A groundbreaking new African Caribbean Engagement (ACE) Programme Development Academy in Nottingham has become the best-attended of eight centres across the UK despite only launching in January.
Based at Trent Bridge, the regional East Midlands Development Academy supports a total of 16 budding African and Caribbean cricketers aged between nine and 21, including two female players.
The ACE Programme, which was first established in January 2020, is a charity aiming to reconnect young people from African and Caribbean backgrounds with cricket.
It supports diverse talent from the grassroots to the elite by developing talent pathways and talent ID systems in targeted Black communities across the country.
The elite development academies are a key pillar of their aim, operating in five other cities - London, Birmingham, Bristol, Sheffield, and Manchester - in addition to Trent Bridge.
In conjunction with their Development Academy, each location runs a combination of school and community programmes to benefit local young people.
Regional trials for the East Midlands Development Academy took place in November 2024, leading to the selection of the 16-strong group that trained at Trent Bridge between January and April.
Progression from the regional Development Academies is to the ACE National Academy, which plays matches against county representative sides throughout the summer at both senior level and in various junior age groups.
The ACE Programme has a target of producing ten professional cricketers in England and Wales by 2030.
The Blaze’s 19-year-old fast bowler Amy Wheeler, who signed a rookie deal with support of the ACE Programme in September 2024, is the latest example of the charity’s positive work.
Patrick Gada, East Midlands ACE Development Academy Manager, said: “Trent Bridge is one of the best and most historic grounds in the world, [and] it is a great place for the young players to work on their game on a weekly basis.
“My work is to try and improve young players’ individual, team, and life skills, [which] will hopefully help them get to a level where they are capable of competently representing their cricket clubs and counties as well as the ACE National Academy.
"The opening of the Development Academy has meant that some of the East Midlands’ brightest prospects will have increased opportunities to sharpen their skills.
“The Academy benefits from experienced coaches within the African Caribbean community [too, including] Montie Douglas, Andre Jackson, and Brian Baptiste.”
Ian Dipaolo, Deputy Head of Community & Development at Trent Bridge, added: “The launch of the regional ACE Development Academy is a big step forward in the development of top cricketing talent across the East Midlands.
“For it to be the best-attended regional Academy in the country, despite only having been open since January, is a huge achievement, and one of which everyone involved should be very proud.
“The Academy offers specialist coaching across all aspects of cricket, including technical skills, tactical awareness, physical conditioning, as well as mental resilience, with players benefitting from both indoor and outdoor training.”
“I extend my thanks to Patrick and his team of coaches for their work in ensuring it is the best it can be, while Derek Styman, the Cricket Development Manager at Northamptonshire, has also been very helpful in promoting the Academy to ensure its success.”
