19 Feb 2009

A host of ‘young guns’ have been selected to participate in the 2009 Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) men’s scholarship program at the Cricket Australia Centre of Excellence (COE).

Fourteen of the 16 full-time scholars have already represented their state in either Twenty20, one-day or first-class cricket and their selection is aimed to assist them take the next step in the career journey.

Three of the 16 scholars – Moises Henriques, Usman Khawaja and Jon Holland – are full-time scholars for the second intake in a row.

Cricket Australia’s National Selection Panel (NSP) announced the AIS squad that will undergo a 16-week program including an Emerging Players Tournament in Brisbane with teams from India, New Zealand and South Africa in July, as well as a 3-4 week international tour in August.

The 2009 scholars will be split into three smaller groups with each group commencing the program on a different date.

The three key start dates ensure that scholarships are individually tailored and flexible and the recent addition of the Indian Premier League to our cricket calendar was also factored in.
 
The scholars will undergo a targeted development program at the COE at Allan Border Field in Brisbane under the guidance of the COE Head Coach Greg Chappell and his team of coaches including Troy Cooley, Brian McFadyen, John Davison, David Fitzgerald and Mike Young. Additional specialist coaches will add to the program at key times.

A player’s weekly schedule will include a combination of cricket skills training, game scenarios, strength and conditioning training, injury prevention strategies, nutrition, recovery, sport psychology, career and welfare program and various sport science related activities.

As part of an exciting initiative implemented in 2008, to further develop elite coaches in Australia, several state-based coaches will also be involved in the COE program during this time.

The AIS scholarship intake for 2009 is:

AIS full time scholars (16)

Burt Cockley (NSW,22)
Josh Hazlewood (NSW,18)
Moises Henriques (NSW,22)
Usman Khawaja (NSW,22)
Steven Smith (NSW,19)
Mitchell Starc (NSW,19)                                            
Alister McDermott (QLD,17)                                            
Nathan Reardon (QLD,24)
Peter George (SA,22)                                            
Tom Cooper (SA,22)                                                       
Tom Triffitt (TAS,18)                                            
James Faulkner (TAS,18)                                
Jon Holland (VIC,21)
Rob Quiney (VIC,26)
Josh Mangan (WA,23)
Mitchell Marsh (WA,17)

In addition, the intake will be complemented by six additional part-time scholarships. The part-time scholars will attend the COE for periods of time over the course of the program

Part-time scholars (6):

Luke Doran (NSW,18)
Peter Forrest (NSW,23)
Adam Zampa (NSW,16)
Callum Ferguson (SA,24)
Kane Richardson (SA,18)                                            
Chris Duval (TAS,25)

Development scholars (4)

Jason Floros (ACT,18)                                
Sean Abbott (NSW,16)
Alex Carey (SA,17)
Jackson Coleman (VIC,17)

The average age of the 2009 AIS full time scholarship intake is 20.6 years. This is in comparison to the previous two full time AIS intakes with average ages of 21.2 years (2008) and 22 years (2007).
 
Commenting on the selection intake, National Selection Panel (NSP) Chairman Andrew Hilditch said:

“This group of players has been chosen by the NSP with an eye to the short term needs of Australian cricket, but with an emphasis on the development of a group of very talented youngsters to meet the long term needs of Australian Cricket.
 
“The NSP sees selection in the AIS intake as a very important step in the development of our talented young players as they seek to further develop their physical and mental cricket skills and strive to achieve international honours. This year is the first intake under the new head coach Greg Chappell.

“Greg has worked very hard, together with all the COE staff, to develop this year’s program which has some new innovations and a slightly different emphasis than previous programs .This selection presents all these players with a very exciting opportunity.

“Moises Henriques, Usman Khawaja and Jon Holland were all full-time scholars last year and have returned for a second stint at the COE, which will provide them with an excellent opportunity to build on the skills they developed here last year and during the recent season.

“In addition, James Faulkner, Steven Smith, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Marsh were all part-time or development scholars last year and will come back for the extended stint this year.

“The part-time scholarship group has a mix of youth and experience, highlighted with Callum Ferguson who recently made his ODI debut for Australia coming back to the COE to further refine his skills.

“The four development scholars – who will undertake a shortened training period – have a great opportunity to taste the environment at the COE professional tuition given by the coaching staff that will help their cricket progression.”

AIS Director Professor Peter Fricker said he was proud of the significant role that the COE had made to the success of Australian cricket.

“Watching young cricketers develop and reach new heights is very exciting, and to know that the Australian Institute of Sport has played a major part in that development is a tremendous reflection of the program’s success,” Professor Fricker said.

“The COE’s collaboration with AIS Sports Science and Sport Medicine, particularly in biomechanics and injury prevention, has been an important aspect of this development.

“We are extremely proud of our record and tradition of producing talented cricketers who have gone on to excel at the elite level of the game.”

Commenting on the 2009 AIS program, COE Head Coach Greg Chappell said;

“We appreciate the support of the AIS in delivering a great program for all our scholarship holders and we will continue to work with state associations to develop the nation’s best cricketers over the short, medium and long term.

“This is an exciting time for cricket in Australia as we continue to rebuild an Australian Team that has dominated world cricket for the past 10 years. It’s a great time to be a young cricketer with ambition, dedication and talent.

“We are lucky enough to have some great facilities and the support of the AIS is crucial in developing this next generation of international cricketers.”