TOBY Radford, Director of the Sagicor High Performance Centre (HPC), says he is satisfied with the progress made during the first phase of the programme which ended in August of this year.

The HPC was opened in Barbados in June as the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) moved to improve the level of the sport in the region.

Fifteen regional players were selected to participate in a two- year stint at the state-of-the-art centre.

The Academy Programme, supported by the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), is aimed at developing youngsters in a systematic and structured way, using modern techniques

and strategies.

Speaking to the Observer in an exclusive interview after the WICB permitted the HPC to compete in the recently concluded regional 50-overs competition, Radford said the talent within the academy augurs well for the future.

“The aim of the programme is to fast track the best of the West Indies players into the playing sides. A lot of the guys played in the Under-19 sides in recent years or even before that and we believe they have got the potential to go on and play Test or One-Day cricket for the West Indies.

“We have got a couple of players that have already represented the WIndies team and I think more from this group will go on at some

point to represent the main (senior) side.

“We’ve worked with a lot of the bowlers; we have Jason Holder, and also Shannon Gabriel, who has improved enormously over the summer and he has got some pace on him,” he said.

Added Radford: “They (the players) do technical work and tactical work and I even brought over a psychologist from England.

“With competitive cricket, there’s a lot of playing under pressure and coping with anxiety and all the things you get in top level sport.”

The Shell Cricket Academy of St George’s University in Grenada was launched in 2001 and was trumpeted as the way forward for regional cricket, which has been in decline since the mid-1990s. Unfortunately, by 2005 the WICB was forced to dispense with it due to lack of funding.

Radford had high praises for Sagicor and the WICB for putting together a programme that he believes has allowed players to experience good facilities and high-calibre coaching.

“The Windies (Board) has decided that this is an important step in the future of cricket and I think we have already showed signs of going in the right direction. What had been lacking is the structure, organisation and probably high-end coaching, and that’s what money is enabling us to do now. The academy provides good quality coaching and good facilities with the best core of players,” Radford said.

Though not progressing beyond the group stage of the domestic 50-overs competition, the HPC team performed creditably, and were unlucky to have two of their three preliminary games ending in no-results due to rain. Of the WICB’s decision to allow them to participate, Radford regarded it as a master stroke.

“When you have had them so long and they have worked so hard, you want to test them and you want them to see how much they’ve improved, and the only way to do that is to put them up against really good opposition.

“I was delighted when the WICB said ‘yes you could be in this’, and so were the players,” he said.

The 39-year-old Welshman has performed a similar role at English County team Middlesex, and has previously worked with England Test players Steven Finn and Eoin Morgan. He told the Observer he relishes the time spent with the young West Indies players.

“I saw this (coming to the West Indies) as a great opportunity to work in a different culture and to work with different type of players. There are moments when it has been really good and the lads have been very receptive and they’ve worked really hard, so overall, it’s been good,” Radford said.