'Academy good for UAE'

Coach Nazar will use the facilities to work with players from elite and grassroots levels.

New Zealand's Ross Taylor, left, and Jamie How run Between the wickets during the third one-day international against Bangladesh today.

DUBAI // Mudasser Nazar is convinced the advent of the ICC Global Cricket Academy (GCA) here will give UAE cricket the chance to make much-needed headway. Based at the Dubai Sports City, the GCA is a new coaching school to start functioning fully in about six months time.

He may be one of Pakistan cricket's greatest sons, but Nazar's career has also been intrinsically linked with the Emirates. When he started out in international cricket, Nazar was a playing tourist to Sharjah, where the game was undergoing a similar gestation. The former batsman was handed the chance to book-end his career here when he was unveiled as the GCA's latest resident coach earlier this week.

Even though the GCA's remit is to aid global cricket development, Nazar, 52, believes the new initiative will breathe life into a local cricket association on their knees. "I think it is a huge challenge to take UAE cricket forward," Nazar said. "In the past I have been involved with local cricket associations, but we haven't made any headway. "This is our chance now. We have all the top-class facilities - the best in the world.

"We will be starting from the top, working with all the elite players, right down to the grassroots level, not just in the UAE, but the Middle East as well. "I am 100 per cent sure it will become a centre-point for these [non-Test playing] nations as well, not just the elite nations." Nazar understands the problems faced by nations outside of the elite Test sphere. He coached Bangladesh before the made the step-up to the top form of ºthe game.

He also headed the national academy in Kenya, who are one of the most successful non-Test playing nations, and also coached the national team. "I have worked extensively, and that has taken me all over the world, and I'm hoping to put that to full use here," he added. Marc Archer, the GCA's general manager, admits that - while the academy's mandate is broad - they have a commitment to developing the game in their host nation.

"One of our visions is to grow cricket across the UAE, and that is not just with the national team, but to provide a sustainable programme for grassroots development," he said. [e-mail]