Melbourne Cricket Club Annual Clinic gets underway

Photo: Robert Samuels – head coach at Melbourne Cricket Club

The annual clinic put on for young cricketers by the Melbourne Cricket Club got underway today, with approximately 46 boys participating in the two weeks programme. Range from ages 7 -16 years, the participants will be put through various skills sessions each morning before being allowed to play games against each other in the afternoons.

Head coach and former West Indies player, Robert Samuels along with the experienced Dennis Miller along with a number of other coaches will be responsible for taking the players through their paces.

Samuels began coaching at the clinic in 1991 and lauds the success of the programme over the years, “The likes of Chris Gayle, Carlton Baugh and Marlon Samuels are just a few of the players who have benefitted from this clinic. The players are taught a different skill each morning where the emphasis is placed on the fundamentals of the game but the afternoon is much more relaxed where we allow them to have fun.”

Fourteen year old Joshua Swaby has been going to the clinic since he was three years old. “I look forward to the clinic each year. It always helps me to improve my game. I am looking forward to another great experience this year,” he said.

Swaby who bowls pace for his school Kingston College says that at least six of his teammates are also at the camp and they are all hoping that the improvements made during the summer will have a spill-on effect during the school competitions next school year.