Surrey CCC’s ongoing partnership with Cricket Brasil has reached a new level with the recent opening of the brand new High Performance Centre in Poços de Caldas.
The partnership, announced earlier this year, will see the Oval Cricket Relief Trust give three annual grants of £20,000 to Cricket Brasil, supporting the development of participation and performance cricket in the south American country.
The first grant, delivered this year, allowed for the funding of big improvements to the country’s High Performance Centre, the focus of elite participation in the Brasil and the base for both the women’s and men’s national teams. The improvements included an 500m square metre expansion of the centre’s footprint, the addition of new changing rooms, ice baths, physio facilities and Cricket Brasil offices.
Oval Cricket Relief Trust is a charity that was originally setup around the all-star charity T20 match held at The Oval in June 2005 that raised £1m for the rebuilding of Maggona, a village on the west coast of Sri Lanka that was destroyed by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. Since then, the trust has helped fund projects in countries including Rwanda, Grenada, Barbados, India and Haiti.
Sérgio Antônio Carvalho de Azevedo, Mayor of Pocos de Caldas, and Jonathan Knott, the British Consul General in Brasil, were on hand to join Cricket Brasil officials and visiting English players Phoebe Graham, Ellie Threlkeld, Fi Morris and Tara Norris to officially open the facility on October 1st.
“The 1st of October was a special day and just want to thank you all at Surrey and the Oval Cricket Relief Trust for making this all possible”, said Matt Featherstone, President of Cricket Brasil. “We have completely transformed our centre from a very basic training facility to a High Performance Centre.
“This is a game changer for us, providing our national teams with quality facilities to help prepare for ICC World Cup qualifiers and also for the Olympic Games – as well as a bigger and better training centre for many of our students of social projects in Poços de Caldas. More than 2,000 children will get the benefit of this improved centre.
“This three-year partnership is going to make a huge difference for cricket and performances, but more importantly, positively change people’s lives through sport.”
Roberta Moretti Avery, former Brasil captain and a board member of Cricket Brasil, added: “I feel really proud to be part of a country that is growing its pathway for athletes but has the priorities in making peoples’ lives better through sport.
“Brasil has a strong foundation based on peoples and coaches’ development and the partnership fits really well with our values.
“The new High Performance Centre is just the first step in our work with Surrey and the Oval Cricket Relief Trust and will help Brasil development in structure and coaching which will consolidate even more the place of Brasil as a strong reference of cricket in the Americas.”
Brasil has recently hosted the South American Championships, both women’s and men’s cricket. Brasil Women – who have full time professional contracts – were successful in defending their title, topping a group containing Argentina, Mexico and the Cayman Islands and then defeating Argentina in the final. Their current focus is to impress in qualifying for the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup, that will be held in England and Wales.
The men’s side – in an eight-team competition alongside Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay – came up one match short, topping their group but losing to fellow group winners Panama in a tightly contested final.
Jon Surtees, Head of Community, Public Affairs and Projects at Surrey CCC, concluded: “We believe that we have a duty to support the development of cricket not only at home but also abroad, where we can make a difference to the growth of the game.
“This fantastic facility in Pocos de Caldas will help Cricket Brasil continue to grow cricket in their incredible country, reaching ever higher levels within the sport and inspiring new generations of the 212m Brazilians to pick up a bat and ball and get involved.”
