Davis talks to sussexcricket.co.uk

The Sussex contingent of the Port Elizabeth Academy flew out to South Africa yesterday after a slight delay at Heathrow Airport.

Mark Davis travelled last week and has been setting things up for the cricketer’s arrival. Sussex Cricket caught up with the big man ahead of an intense four weeks training.

SCCC: Why Port Elizabeth?
MD: We’ve had players going to PE for the past three years, but this is the first time it has been used as an official academy. During that time we have made some great contacts and have made many friends in and around the university. On top of that, I know the place very well. I grew up there as a lad and have played a lot of cricket over there. It’s a cost effective way of getting a lot of cricket in and it’s a safe place – one of the safest in South Africa.

SCCC: What are your aims and objectives of the four weeks?
MD: It’s a great opportunity for us to give some of the professionals some quality cricket. A couple of them (Chris Liddle and James Kirtley) have recently recovered from injuries. Lidds missed the entire season last year, so it’s a chance for them to get back up to match fitness and get bowling again. We’re concentrating hard on seamers, which is why Ragheb Aga and young Jordan Rollings are out here, so we’ve got four weeks to get these guys into some rhythm and getting some early overs under their belts. It’s also a good chance for us to set up some strong relationships for the future. If we think that it has been a valuable experience, we’d obviously love to use to facilities again. On top of that, we want to take a look at some youngsters that we have seen over the last year. We saw a couple of young seamers that have been released from their academies and it’s a chance to take a look at them and get to know them better from a personal point of view.

SCCC: What will a basic day consist of?
MD: Each day there will be a hardcore fitness session in the morning followed by some beach running, life saving sessions and core stability. Then we will go in to the nets and we also have the opportunity of middle practice, which is key to our preparation for next year. I also want it to be an eye-opening time for the lads that are out here. I want to take them to some of the most deprived parts of South Africa, which, although not cricket orientated, is a real experience for anyone. We’ll all eat as a unit in the evening and prepare for another day of hard work.

SCCC: Why the mix of players and just two youngsters?
MD: Keith Greenfield, Cricket Performance Manager, had budget to take two players from last year’s academy – these were Matt Machan and Jordan Rollings. Obviously Matt was later given a Young Professional’s playing contract, but everything was in place by that time. Mike Yardy was keen to come out and it will be great for him to spend a couple of weeks close to the younger guys and also get a look at some of the trialists. As I said earlier, we are concentrating on fast bowlers and the seamers that we have out here could well be opening the bowling next, so it is important that we take a good long look at these guys.

SCCC: Where did the trialists come from?
MD: Mike Chadwick is from Yorkshire. We’ve seen him bowl in the nets. He’s a tall opening bowler, who has been released from Yorkshire’s academy. Craig Smith played for our 2nd XI last year, but was unfit due to injury. We want to see how he performs when fit, as he has a lot of natural talent. Again Craig is a seam bowler. We saw them both last year to a certain extent, but we want to get to know them, their work ethic and their skill levels.

SCCC: Is this the first of many trips?
MD: It really depends on how it goes and if we think it is the right thing to do. All we know at the moment is that the facilities are top notch, the people here are fantastically welcoming and we’re guaranteed cricket. I’ll let you know once we’ve come back.