OVER 90 youngsters completed the Malteenoes Sports Club (MSC) Cricket Academy on Friday after two weeks of learning the fundamentals of cricket, both on and off the field.

The Academy, which began on July 23, aimed at nurturing and fostering the development of aspiring cricketers. It also focused on realising the numerous opportunities the sport can offer professionally. The sessions were conducted at the club’s Thomas Lands facility.

The participants were coached by Orin Bailey, assisted by Darien Best and Shaquille Williams. They also had visits from a few other coaches such as Reon King, Garvin Nedd and Esaun Crandon.

At the closing ceremony, Director of Sport Christopher Jones urged the youngsters to take the knowledge gained and run with it as well as to continue training. He also noted that it is important for them to strike a balance between books and the field. However, he also pointed out that most importantly they should enjoy the sport they play, as they represent the future of Guyana.

Brandon Corlette was adjudged the Best Player-of-the-Academy.

The sessions included classroom and field work which provided training to become cricketers, umpires, scorers, journalists and broadcasters.

The Academy has produced Test players such as Ramnaresh Sarwan, Ryan Ramdass and Narsingh Deonarine, along with former USA captain Steve Massiah, who played two ODIs for the USA while Azeemul Haniff and Ricardo Mohamed played First-Class cricket.

After a break, the Academy was reintroduced in 2016 on a much smaller scale but was again interrupted last year due to the unavailability of coaches who were occupied with CPL duties.