Cricket Develops in The Philippines (at last)
It seems to have taken a while but at last cricket seems to be on the march in the Philippines.
Of all the East-Asia Pacific members, the Philippines seems to have taken the longest to launch a junior development plan aimed at growing the game beyond the expatriate community.
The East-Asia Pacific region accounts for just 10 ICC member countries but in most of those cricket is either fully entrenched or prolific at junior level.
Cricket is a mainstream sport in Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Cook Islands. PNG and Vanuatu also have very large junior development programs in place although the PNG initiative was somewhat stifled by a school teachers strike in 2007. In Samoa and Tonga, cricket comes in second to the all conquering rugby union code but is nevertheless an established part of the sporting culture. Indonesia, like PNG and Vanuatu, is in the midst of a massive junior push. Japan too now, has an ever expanding junior presence to compliment a popular university competition while South Korea appears to be also taking the university route.
Until recently, the same could not be said of The Philippines but all that is changing.
Late in 2005, The Philippines Cricket Association appointed a development officer to launch and oversee the country’s first junior development strategy.
It was decided that a program much like Australia’s Milo Cricket would be the most appropriate model and in 2006 the venture was officially set in motion.
A cricket academy, focusing on the most talented youngsters, was also inaugurated.
In 2008 a schools program junior competition will be introduced. School teachers and volunteers will be trained and new concrete pitches and grounds constructed.
To fund these initiatives, the first Philippines International Sixes tournament will be held as part of the successful Asian Cricket Sixes Tour.
The tour has become a not to be missed event in places like Phuket, Macau, Chiang Mai, Bali and Hong Kong and provides valuable revenue for junior cricket in the host countries.
The tournament will be held in Pampanga, just North of Manila from March 7, 2008.
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Global Cricket
I thought it was about time I started my own blog. I have followed associate and affiliate cricket since 1998. Tony Munro’s BTTW column was a great inspiration. Global Cricket will specifically focus on the non-test playing cricket nations of the world. At present there are 91 countries that have associate or affiliate membership of The International Cricket Council. Most of these nations aspire to play at the highest level. How are they bridging the gap in standards? Do they have good facilities, strong development programs and sound administrative practices in place? There is a need for cricket to embrace a more diverse cultural outlook if it is to prosper in the future. The ICC’s global development program was first initiated in 1997 and began to really take shape after the 2001 ICC Trophy in Toronto, Canada. Although a new cricketing powerhouse is yet to emerge, it is clear that standards are improving dramatically and in time more nations will be able to compete with the 10 full members. I will be featuring newspaper articles of interest, opinion pieces and articles written by myself and some ideas about expanding the game. Please feel free to comment.-Ben Stinga
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I was wondering if anything was happening in The Philippines. It seems there is. Small steps forward!
er…sorry to reply-comment here. Well, selectors in India sometimes show bias towards players from their state or zone. Well, that is not an official position, but sometimes such things happen.
This is a good sign for the region. The Philippines is a massive country and like Indonesia, has great potential.
Good News.
Well if the 5 & 7 theory holds true, we should start to see some solid results and indigenous teams at junior level by 2013.
Five years to have an impact at junior level. Seven years to have an impact at senior level.
It’s a rough guide but if you follow the progress of some of the countries that launched a serious junior program, (Uganda 1996), (Vanuatu 2003), (Indonesia 2003), Chile (2004) and (Mozambique 2004) there is a period of consolidation and construction.
I’m looking forward to following their progress from now on.