highest level. When finished and working to its potential, it will be a huge boost to cricket in England and Wales."

Wilma Shakespear, national director at the English Institute of Sport, said, "The EIS are keen to develop a strong working relationship with this important sport for England. We are working closely with the ECB and Loughborough to help develop the next generation of cricketers to the highest standard possible in order to give the national teams the very best chance of gaining success on the international stage."

Rod Thorpe, director of sports development at Loughborough University, said, "We are continuing a culture of excellence at Loughborough and this is a shining example of the world class standards that we are developing in conjunction with partners like the EIS and ECB."

The cricket centre at Loughborough will be the largest bespoke indoor cricket centre in the world. Measuring approx 70m by 25m, there will be six lanes and the hall will be long enough to accommodate a fast bowler off a full run-up bowling to a wicket-keeper standing back.

The Hawkeye tracking system will be installed as a coaching aid in all lanes. In addition, a "force plate", which will be able to monitor a pressure exerted by a bowler in his or her delivery stride, will be built into one of the lanes - a first for any cricket centre in the world.

Outside the sports hall area, but in the same building, a variety of ancillary services will be accommodated on three floors. There will be a large fitness and conditioning centre, Academy changing rooms with a recovery area including hot and cold spa baths, and two changing rooms specifically to service the outdoor cricket pitches

The cricket centre will also offer office accommodation for the National Academy staff, who will be based permanently at Loughborough. A "performance analysis" suite, which will include an editing suite, will be available to analyse data from the Hawkeye and "force plate" systems; it will also house a comprehensive video library of the world's best teams and players. In addition there will be seminar rooms, a bar and a viewing balcony.

The Cricket Centre will overlook the outdoor cricket facilities on offer at Loughborough.

There are already two high-quality cricket pitches at Loughborough University, to which the ECB will have access for up to 45 days a year. In addition to these pitches, a bank of up to 18 grass nets will be developed, for which the ECB will have exclusive access. A dedicated cricket groundsman will be employed to work solely on the cricket facilities with existing Loughborough groundstaff - a joint appointment will be made by Loughborough University and the ECB in due course.

The ECB will have exclusive access to two houses, situated a short walk from the outdoor cricket pitches and cricket centre, which will be refurbished to three-star standard. There will be nine bedrooms in each house, as well as kitchen and laundry facilities.

Priority for the use of facilities will be given to the National Academy, for which the ECB can pick up to 16 players for the annual six-month winter programme (1st October - 31 March). Apart from a 5-6 week tour, the squad will spend the majority of its time at Loughborough.

The National Academy facility, however, will be much more than just a training centre for the National Academy squad. It will provide an all-year-round facility to benefit cricket as a whole:

- Age group squads: the England U19, U17 and U15 squads currently train together at Lilleshall, Trent Bridge and Old Trafford but in future they will meet at Loughborough instead.
- England women's squads (senior and junior): likewise they will move their training base to the National Academy.
- England's squads for players with disabilities: they will also have access to the centre.
- Coaching: staff coach training for levels one, two and three of the ECB coach education programme will be undertaken at Loughborough. Level three and level four of the ECB coach education programme will also be delivered at Loughborough.
- County coach conferences will take place at the new facility, as will seminars for cricket's sport science and medical groups.
- Terry Jenner will use the facility for the ECB wrist spin development programme, and it will also enable the ECB to better organise training camps for cricket specialists such as young fast bowlers.
- The National Academy will be used as a rehabilitation centre for injured players, from England players to potentially county players and the best up-and-coming youngsters.
- Loughborough UCCE will also use the facilities.

Loughborough University currently provides a training base for around 250 high-quality athletes, helping them to reach and excel at the highest levels of their chosen sport as well as continuing their education. Housing the National Academy at Loughborough therefore allows the best young cricketers to interact with other top-level sportsmen and coaches to help them develop their sporting potential.

Loughborough University also has an excellent track record in applied sports science and medicine; the ECB will have access to the new EIS sports science and medicine facility, which will be completed by autumn 2003. In addition, the ECB will have access to Loughborough's new £7m EIS athletics indoor training venue and the existing olympic-size swimming pool.

© ECB