Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/5214/-1/127/
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Cricket: Trials Begin For Stanford 20/20 Pro Team For Anguilla
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Sunday, September 23, was the date of the commencement of trials at the Ronald Webster Park in Anguilla for the selection of the island’s “Pro Team” for the Stanford 20-20 Caribbean-wide cricket tournament over the next year.
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L-R: Lawrence Carty, Gordon Greenidge, Cardigan Connor, Andy Roberts and Adrian Griffith
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Cricket Development Officer in Anguilla, Cardigan Connor, said 16 of the 26 top players would later be selected for the Pro Team. He explained that while the selected players were to be fully involved in the Stanford 20-20 paid professional matches, they would also be released to the Anguilla Cricket Association to play in any Leeward Islands’ matches, to play in the local league to boost the performance and raise the standard of certain teams and to assist in developing cricket in schools.
Three persons, who have made a name for themselves in West Indies cricket and are now involved in the Stanford 20-20 tournament, were at the Webster Park for the commencement of the trials and to meet with media representatives. They were Adrian Griffith, the Cricket Operations Manager, Gordon Greenidge and Andy Roberts.
Griffith said the aim of the Stanford Pro Team was aimed at lifting the standard of West Indies cricket to where it was in the golden years. “We started with a tournament and we are now taking it a step further by introducing Pro Teams into the territories,” he explained. “We started with Antigua and Barbuda on July 1 and we are going to start by the first of November in Anguilla, St. Lucia and Nevis. So by the end of the year we are going to have Four Pro Teams.
“We will concentrate on the tournament after that and then from March next year will bring the other teams on stream. We are going to probably have about 20 Pro Teams in the Caribbean. Our stated goal is to improve the pool of players that the West Indies Cricket Board has to choose from, by improving cricket at the country level and giving more youngsters the chance to show their talents and to perform in a professional setting where they play cricket 9-5, Monday to Friday for an initial period of a year.”
The media representatives were told that in addition to playing cricket, the selected players would be exposed to training in anger management and conflict resolution. The planned programme will not only be aimed at making a good cricketer but a good all-round individual. There will be a coach responsible for running the Pro Team, an assistant, a trainer and a physio-therapist.
It was further stated that one of the benefits for the four Pro Teams is that they will be together for four months before the tournament and, practising from 9 am to 5 pm, they will have a head start over the other players to be selected later.
Greenidge, a West Indies selector and a Stanford legend, emphasised the need for West Indian cricketers to be more proactive in what they do… so that when they go abroad for competitions their performance could show much improvement.
“Too often we lack the commitment that we really need to play in a professional arena. That is something that has to change and only the players themselves can do that,” he stated.