Standards Rising Thanks To Rumesh
ACC U-16 Challenge Cup 2012
February 18, 2012Banglore Beckons For Thai Girls
February 19, 2012
With Thailand’s women’s team having just taken part in the ACC Women’s Twenty20 Asia Cup in Guangzhou in China, members of Thailand’s national squads at all levels benefited greatly from a training camp held in Bangkok from 7th to 13th November by Rumesh Ratnayake, one of the most experienced coaches in the cricket world.
It is a busy few months for Thailand’s national teams with the senior men’s team taking part in the ACC Challenge which is being held in Chiang Mai in December; the senior women’s team will be involved in the ACC Women’s tournament which is also taking place in Chiang Mai in January and February, and Thailand’s under-19 boys also have an ACC Elite tournament in Malaysia in May 2012.
Members of the three squads travelled to Bangkok to work with Ratnayake, together with members of the coaching staff, including Eddie Joyner who has just been appointed senior men’s and women’s coach. All players and coaches were put through their paces during the seven-day training camp and Joyner confirmed that everyone involved had practised hard and learnt so much from Ratnayake who has played for and coached the Sri Lankan national team.
Most of the squad for the forthcoming ACC Challenge were involved, together with the most promising Thai juniors and members of the women’s team who also work as coaches when they return to their provinces. It is hoped that the camp will see a general improvement in standards across Thailand as well as producing good performances on the field in the upcoming tournaments.
Ratnayake gave the players and coaches a great deal of technical information in the mechanics of batting, bowling and fielding, but also stressed that attention must be given to overall fitness and concentration on the field. Every player had individual coaching sessions and Ratnayake created real match situations so the players could put his instructions into action.
It was generally agreed that the training camp was extremely valuable and should lead to rising standards on the field. The ACC Challenge is being held in Chiang Mai from 7th to 13 December and this will be a good opportunity to see how Thailand’s senior players have benefited from Ratnayake’s input. Thailand initially play group matches against Singapore and Iran and will be looking to progress to the semi-finals and beyond.
Chiang Mai is becoming a regular home for ACC tournaments in Thailand and this will continue now that the northern city has three grounds with grass pitches on which international cricket can be played.
The newest ground at Royal Chiang Mai Golf Club was officially opened on 25th November with two teams of Thai junior cricketers taking part in the first match. The boys from CPP at Doi Saket which is acting as a Centre of Excellence for the development of youth cricket in Thailand just defeated Gymkhana Juniors, a team made up of children from other local shools, by three wickets.
It was a memorable day at the new ground as some high quality cricket was seen in an idyllic setting. 17-year-old Bunchuaai Sombatraksa has just returned from the camp in Bangkok and shoed its value by batting beautifully to make an unbeaten fifty against some testing bowling.
It is hoped that the new ground at Royal Chiang Mai Golf Club will become a home for youth cricket in the North of Thailand, and it is certainly a hidden gem that all players and spectators should look to visit in the near future.
Iran play Singapore at Royals on 7th December as the ACC Challenge gets underway.
By- Richard Lockwood