ICC Catching The Spirit of Cricket

Since its inception in June, 1909, ICC and the sport of cricket have changed tremendously. What started off as a three-country alliance between Australia, England and South Africa has now expanded to encompass over a 100 countries. ICC has empowered millions of players, volunteers and supporters to be a part of the sport they love.

This year ICC is celebrating 100 years of cricket and as such undertook an awareness programme to expand the reach of cricket even further with the “Catching the Spirit of Cricket” programme. Cricket is no longer a sport which is played by well off gentleman on pristine lush green grounds, instead cricket is alive and in full force in all-around as can be seen by the fact that no matter where you are in the world in some street corner you will see kids and adults dueling in cricket.

On the 20th of June, 2009 Thailand really did “Catch the Spirit of Cricket” as Khao Yai was buzzing and humming to the tune of cricket. On the 20th Cricket Association of Thailand (CAT) unleashed a flurry of cricketing activity in a bid to leave a lasting impression not only on Khao Yai but on Thailand Cricket in general. So what was all the excitement about?  In  the honor of the 100th anniversary of ICC and in line with the “Catch the Spirit” theme, CAT organized Cricketing exhibition seminar to help those unacquainted with the sport understand its basics. Over 120 kids and heads of over 24 schools attended the event in order to get a feel for cricket in person as the Thai Women’s National team displayed their skills in a short exhibition match and followed by a mini coaching session with the kids.

Cricket is fast growing in Thailand, having already established reputable cricket centers within the urban cities of Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket, CAT is looking at taking the sport to the rural areas. In the past Khon Kaen has seen a lot of attention in terms of rural development and having established a strong base there.  CAT is now looking at establishing the very first “Centre of Cricketing Excellence” in Khao Yai, in an effort to unearth more local talent.

CAT developed its first Centre of Excellence in Khao Yai at the St. Stephens International School. This centre is not only meant to serve Khao Yai but will also serve the surrounding regions. With the help of Mrs. Jane Deotrakul, the Principal of St. Stephens International School, and Dr. Visut Charoensiriwatana, a member of the board of directors, the opening of the Center of Excellence went on without any hiccups.

The day started off beautifully as pupils and their parents from various local and private schools gathered at the St. Stephens International School grounds to witness a new form of sport that they had never seen before.  Their eyes glittered as they were astonished by the Thailand’s woman team’s demonstration on the field.  The demonstration was narrated in Thai so that the locals could get an understanding of what they were witnessing.  After the on-field demonstrations, pupils were divided into groups for a small training session which was administered by the women’s team players.  The eagerness of the kids to learn the game really showed how fast the “spirit of cricket” could be passed on.

Dr. Visut Charoensiriwatana has seen the local community develop in various different ways for the last fourteen years.  He has always encouraged students from St. Stephens International School to go out and help develop the local community by teaching them English or encouraging them to participate in various sporting events. He believes that by building a Centre for Cricketing Excellence in Khao Yai, will provide more opportunities for the students in the surrounding areas to take up the sport of cricket and also eventually help to develop the community.

The formation of this Centre for Cricketing Excellence has not been possible without the support and hard work put in by Mrs. Jane Deotrakul.  Mrs. Jane emphasized that this newly created facility was not meant just for the school but instead it was open to all interested parties and as such opened the schools doors to the local schools in the surrounding areas.

The Centre for Cricketing Excellence is the first step in establishing a fully fledged cricket academy.  The Centre as it stands now consists of a nets facility and a playing field. Over time as the local cricketing resources grow within the region, CAT is looking to expand this facility into an academy which will serve not only the North East region but also the Central region and national camps.  This project can be viewed as a pilot project which CAT hopes to replicate within each of the 7 regions in Thailand.