September 26 Thursday 2002
Academy facility set to be built

LONDON: Work on building England's new national cricket academy is set to start next month, governing body the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said Wednesday. In a statement, the ECB said work on building the four million pounds facility at Loughborough University on October 28 once a funding agreement had been signed with government agency Sport England earlier month.

The costs include the construction of a brand-new indoor cricket centre - the largest in the world - the development of the midlands university's outdoor net facilities and the refurbishment of residential accommodation.

ECB performance director and former England batsman Hugh Morris said Wednesday: "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."

England's current 15-man academy squad, under the supervision of former Australia wicket-keeper Rodney Marsh, are due to spend several weeks at the Adelaide-based Australian academy before going on a tour of Sri Lanka in the New Year.