“We need it again”: Healy calls for Australian Cricket Academy return

This is not a reaction to Perth's one-off bad Test, but Australian cricket learnings at least need to be discussed.

Cricket in Australia has always been confident that its financial and people investments have successfully produced performers.  

Several years ago, the National Cricket Centre, or the Academy as we know it, ceased to exist for plenty of reasons, I'm sure.

However, the limited playing opportunities for young stars meant a full-time stint at the Academy, eight to 10 months a year, learning the craft and finishing off their craft. Then you return to your home state to play club cricket, nothing higher, because there were no spots in the state team and no spots in the national team.

We need it again now to upskill promise and to create performance. 

Tim Paine was a captain who got no support when retiring but has had no end of it since working with our next generation.

He listed the layers in an article over the weekend that the talent is there, so what are we doing for it?

There's nothing close to what SK Warne, Michael Slater, Damien Martin, Greg Blewett, Brett Lee, Ricky Ponting and Stuart Law received at the Academy. You name them, they were there. Matthew Hayden was declined. That's how good it was!

Players like Corey Rocchiccioli, Sam Konstas, and Ollie Davies all have qualities upon which to expand and finish off. Then there's the brand-new brigade, it’s time to get national coaching eyes on Hugh Weibgen, Harry Dixon and Nivethan Radhakrishnan, Lloyd Pope also still represents some value in the eyes of Tim Paine.

Young quicks are quite plentiful too. Fergus O'Neill, Sam Elliot, Callum Vidler, Mahli Beardman, Tom Straker and Tom Whitney. This generation could be forced then into their state teams and beat plenty of longer-term performers into national selection at this phase of our cycle.

All formats can be worked on and players most suited to one or two of those three formats we've got could join for a fortnight per year. 

My thoughts are this is for three months, training, strengthening and playing where performance is the key indicator and the key focus. Get them in from mid-May to mid-August to be mentored into what's needed to succeed at the highest level. Our cricket smarts and innovation have stalled, and the dearth of trusted openers last month was a sure sign that our performance depth is light. 

Let's not wait any longer to know who can be next. The return of the Academy must be on the table.