For the sixth consecutive year, the Optimists Cricket Club has hosted the annual Cricket Academy Week aimed at further developing the young cricketers in Luxembourg. With the support of the Luxembourg Cricket Federation, 40 kids attended the 5 day course designed to build the various skills needed to become strong cricketers. The Luxembourg coaching team was enhanced by the presence of Gavin Colebourn, a Level 3 ICC Coach from the UK, and his valuable insights and techniques brought an extra level of energy to the young cricketers.
During the week, the children participated in many skill developing exercises focussed on bowling, batting, fielding and general cricket knowledge, which were then mixed together with matches and skill tests to put the improvements into practice. The Optimists team members and volunteer parents also contributed hugely to the week with the traditional Saturday barbecue, always a highlight. The coaching team selected the following students for special awards due to their individual progress:-
- Most improved bowler – Ridouan Asselman
- Most improved batsman – Matthys Geurtz
- Most Improved fielder - Jules Louppe
- Most improved allrounder – Oscar Whiteman
In addition, on the final day various challenge matches were held and the teams captained by Alan Stock and Marcus Cope emerged victorious. Amongst the senior juniors, Zach Foley won the intense competition for best high ball catcher but the Senior Juniors 6-a-side team failed narrowly to beat an adults Optimists Select team, despite setting a challenging total of 117 in 10 overs.
All in all, despite just a few rain breaks, the week was a huge success and this process clearly continues to contribute to the development of the cricket talent in Luxembourg. Congratulations to all involved.
The Juniors cricket training now takes a break for the holiday period but will resume on Sunday August 28th.
Graham Cope