On the back of the inaugural staging in 2022, the 4Milla Academy cricket summer camp has extended its commitment to provide holistic development for young, aspiring players, and to offer lessons about the fundamentals of the sport.

The 2026 edition is to be held over two weeks, July 6-9 and July 13-17, at Melbourne Cricket Club, and 4Milla Academy Director Nikita Miller, a former West Indies and Jamaica spin bowler, is expecting another productive summer camp.

And similar to recent seasons, he is pulling out all the stops to get more girls involved.

“The whole concept behind the camp is to try to develop our young cricketers, both boys and girls. We want to get more young people to play cricket, and that’s why we have slots for girls as well,” Miller told the Jamaica Observer.

“Jamaica and West Indies women’s teams have been fairly successful over a period of time and so we need that wider pool. I believe we can get more participation from girls in Jamaica who can then matriculate to age-group cricket for Jamaica and West Indies, and then to the senior team,” he said.

Miller said registration is $25,000 per child; however, there is a 10 per cent discount for each additional sibling. Most noticeably, all girls will be allowed free registration.

“From the previous staging we [decided] to not charge for girls to see if that can help to get more girls out.

“I hope we can get more girls involved this year again — each year we keep pushing it, we keep trying… to get more young girls to participate. It’s an opportunity also for them to do something, for physical activities in the holiday break,” he said, adding that all participants will receive a branded T-shirt.

MILLER… we’ll sit and discuss the game and laws of the game and the commercial side of the sport

The former left-arm finger spinner said he has again collaborated with Melbourne CC — of which he is a member — and also with law enforcement representatives in a bid to offer a wide coverage of development opportunities for registrants.

Miller said technical support will come from former national fast bowler and Melbourne coach Audley Sanson, along with former West Indies and Jamaica women’s cricketer Rita Scott, and a number of other coaches who have played cricket at the highest level.

“It won’t only be about being on the cricket field, we’ll sit and discuss the game and laws of the game and the commercial side of the sport.

“We will also have a member or members of the police force have a session with the participants as we look to guide, support and inspire them in different ways. So, it won’t be all cricket… it’s about holistic development and teaching the youngsters life skills, because not all of the participants will become cricketers,” he explained.

Miller, currently a West Indies assistant coach, was a wily bowler in his day, claiming 538 wickets in 100 first-class outings at an impressive average of 16.31. As a batsman, he accumulated 2,296 first -lass runs at 17.52.

He played 50 One-Day Internationals, nine Twenty20 matches, and one Test for West Indies.

— Sanjay Myers