2015 EICA Recruits Eager to Impress

With the The Ageas Bowl known as a world-class international venue, Hampshire also plays host to a number of the next generation of young, talented international cricketers.

Several elite players from both Australia and New Zealand make their way to the The Ageas Bowl each season as part of a thriving partnership with the ‘Elite International Cricket Academy’ to hone their skills and gain experience with the hope of kicking on further for international honours in the future.

Just one of the cricketers involved in the set-up previously was Australian spinner Ashton Agar. The left-armer was selected to represent the Australian national side in the Ashes on the back of his involvement and success whilst playing in the county.

Now a new intake has made their way to the prestigious venue and one of the young cricketers involved, Ben Ashkenazi, expressed his excitement at being involved with the EICA at Hampshire.

‘We’ve had a lot of access to great facilities and playing games. The main focus here is to improve and play more cricket – a lot of the guys back home aren’t able to do that this time of year either and to be able to train and be a part of the EICA at a place like the The Ageas Bowl is fantastic.’

One important part of the summer stay is playing local club cricket in the competitive Southern Electric Premier League, and with all players being assigned clubs in Hampshire’s top tier, the chance to test their skills in English conditions is something fellow Australian Jake Doran believes is vital.

At the age of just 18, Doran has already represented Australia U19s in international youth fixtures as well as Sydney Thunder in the most recent edition of the Big Bash. The talented batsman is hoping to continue his development, even if the start to the 2015 season is a little chilly.

‘It’s pretty cold, I think being used to it being a bit warmer back home in the season is a bit different to the challenges early on in the season here in Hampshire.

‘But again, the experiences and opportunity to learn whilst we’re over here is great and it will be a real help in preparing me specifically for Australia U19 and then kicking on from that too.’

Fellow Australian U19 players Sean Willis and Tom Andrews are also part of the EICA with their fellow countrymen Doran and Ashkenazi across the summer.

All four of the promising athletes are hoping that, like Agar, featuring heavily in top-level club cricket as well as for the EICA side will help present further international opportunities in the future.

‘Hopefully this opportunity will help me with state team opportunities and then nationally too. This experience is one that can really show my versatility and being able to crack the different conditions and make big runs during my time here will be important to show what me and the rest of the guys can do.’

Andrews also reiterates the help that the opportunity with the International Academy can have on his national ambitions too, with the 19-year-old echoing all four player’s hopes of progressing their cricketing careers further on the global stage.

‘Hopefully playing first class cricket is the first step and then a bit further down the line obviously the main goal is to play for Australia.’

So with the 2015 Elite International Cricket Academy in full swing and all of the intake enjoying their experience so far, we see the impact of the partnership throughout the county - who knows, maybe this year’s elite group will be the next breed of international stars in the future.