A local courier and high school have partnered with the Bermuda Cricket Board to aid in the development of cricket on the Island.

The BCB announced yesterday that DHL will be their exclusive logistics provider in a three-year deal while Warwick Academy are providing a customised training facility on their north field for youth cricketers.

The venue, to be named the DHL Youth Cricket Facility, will be constructed over the coming months to support the BCB’s youth development programme.

It will feature two batting strips and a bowling machine, and the practice facilities and cricket ground at Warwick Academy will be used exclusively by the BCB and under-11 and under-14 teams.

Warwick Academy have youth teams of their own so building the facility will benefit their programme, David Horan, the school’s head teacher, said yesterday.

“Warwick Academy has a growing youth cricket programme and we are pleased to partner with DHL and the BCB to give our grass-roots programme a welcome boost,” Horan said. “Not only will the DHL Youth Cricket Facility be available to all 800 of our students but our agreement with the BCB will make the nets and cricket field accessible to all.”

Added Horan: “We started a year ago looking at our cricket at Warwick Academy and while we had the space we had a pretty much non-existent cricket facility for the 830 students at the school. We needed to make sure that we had the facility in place to make sure our students learn the game.

“I started speaking to Neil [Speight] at the Bermuda Cricket Board and what we wanted to incorporate community involvement on different levels and what we have come up with is a plan for under-11s and under-14s to use the facility outside of school time.

“We feel it is quite an attractive collaboration and involves the community as well as the Warwick Academy students.”

Lloyd Fray, the president of the BCB, said: “This is a particularly exciting initiative as it helps the BCB on a number of key strategic areas.

“First, youth cricket will be boosted by the DHL Youth Cricket Facility and increased use of the beautiful field at Warwick Academy.

“Additionally, cricket equipment and clothing can now be landed in Bermuda in a more cost-effective manner. Furthermore, all stakeholders in cricket in Bermuda will be able to take advantage of the generous shipping packages being offered to them via this partnership.”

Rob Brown, the regional CEO of DHL, is looking forward to working with the BCB to aid in the development of youth cricketers.

“The mission of DHL is ‘excellence simply delivered’, therefore it is a natural fit for us to partner with the BCB which has an outstanding track record consistently lauded international to help people in Bermuda enjoy its national sport,” Brown said. “The continued emphasis of the BCB on youth development is particularly important to us.

“We operate in 229 countries around the world and want to support those communities that we work in, so resourcing our logistics from overseas is a perfect fit for what we do every day. We look forward to building a long-term partnership that makes a tangible and sustainable improvement to cricket in this country.”

Patricia Gordon-Pamplin, the Minister of Sport, said: “I am very pleased that these three organisations have come together to help our communities and especially our young people.

“The BCB has internationally recognised development programmes for both girls and boys so it is particularly heartening to see a household name like DHL support our national sport.”

n The BCB will hold a press conference today at 12pm to announce the new national coach. Arnold Manders, who held the position, was one of four applicants for the post, along with Clay Smith, Lorenzo Tucker and Herbie Bascome.