Thailand’s Coaches – Up To The Test?

Venkatesh Prasad and Rumesh Ratnayake arrived in Chiang Mai in January to hold an ACC level 1 coaching course, but cricket in Thailand will benefit in many ways from their week long visit

India’s Venkatesh Prasad and Rumesh Ratnayake from Sri Lanka are two of the world’s leading coaches as well as development officers for the Asian Cricket Council so it was a tremendous opportunity for Thailand’s coaches that they came to Chiang Mai to hold a four-day coaching course. Both were outstanding fast bowlers for their respective countries and both have impressive coaching pedigrees.

Venkatesh Prasad served as India’s bowling coach, working with the likes of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, and has worked in the Indian Premier League for both Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore; Rumesh Ratnayake has long been recognized as an outstanding coach and was released by the ACC to coach the Sri Lankan national side for their series against Australia in July and August 2011.

Both men continue to work for the ACC and so 15 of Thailand’s cricket coaches were privileged to attend their level 1 coaching course, held at PTIS International School, but they were not the only ones to benefit from Prasad’s and Ratnayake’s great experience and knowledge. The pair of former fast bowlers showed the stamina they were renowned for with the ball by working long and hard with the Thailand under-19 women’s team who are preparing for a tournament in Kuwait and then holding a fast bowling clinic for some of Thailand’s most promising youngsters.

The two coaches had barely arrived in Chiang Mai when they were brought to the PTIS Oval to meet the Thailand girls who have been preparing for the ACC Under-19 Women’s Championships which are being held in February. They have been staying at the newly established Centre of Excellence at Doi Saket for the last two months, practising hard at the new net facilities and playing regular matches against boys’ teams.

The young girls are coached by two of the senior women’s team, Noi and Fon, who were fully involved in the coaching session staged by Prasad and Ratnayake. All aspects of the game were covered with the pair working non-stop as they began with fielding practice and soon staged a game amongst the girls as they put their theories into practice.

The central theme of the four-day coaching course they held later was that you can watch, listen or talk about all aspects of cricket, but you learn the most when you actually do something, whether batting, bowling or fielding. Watching the two ACC Development Officers working with the girls, you could see clearly what they meant, as they demonstrated each technique and got their young students to carry out the same skills.

Venky and Rumesh both spoke at length to the girls but their message was simple: always walk in and throw hard when in the field; bowl straight and eliminate wides, and hit the ball hard and aim at the gaps in the field when batting. Always watch the ball is straightforward advice but it will serve the girls well when they play in Kuwait in February. The team is still very young with players from provinces such as Uttaradit and Si Saket where cricket is in its early days, but the girls will long remember their afternoon with two men who had reached the top of the game.

The girls continued with their practice but Venky and Rumesh headed to the nets to work with the boys for what was intended to be a fast bowling workshop but proved to be so much more, as they gave one to one advice to batsmen and slow bowlers as well. The boys from PTIS School, some of the younger coaches who are also national players, and boys from the hill tribes who have been playing in Chiang Mai junior cricket will all have benefited greatly.

Again, Venky and Rumesh both had some wise words to finish the session with the boys: get the basics right, practise at least four times a week and make good use of the fine facilities that are now available in Chiang Mai; try to improve some aspect of your game every day; enjoy your training but work hard and most importantly study hard in your academic work.

Several of the boys who spent time with the two coaches gained almost immediate reward as they were selected for training at the Centre of Excellence in Doi Saket to prepare for Thailand’s under-14 and under-16 sides which each have tournaments coming up in the near future. They will soon have the chance to put the advice they received into practice.

But this work with the junior girls and boys was just a warm-up for Prasad and Ratnayake who began their four-day level 1 coaching course the following day. Fifteen of Thailand’s cricket coaches, some still junior players themselves, and others from provinces such as Si Saket and Uttaradit where cricket is a very new game, were put through their paces on every aspect of cricket.

Everything was translated into Thai at each stage with work in the classroom supported by sessions in the gym and on the field. The two senior coaches broke down every technique, whether batting, bowling, fielding or wicket-keeping, into basic steps and their pupils even played a match in which they were keen to show off what they had learnt.

There were also daunting workbooks to fill in but Mohideen Kader, CAT’s Chief Executive, and his son Shan, who is heading the Centre of Excellence, were both on hand to help the Thai coaches, who all had to give a practical demonstration on some aspect of coaching cricket.

The rain may have meant that no play was possible in the match between Chiang Mai CC and the visiting Green Parrots which was to have been staged at PTIS Oval on the saturday, but the coaches continued with their study for the full four days. The rain also gave the umpires and two of the junior players the chance to sit in on the course and see Venky and Rumesh in action. The showed videos and power point presentations but it was their enthusiasm for the game that shone through and will surely inspire the trainee coaches.

The Thai coaches will soon be putting into practice all they have learnt throughout the provinces of Thailand. The CAT has their own National Youth Championship coming up soon and the cricket is also part of the National Youth Games to be played in Phuket later in the year, so positive results from the course will quickly be seen.

Venkatesh Prasad and Rumesh Ratnayake have now left Chiang Mai after a busy week’s work but their influence will long be seen in Thailand and the other countries within the ACC where they regularly visit. Venky will return to Chiang Mai in March for the ACC U16 Challenge before heading back to the IPL and it is great credit to the Asian Cricket Council that such fine coaches can combine work at the highest level with helping raise standards at the grass roots in developing countries.

By- Richard Lockwood