With the whole world going through an unexpected stand still, I thought of giving a few thoughts about an area which is very important and significant to us but at this very juncture it seems to be totally neglected and forgotten.
Free hit contributor – Krishan Anandakumara
Yes, it may be the deadliness of the disease is such that things like school cricket may not be important anymore, but we cannot live with this forever, we need to come out of this and begin our normal, day to day routines. So, let’s come to the topic, my main aim is to show you the value of the schoolboy cricketers and also to create a platform where they are looked after in a better way or let’s say to give more value to them. Schoolboy cricketers are a very important part of our cricketing structure. This is our feeder point or the nursery. But I feel it is not properly managed. The best example is that most of the junior Sri Lanka Under 19 players have not been able to represent the senior national side during the last 15 to 20 years.
Let’s go into more details, well if you take into account from the start of year 2000 very few cricketers who represented the junior national side have graduated to join the senior national side. Even if they did find a place in the senior side, it was only for a few games. Another alarming factor is that most of the best players selected at some of the prestigious awards ceremonies were also not picked for the senior national side. This cannot happen to my knowledge if the correct pathway is followed.
The ‘Botham like’ Mathews of school cricket
When we go into detail about the current season in division 1, the two day and the one-day tournament is at the quarter final stage. So only a few games are remaining to be concluded. I think whenever we are able to recommence, we should first play the remaining games and conclude the tournament. Then go to the next tournaments without postponing any since we all should keep in mind the value of these to each and every single player. Also the relevant schools/coaches and players should be informed in advance regarding these firm decisions. Not only cricket but no sports activities should be postponed. Because some of them may be in their final year representing the school so they will never get another opportunity. Also when district and provincial squads are selected, the players who are in the last year are ignored so they are stranded from here onwards and only a very few will continue cricket.
Welcome to the 1000-run makers’ club
So, it is not only in this situation but something that commonly needs to be considered if we are to be a force to reckon with in the cricketing world.
Proposals
- Minimize the number of division 1 schools in the competition.
- Play games on home and away basis within the year
- Select a pool of 50 to 60 players from the performances every year
- Play games on a monthly basis for 3 to 4 years within that squad
- The squad should be selected with last year’s players and next year’s players.
- Pick the best performers of these games for the next level (emerging level)
- Introduce a grading system with points for these players
- Create a pathway for players to move through to the top level
These are some of my personal views and suggestions. We need to recommence encounters between Colombo schools vs Outstation schools, games which will be very important for the future. Also junior selectors/national selectors and the selection panels of these awards ceremonies need to work together with a common goal to pick the best players for Sri Lanka.
*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of ThePapare.com.
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