Red Rose heroes Wasim Akram and Farokh Engineer are two overseas stars to have wowed Lancastrian crowds, with the club looking to identify Asian stars of the future.
As part of the ‘Lancashire Way’ project, the Emirates Old Trafford club is running a pilot scheme to find talented young cricketers from an Asian background.
The ‘Asian Talent Search’ is open to players aged between 15 and 18 with Lancashire coaches set to judge the talent on show with further trials a possibility.
“We know there are many talented young cricketers from an Asian background in the region who are not on our player pathway,” said lead coach Qasim Ali.
“We hope the ‘Asian Talent Search’ will help us to identify players who have the potential to play first class cricket for the county.
“If this scheme is successful we hope to roll it out to other communities across Lancashire.”
The first round of trials will take place at Lowerhouse Cricket Club on Monday May 27 and is open to people living in Nelson, Burnley, Blackburn and Hyndburn.
The scheme is specifically designed for players not nominated for squad assessment sessions, with a view for selection within representative age group programmes.
“The development of South Asian talent is part of the national strategy that kicks in from October 2013,” said Lancashire Cricket Board managing director Andrew Hayhurst.
“Although this is very much part of the Lancashire Way, Sport England have provided specific funding to develop this part of the community, many of whom see cricket as their first sport.”
“The LCB welcome this development and appreciate the opportunity to run this initial programme through the joint venture with LCCC and the Foundation.”
To register for the pilot scheme, players should contact Qasim Ali on 07811 209 038 or via email: [email protected] or visit www.lccc.co.uk
Image courtesy of lcccvideos, via YouTube, with thanks.
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