Sussex announce academy intake

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The PROBIZ County Ground will be the home for five new youngsters in 2012 after they earned one-year deals with the Sussex academy

Sussex have added five players to their academy intake for the 2012 season.

After a two-month trial before Christmas, Ollie Graham, Josh Hayward, Elliott Hooper, Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Stuart Whittingham have all earned one-year places.

Georgia Adams, Harry Finch, Callum Jackson, Tim Moses and Abidine Sakande have retained their places for the new season.

The five newcomers all created an impression during the audition, showing their ability to take on new information, adjusting their techniques and achieving their set goals.

Graham is a top-order batsman, who scored heavily in Sussex’s Under-17s last season, and Hayward and Hooper are both left-arm orthodox spinners, moving into the U16s.

All-rounder Hudson-Prentice has proved his worth in youth cricket for the past two seasons, scoring a century in the U17s last year, and Whittingham is an opening bowler with hopes of improving his lower-order batting to become a genuine all-rounder.

All the academy members are handed a yearly programme covering physical, technical, mental, tactical and life skills.

These are delivered by the professional coaching staff, primarily on a one-to-one basis, with all programmes overseen by cricket performance manager Keith Greenfield at The PROBIZ County Ground and the Sutton Winson Academy Ground in Blackstone.

Greenfield congratulated the 10 players and added: “They are all well aware that this is the first rung on a long ladder to becoming a professional cricketer.

“There is a lot of hard work, as well as enjoyment, in the months ahead and they have all shown the ability to go forwards.

“There will be many challenges that will benefit their game and they will be given fantastic support in order for them to show a significant contribution to Sussex Cricket in the years to come.”

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