Elliot Wilson aims to continue having an impact at Central Sparks

Central Sparks finished second in the North group standings in the inaugural season of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy that concluded earlier in August. While they could only manage three wins from six games, the squad showed a lot of potential despite missing out on a final berth. Northern Diamonds went to the final owing to their group top finish.



A lot of this credit goes to Worcestershire CCC Academy coach Elliot Wilson, who played a crucial role in building the Central Sparks sporting centre of excellence for high-performance professional cricketers, featuring some of the best players from the West Midlands region.



Incorporating the counties of Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Herefordshire, Shropshire and Staffordshire, Wilson began working one year ago, combined his day-to-day job in polishing young talents at the New Road besides being at the helm for the Sparks.



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“On behalf of Worcestershire, about 12 months ago, I was asked to represent the club in working in collaboration with Warwickshire to create Central Sparks,” Wilson was quoted as saying to wccc.co.uk. “I spent a lot of time working with the staff up at Warwickshire – like Paul Farbrace and Laura MacLeod – and we were initially looking to create a company which is called West Midlands Cricket Limited."



The company was owned 50 per cent each by Worcestershire and Warwickshire and they wanted to create a brand for the side that would represent the region. “I’ve been involved in that process from when it started 18 months ago through to this point today and, with the impact of COVID-19, a lot of appointments for Central Sparks were delayed,” he added.



“Laura wanted some support, with a tournament to prepare for, and she approached the club and asked if I would be able to assist for some time and for 11 weeks, I acted as the Lead Coach of Central Sparks and helped with all things cricket on and off the field.



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“I will continue to have an impact, albeit it more informally, moving forward and it’s been a great three months, albeit incredibly busy, combining my role with Worcestershire. It’s been a great experience, nice to be responsible for stuff that has a slightly higher profile, and the challenges of working with a group of players from four or five different counties and have played against each other for several years,” said Wilson.



He also said that coming together and performing well was a great challenge. “To then all be playing together, with very little time to come together as a group, was a great challenge, but one I thought I was quite well suited to taking on,” he added.



Known for broadening his cricketing horizons, Wilson's association with the Worcestershire CCC Academy is reaping the rewards. “If I ever sit here and think I know what I’m doing, I’m in trouble! I always try and find different environments, different people to speak to, different ways of thinking that improve the programme we are delivering to the Academy players.



“If the programme is the same every year, the lads will get a bit bored, and I’ve got to make sure they are engaged, have good inter-actions, receive good feedback from the coaches and if we get that right, we are doing alright.”