Dujon heads Jamaica mini-academy

KINGSTON: The Jamaica Cricket Associa-tion (JCA) yesterday announced plans for an annual mini-academy for 15-19 year old cricketers at the GC Foster College in Spanish Town. The first session will be spread over three weeks next month (August 2-25) involving 28 teenagers, including four girls. To be named The George Headley Centre of Excellence, the mini-academy, which, it is hoped, will serve as a feeder for the regional Shell Cricket Academy at St George’s University, is one of several now springing up around the Caribbean. It had its roots in ideas put forward by the West Indies Cricket Board’s (WICB’s) Cric-ket Development Unit. Acclaimed West Indies wicketkeeper /batsman of the 1980s and early ’90s, Jeffrey Dujon, will be the technical director while the WICB’s Development Officer with responsibility for Jamaica, Phillip Service, will be the administrative director.

Service yesterday described the project as “another cog in the development process as we undertake to return West Indies cricket to winning ways”. His major concern, just over a week before the start of the first session, is money. Financial constraints have already forced a revision from the originally-planned five-week session to three weeks. The budget for this year is $1.5 million, of which $500,000 has come from the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).