Posted Date: Friday, 29th August 2008
Gatting opens academy
The City Cricket Academy in Leicester has moved into state-of-the- art new premises at Freemen's Common - and has been given the seal of approval by former England and Middlesex skipper Mike Gatting.
The Academy is the brainchild of Anshuinan Bhagawati, the Syston all-rounder who played professional cricket for his state side Assam for five years.He opened it in May 2006 but it has outgrown its previous premises and has moved just 10 yards away in Commercial Square."They are bigger premises with better facilities. It's a state of art premises which is desigmed fo r cricket," said Bhagawati.
"I see it every day, of course, but people who come here for the first time say it has the wow factor. "
Certainly Gatting was impressed when he made the official opening in front of hundreds of children from around Leicestershire.
"This is something very special," he told the budding cricketers. "This is a dream come true and you guys are very lucky to have a facility like this. "To become a good cricketer, you need dedication, some ability and hard work. Always listen to your coaches as they give a lot of time to you guys. David Gower, the last England captain from Leicestershire, was a genius and it was a pleasure to play with and against him. But even he had to work hard. "Anshuman and everyone at the Academy has obviously worked very hard to get all this for you guys. Give something back by training hard."
The new premises has six lanes, or wickets, varying from fast to slow. Bhagawati said: "Two of them are really flat pitches. There are different surfaces for each lane offering different pace and bounce. We also have a bowling machine, a cradle and a Crazy Catch which sends the ball off at all angles.
"We have showers, a ladies changing room because we want to attract girls to use the Academy, and our lighting is at a lux level of 1350 where the ECB recommendation is 1000.
"We have 170-plus lights. Everything is done to ECB specifications."
Bhagawati started the venture from nothing but now he says: "It has rocketed to more than 250 children using the facilities.
"'We also have County juniors from 10 to 15 and some local league clubs are also coming here for practice. They include Hinckley, Market Harborough, Syston and Wigston Town.
"This is for everyone of any age, I believe there is a lot of talent out there in Leicestershire. This will give kids the chance to go on to professional cricket. It has always been my dream to help kids and we will provide alI the kit needed."
That includes bats, pads, helmets and gloves, and Bhagawati hopes that by providing all the equipment and coaching from experts, including former Leicestershire all-rounder Laurie Potter, the Academy will produce a player for Leicestershire.
"I also want to get into schools, added Bhagawati,
"RoIleston Primary School and Leicester Grammer School already come here.
"Since we started, some of the kids have become really really good players when some of them didn't know how to hold a bat when they first came.
"We keep it simple and make it fun. And we teach them the four Ds - discipline, dedication, determination and devotion."
Since the Academy's inception, Bhagawati has forged links with Dennis Lillee's MRF Pace Foundation in Madras and the Spinmax Foundation in the same city run by Arapalli Prasana, who played 49 Tests for India.
There have also been trips for the children to Lord's, India, Grace Road and more recently, Dubai. Anyone interested in joining the Academy can ring 0116 254 3333 or 07931 838 422
www.citycricketacademy.co.uk
By Ken Widdows
Article taken from Leicester Mercury
© City Cricket Academy 2008
