By Jeremy Blackmore, ECB Reporters’ Network
As Northamptonshire coach David Ripley built a Steelbacks side that won two Vitality Blast titles. Now he is casting his net wider in a bid to find the next Monty Panesar and tap into the huge interest in cricket among Asian communities in neighbouring counties.
Ripley is heading up two revolutionary new sixth-form programmes, one in Luton and Central Bedfordshire and a second in Peterborough, which will see 48 budding young cricketers combine their studies with a taste of life as a professional athlete. Panesar, who hails from Luton, has described the initiative as a “game changer”.
Ripley hopes the two-year programme, being delivered in partnership with local educational academies, will help equip the youngsters with important life skills as well as those needed on the cricket field.
“When we set the scheme up, I was hoping we’re going to find the next Monty Panesar through an elite cricket path,” he said.
“But the other stuff, like how it can help young people with life choices and growing in confidence and just preparing them for life, is also important.
“At the other end of the scale, we also have three or four quite exciting talents [in the first cohort] that are certainly in the frame for hopefully being viewed as potential Northamptonshire Academy cricketers. So, it is quite diverse in ability levels.”
The Luton and Peterborough Steelbacks Cricket Academies provide a real alternative to college or sixth form education for those aged 16-18.
They combine a wide range of educational options with an elite-level cricket programme under the leadership of Ripley, supported by Kevin Innes, Academy Director at Wantage Road and local coaches in both locations.
In Luton, the programme will be delivered in partnership with the Shared Learning Trust over two campuses at The Stockwood Park and The Chalk Hills Academies, while in Peterborough, students at Thomas Deacon Academy will have the chance to benefit.
Ripley is already working with the first cohort in Luton ahead of the formal start in September. At the same time, he is busy recruiting a second cohort in Luton and a first in Peterborough.
The Luton Steelbacks Academy builds on the work done by Luton Wicketz Development Officer Amran Malik who played a key role in the genesis of the project.
The Lord’s Taverners Wicketz programme operates sustainable community cricket hubs for young people living in deprived communities across the country. Malik has also helped arrange fixtures for the first cohort this summer.
The new Steelbacks Academies will open a potential pathway into professional cricket for those who may not have had that opportunity before. Ripley reports high numbers coming to sessions from local Asian communities and a growing excitement the club is reaching out.
“That's the message that's coming through loud and clear. It's been a really positive experience,” he said.
“Every session I've gone to, everyone's been so upbeat, everyone's had a smile on their faces. It's been really good.”
The youngsters in both Luton and Peterborough will receive a minimum of five hours coaching a week from elite-level coaches alongside their academic studies; receiving a high level of support both on and off the field. This will include a training programme and time in indoor nets.
Ripley hopes the youngsters will also be able to visit Wantage Road in the winter to use the elite facilities at the county ground.
The move is part of a broader drive by Northamptonshire to underline the relevance and vibrancy of cricket in Northamptonshire and neighbouring areas, amid a wider backdrop of debate about the future of county cricket and number of first-class sides.
Ripley, who was part of Northamptonshire’s trophy winning one-day side in 1993, is a self-confessed fan of county cricket and believes sensible tweaks are needed rather than wholesale change.
“There is a lot of debate about cricket and the number of counties and who's relevant,” he said.
“It’s about being proactive to make Northamptonshire as relevant as we can be and spreading our area in terms of our outreach. It’s very much on the club’s agenda.
“Gavin Warren as chair has been very proactive. He has been ahead of the game. We want Northants to be saying, ‘yes, we're doing our bit’.”
Ultimately, the Steelbacks Academies will help the club source new talent and broaden opportunities even if that wider debate about county cricket is resolved. Indeed, Ripley’s long-term aims are to build a lasting pathway for players from Luton and Peterborough into the Northamptonshire Academy at Wantage Road.
“That's what we'd like – good fixtures, good cricketers, good facilities, good coaching, some education benefit for the lads that are on the course and some cricket benefit,” he said.
“For it to just keep rolling on and every two or three years there's a player that's destined for the Northants Academy.”