The ICC Intercontinental Cup Shield final between UAE and Namibia will take place at the world body’s new Global Cricket Academy (ICC GCA) ground in Dubai Sports City which was officially inaugurated on Tuesday.
The Shield decider will run from December 2 to 5 at the world-class, state-of-the-art facilities which was handed over to the International Cricket Council (ICC) after a soft opening ceremony.
The Intercontinental Cup final between Afghanistan and Scotland will also take place from December 2 to 6 at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai Sports City, it was announced.
Present at the launch of the academy was ICC President Sharad Pawar, ICC Vice-President Alan Isaac and several members of the ICC Board as well as ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat.
There on behalf of Dubai Sports City were its founding partners while Dubailand was represented by its Chief Executive Mohammed Al Habbai.
Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, Managing Director of Dubai Sports City said: “This is indeed a historic and momentous occasion for world cricket and another significant milestone in the evolution of Dubai Sports City. This academy project has come about through our excellent partnership with the ICC.
“It is the philosophy of Dubai Sports City to create partnerships and be associated with the best of breeds in all sports. Pivotal to this philosophy is the development of sportsmen and women at all levels – from amateur to professional. We firmly believe that we are creating an environment in which this ambition can be fulfilled. Dubai Sports City is delighted to have the ICC Global Cricket Academy as part of our offering.
“The academy is world class and will provide top training conditions for elite cricketers from all over the world. It will also have a significant and positive impact on UAE cricket.
“The ingenuity of the various programmes and the design of the ICC GCA enable young and developing cricketers to benefit immensely. This is a great day,” said Bukhatir.
“Now that this is passing into your hands, I think it is a good occasion to say please have it and look after it,” he added.
The ICC chief congratulating Bukhatir and Dubai Sports City for completing a project which was begun in 2004 but has been a long time in the planning was worth the wait. “As the saying goes all good things are worth waiting for and there is no doubt that the ICC academy was worth the wait,” said Pawar
“We are particularly proud of the turf wicket facilities that will provide players with Asian, Australian, South African and even English conditions. The mark of a truly global cricket academy,” he said inviting the new generation of cricketers to utilize this wonderful facility.
He said the academy centre on four pillars: training camps, events, education and coach development. “The players in reality not only get an opportunity to discover their cricketing skills but also celebrate many human values like team spirit, leadership qualities and desire for achieving excellence. It is these qualities and values which enable cricket to unite people,” said Pawar who described it as a historic day for ICC.
“I’m informed that there are a number of international teams determined to enjoy this special environment in Dubai Sports City and that more than one million dollars was spent for this entire campus,” he said lauding Dubai Sports City’s commitment not only to improve infrastructure for cricket but also other sports like football, swimming and golf.
“This outstanding academy will provide a pathway for the world’s current and emerging international players to excel. It will also become the centre of excellence for cricket’s best and brightest administrators, coaches, umpires and curators,” said the ICC president.
“With its state-of-the-art programmes, facilities and coaches, the ICC GCA will provide a home for a wide range of our stakeholders from both the traditional Full Members and the developing Associate and Affiliate Members. We believe the ICC GCA is key in making our great sport, even greater,” said Pawar.
The assembled guests, who also included management and staff of the ICC, whose headquarters is located just a few metres from the ICC GCA, enjoyed a tour of the spectacular indoor and outdoor facilities at the academy.
There are a total of 38 floodlit outdoor practice pitches including 28 turf, that replicate pitch conditions in Asian, Australian/South Africa and the UK, and 10 artificial surfaces. In addition there are two floodlit cricket ovals with five Australian and five Asian pitches on each.
Pakistan and South African players are expected to use these facilities for practices when they play a series here next month.
The ICC members also watched a game taking place on the main oval, a grassroots youth programme happening on the second oval and practice sessions in the indoor and outdoor nets.
The indoor training facility includes a fielding area and seven lanes with varying pitch conditions. Each lane is monitored by mounted cameras for technical analysis.
Dubai Sports City provided the necessary funding and is the owner of the ICC GCA while ICC is the manager of the facility and its operation.
The ICC GCA will provide state-of-the-art facilities with indoor and outdoor pitches, complemented by the latest technology to allow coaches to assess all areas of a player’s game.
As part of the plan to create the best training facility in the world, the ICC GCA is reproducing a variety of pitch types, which will replicate the playing surface conditions of the UK, Asian sub-continent and Australia.
The work involved importing specific types of clay, soil and turf using varying preparation and agronomic practices to replicate the characteristics of each surface.
“This is the best cricket academy in the world at the moment,” said former Australian wicketkeeper Rodeny Marsh who is the director of ICC GCA which also includes former Test players Mudassar Nazar from Pakistan and Dayle Hadlee of New Zealand as top coaches.
Together they will help train and develop the best talent in world cricket as well as local players so as to improve the standard of the sport across the UAE.
The three coaches will implement specific elite programmes, provide coaching education courses and support grassroots development to make the ICC GCA a centre of excellence, innovation and education for world cricket.
Those wishing to use the facility can contact the ICC GCA and its activities through its website, www.iccgca.com, or by calling the ICC GCA directly on +9714 425 1111 or +97150 640 5759.
Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.