Iconic Gayle vows to revive academy geared to grass-roots development
FORMER West Indies and Jamaica cricketer Chris Gayle says among the things he wants to do this year is to breathe new life into his academy which was launched years ago with the mandate of fostering development at the grass-roots level.
The Chris Gayle Academy, which is affiliated with his boyhood team Lucas Cricket Club, and another at the club which was supervised by the late Coach Dennis Miller, ran simultaneously for a few years, but neither has been open since the novel coronavirus pandemic struck.
Gayle, considered one of the region’s greatest batsmen, hinted that mismanagement had undermined the operation of his academy but he said he wants to get it back on track.
“The academy is something I want to start up as well… things didn’t [go] well. You have to be careful how you let people handle stuff,” Gayle, 43, told members of the media when asked about the academy after Sunday’s exhibition cricket game featuring him and legendary West Indies batsman Brian Lara at Treasure Beach in St Elizabeth.
“This year I’m trying to get these things back up and running. We don’t want to see the kids go astray, so I have an academy and [we want] to assist in whatever way,” the towering left-hand batsman added.
Last year, St Mary Cricket Association relaunched its Youth Cricket Academy. The academy had been launched in 2019 but because of the restrictions enforced to counter the pandemic the training programme had to be put on hold.
In recent times other academies have got off the ground, including the 4Milla Academy — the brainchild of former West Indies and Jamaica spin bowler Nikita Miller — which opened in November 2021.
The Kingston Wharves Under-15 competition, which for just over three decades has helped to unearth some of Jamaica’s top cricketers, returned in 2022 after it had also been sidelined due to the pandemic.
In addressing the declining fortunes of West Indies cricket in recent decades, Gayle said more has to be done at the administrative level, both at the regional board level and in individual territories, to boost the amount of cricket being played.
He noted that the rapid spread of franchise cricket leagues in the United States has created opportunities for players.
“I think cricket took a wrong turn, but hopefully we can actually develop the game. Club cricket is something to look into as well; we’re not seeing a lot of cricket — I’m speaking from a Jamaica point of view.
“It’s something the board really and truly has to look at and I can see whatever part I can play in that as well. A lot of players [are] playing cricket in the [United] States now. The States [is an option]… for cricketers to go there and make a living, [but] we are struggling here in the Caribbean,” he explained.
“I can help in a few departments, not in all. But first and foremost I have to find time for myself… I still have a lot on my plate from a personal point of view, [but] when it comes on to West Indies cricket they will always have my support; when it comes on to Jamaica cricket they will always have my support as well.
“I have my academy… so we can get some younger players, search for new talents and just help kids on a whole, that’s my plan,” Gayle, who played 103 Test matches for West Indies highlighted by a top score of 333, said.