If your child wants world-class cricket coaching in world-class surroundings and wants to rub shoulders with world-class cricketers, then there is only one place to go – and that is the ICC Academy at Dubai Sports City.
ICC Academy has been in operation for more than five years, serving some of the world’s best players, coaches and teams as well as offering local coaching.
The youngest players, juniors of walking age play in the successful Cricket Cubs working on movement skills, social skills and confidence. At the age of six, players can graduate into the Warriors programme which runs at every age group up to under-18 level.
For players recognised as having talent, the Warriors Performance Squads offer bespoke coaching to nurture real potential.
And this year The Cricket Cub and Warriors have expanded to include coaching for women and girls as well as a new programme for adults enabling them to develop their skills and play in a series of fixtures.
Outside of group coaching, the expert coaching team also offer 1-1 sessions for all players, using the incredible array of technology at ICC Academy, usually reserved for international players
The ICC Academy has two full-sized outdoor ovals – both of them floodlit to allow training and playing outdoors at night and both have staged full international matches.
There are more than 30 floodlit outdoor practice pitches with turf and artificial surfaces plus the UAE’s largest permanent indoor practice area. And with pitches containing soil from all over the world, the ground staff can prepare wickets to replicate any conditions – from bouncy Australian pitches, to sharply spinning surfaces likely to be seen in the sub-continent or even seam-bowler friendly pitches often found in England.
In the past three months alone Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand have made ICC Academy their training base. And that follows on from others including England, Sri Lanka and South Africa doing the same thing in the recent past.
During 2014, the squads taking part in the Indian Premier League (IPL) also took advantage of what the ICC Academy has to offer, the ICC Academy also hosted the ICC Under 19 World Cup.
More recently, the Afghanistan, Ireland and Scotland squads taking part in next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup have been based at ICC Academy as a key part of their preparation, while the World Cup-bound UAE national team is based there full-time.
But the beauty of the ICC Academy – and Dubai Sports City as a whole – is that such world-class facilities are open to everyone, not just the world’s very best.
The coaching programmes are led and overseen by the former Pakistan all-rounder Mudassar Nazar.
During the past 18 months Mudassar and his coaching team have taken under-13, under-15 and under-18 Warriors squads overseas to play in Kenya, Nepal and the United Kingdom.
Coaching sessions happen for all age groups on weekdays after school and all day, festivals as well as specialist camps like the recent successful T20 camp, led by Pakistan legend, Azhar Mahmood.
ICC Academy Manager Will Kitchen said: “Our aim is to provide a development pathway and world-class experience for cricketers of all ages and abilities to progress their games to become the best they can be.”
What: ICC Academy at Dubai Sports City – coaching for juniors from walking age through to under-18 level.
When: Cricket Cubs (under six): Friday and Saturday mornings; Junior Warriors (six to 12): Friday and Saturday afternoons; Senior Warriors (aged 13 to 18): Tuesday evenings and Friday mornings; Girls (aged 11 to 18): Tuesday evenings
Contact: ICC Academy: 04 448 1355; email [email protected]
