Cricket Australia organises induction camp for rookies

Australia's newly-contracted state players and rookies will spend two days at Cricket Australia this week as part of the inaugural induction camp. Organised jointly by CA and the Australia Cricketers' Association, the camp - to be held on September 16 and 17 - is designed to introduce the 22 players to the pressures and opportunities faced by first-class cricketers in Australia, as well as familiarise them with the policies and code of conduct established by the board.

Presentations will cover player contracts, code of behaviour - including CA's racial and religious vilification and anti-harassment codes - the spirit of cricket project, and the Memorandum of Understanding between CA and the ACA.

There will also be presentations on professional development, financial management and a section on players and the law. Current and former first-class cricketers will talk about life as professionals. Michael Brown, the general manager cricket operations, said that the camp would help prepare players for some of the issues they might encounter during their cricket career.

"Players who are new to the elite level can be forgiven for focussing only on their playing performances and the challenge of breaking into the team," he said. "However, the role of the player induction camp is to show them a broader picture and highlight several other aspects of the game in Australia and their importance.

"The demands on cricketers these days - and sportspeople across all codes in general - is vastly different to that of yesteryear. There is a lot more scrutiny and media exposure of cricketers, and we are committed to ensuring that our players are good ambassadors as well as being the best players they can possibly be.

"We have a responsibility to ensure that all players in our national competitions are familiar with our expectations of them, and hope that the player induction camp will provide an excellent vehicle for newly-contracted state and rookie players to make a smooth transition into the elite level."

Tim May, the ACA's chief executive, echoed those views. "Newly contracted state players are exposed to significant new pressures and responsibilities both as cricketers and as people as they progress along the cricketing pathway," he said. "We believe the induction camp will assist players to better absorb the significant pressures they will face through their involvement in sport at this level, and additionally better prepare the players for their increased responsibility to both the game and cricketing public."