Courses & Training Camps
THAILAND’S UMPIRES TAKE CENTRE STAGE
It is often Thailand’s talented young cricketers who make the headlines with their ability on the field but it was the turn of the some of the country’s leading umpires to demonstrate their talents when the Cricket Association of Thailand staged two three-day umpires’ courses first in Chiang Mai and then in Phuket.
David Walker, well known for his role as tournament director at the Asian Cricket Council tournaments regularly staged in Chiang Mai, is also one of Thailand’s best qualified umpires. He has recently returned from Malaysia where he successfully trained to become an umpire educator under the expert tutelage of former international umpires Peter Manuel and KT Francis from Sri Lanka and Pakistan’s Mehboob Shah, so he is now able to pass on his knowledge to inexperienced umpires and hold training courses in his own right.
In the same way that successful training courses have been held for players and coaches, the first umpiring course held in Chiang Mai at the beginning of August was made available to anyone who was interested in advancing their skills. All ten trainee umpires from Bangkok and Chiang Mai benefited greatly from discussing the laws of cricket over the three days, everybody learning something new no matter how long they had been involved in cricket.
David Walker, assisted by CAT chief executive, the tireless Mohideen Kader, used power point and video technology to explain the finer points of the laws, and held a workshop on the techniques of good umpiring as described by Darrell Hair, one of the world’s most knowledgeable umpires.
Laws covered included dead ball, obstructing the field, fair play and the Spirit of Cricket, while techniques discussed were preparation, team work, concentration, coping with pressure and earning the respect of players. Let the players play the game and always umpire with common sense.
Rain had fallen heavily in Chiang Mai for the first two days of the course held inside the classroom, so all involved were very thankful when skies cleared on the Sunday morning to allow the practical examination to take place.
The ten umpires were divided into five pairs so that all could show off their umpiring skills in the middle at Gymkhana Club. Two teams of very well behaved young cricketers from Chiang Mai put on an entertaining match as the umpires were also able to appreciate the cricketing skills of young Thai players.
The team of boys from hill tribe villages staying at the nearby Baan Pak Chow Kow hostel beat local rivals Chol Prathan Phataek (CPP) by three runs, both teams enjoying the chance to play a well-contested 20-over match.
The final stage of the course was the written exam as the trainee umpires took their first steps on the road to standing in international cricket. The best of the umpires from the course in Chiang Mai and a similar one held in Phuket at the end of August will move on to ACC Level 1 and Level 2 umpiring courses which could give them the priceless opportunity to stand in ACC and ICC international tournaments in the future.
Not everyone on the courses will have aspirations to become fully fledged international umpires, but those who prefer to stand or coach at junior levels, or contribute to the game in Thailand in other ways, have all learnt something on the two courses as likeminded people gathered to discuss the finer points of cricket.
Even well known international players such as Kevin Pietersen (dead ball), then Virender Sehwag and Kumar Sangakkara (no ball ending a match) have recently admitted they don’t fully understand the finer points of the laws; and the end of the English T20 final finished in chaos with the injured striker and his substitute runner both setting off for a run. All this was covered in the courses so the aspiring Thai umpires would have dealt with these situations with ease.
The CAT can be applauded on staging these enjoyable courses and will hope to see improving standards on the field both from umpires and players. Thailand’s emerging cricketers will benefit greatly from playing in front of highly trained officials.
Chiang Mai teacher Worawut Suttajit who has translated the laws of cricket into the Thai language also attended the umpire educators course in Malaysia and there are plans afoot for him to hold a course explaining the basics of cricket to Thai sports teachers from schools in and around Chiang Mai. This initiative will help yet more children to take part in the ‘sawas dee’ cricket that has started off the careers of so many promising Thai youngsters in recent years.
  
Basic cricket Coaching Course Uttardit-2010
CAT recently conducted a Basic Cricket Coaching Course in Uttradit the northern area of Thailand from the 22nd to the 25th of July, 2010. A total of 27 participants from all over Thailand attended the cricket coaching course. The participants were given an introduction to the sport of cricket with the special attention paid to the coaching elements. Considering that this was the first time that most of the participants had been exposed to cricket, the participants absorbed all the material decimated to them by CAT resource group rather well. The course was conducted by CEO of Thailand cricket Mr. Mohideen A. Kader, Narumol Sirisuwan and Women’s national team captain Sornarin Tippoch. CAT hopes to see all those that took part in the course to implement cricket in their own province and help to promote cricket in Thailand.
The course instructor said “all of them had good sporting back ground but were new to cricket. We are hopeful that many of the participants would introduce cricket in their respective provinces with a view to participate in the National Youth Games next year.”
CAT is looking at building practice and playing facility in Uttardit. Uttradit will host the National Youth Games next year and will be fielding teams in both women and men category.
    
ACC Level 1 Coaching Course – Khao Yai
Over the last weekend CAT organized with the ACC a five day ACC Level 1 Coaching Course, from the 4th till 8th of June . The course was conducted by ACC Development Officers Aminul Islam and Rumesh Ratnayake. Course like this one will help CAT meet the increasing demand for cricket coaches from local schools around Thailand.
Cricket in the past two years has taken major steps forward and with the inclusion of cricket in the Makhamwan Games (National Youth Games) cricket uptake is only going to increase. Due to the fact that each province hosting the games is required to field a team for every single sporting discipline. With more provinces coming onboard CAT is constantly searching for means of increasing the local number of coaches.
CAT has the luxury of having certified ACC Coach Educators and has made good use of them by hosting CAT Level 0 and Level 1 Coaching Courses. This ACC Level 1 Coaching Course is the next step in the journey for those who have successfully completed the CAT Level 0 and 1. It gives them the opportunity to learn from the experiences of ACC Development Officers Aminul Islam and Rumesh Ratnayake and take their coaching skills to the next level. The five day course was held in Khao Yai at the CAT Center of Cricketing Excellence. 16 participants from Bangkok, Khon Kaen, Pattaya, Phuket, and Chiang-Mai attended the course.
   
AN AFTERNOON WITH A LEGEND : Thailand’s umpires meet KT Francis
With the ACC Under-19 Challenge Cup successfully completed the day before, some of Thailand’s leading umpires were given the opportunity to meet with and learn from legendary Sri Lankan umpire KT Francis who gave up his time to share his experiences and knowledge and it made for a fascinating Saturday afternoon.
KT, who was Sri Lanka’s first Test umpire in 1982 and later a member of the first ICC umpiring panel, had been in Chiang Mai for two weeks in his official capacity as a member of ACC’s resource staff with the task of looking after and reporting on the umpires standing in the tournament.
These umpires came from countries such as Malaysia, Nepal and China, as well as Surinder Pal from Thailand, and the tournament proved a steep learning curve for the officials as KT watched keenly from the sidelines and held regular meetings so the master could share his vast experience with his pupils.
A veteran of 25 Tests and 56 One-Day Internationals during 17 years in international cricket, as well as a lengthy career in first-class cricket both as an umpire and as a match referee, KT was more than happy to spend his last afternoon in Chiang Mai sharing his knowledge with local umpires as well as those who had traveled from Bangkok and Phuket.
KT first reflected on his experiences from watching the recent under-19 tournament as Bahrain defeated Thailand in the final, a match of such status that he readily agreed to take on the duties of match referee. He explained the changes in the newly updated ICC playing conditions in regard to such things as the beamer, nominated reserves and players suffering from cramps.
These playing conditions, which operate alongside the laws, are not only in force in international cricket but also in club matches in Thailand and every other country, so he was very firm on one point: that every umpire can make mistakes on the field but they cannot misinterpret or wrongly enforce the Laws of Cricket.
He stressed the need for co-operation between the two umpires so that they could work as a team on the field together, and tested the Thai umpires’ knowledge with various interesting scenarios such as whether the batsman should be considered a right or left-hander when playing the reverse sweep.
KT, 70 years old and with a wealth of stories, always made this a lively and entertaining afternoon, as he recalled many of his most memorable moments in Test cricket: when an Indian crowd rioted in Calcutta when Sachin Tendulkar was given run out, and when he stood in a Test in Colombo in which he ended a world record partnership when he gave out Roshan Mahanama.
Answering many questions posed by his audience of fellow umpires, he impressed everyone with his wide knowledge and host of memories, and he finished by stressing the importance of enforcing discipline on the field and ensuring the Spirit of Cricket is maintained.
But above all, the Thai umpires will have been inspired by his lifelong quest as an umpire to make the correct decision. If they can all follow his lead, it will be to the great benefit of cricket in Thailand.
ACC / ICC Budget Template Workshop 2010
Cricket Association of Thailand recently hosted to the ACC / ICC Budget Template Workshop 2010. The 2 day workshop was held at the “Jasmine City Building” from 12th-13th October in Bangkok and was organized by the ACC. The workshop was attended by the representatives from Brunei, Bhutan, Hong Kong, Maldives, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore and Thailand.
The objective of the workshop was to bring the ICC associate & affiliate members from South Asia up to speed with the new budgeting process and to educate them on the importance of good governess and accountability as ACC and ICC attempt to professionalize cricket within the region.
The workshop was conducted by resource people form ACC and ICC. Mr. Bandula Warnapura and Mr. Ganesan Sundarammoorthy were present from the ACC while Ms. Sarah de Rozario and Mr. Hayden Smith were present from the ICC side. Overall the workshop can be considered to be a success as can be inferred from the comments of the participations and resource people.
Nepal was given high praise during the workshop form both ACC and ICC for the amount of detail that they have given in their budget reports to the extent that they were singled out for high praise from both the ACC and ICC along with Uganda. Mr. Pawan Agrawal (Nepal is an Associate ICC member), had the following to say about the workshop. “This is the second time that Nepal has attended such a workshop and we found it to be very usefully as it helped us to plan and prepare a detailed budget well in advance. This will also prove to be very useful in developing the game in a systematic and sustainable manner. It also helps us to meet the requirement of the ACC and the ICC as per their expectations.”
Mr. Manzur Ahmed (Brunei is an Affiliate ICC member). “The workshop was very useful and meaningful as it gave us the opportunity to clarify a lot of issues that we had with regards to the budget template 2010. Plus it also gave us an opportunity to discuss issues related to development and administration with our fellow member countries. If similar forums can be held before the AGM, it will help all the member countries to collectively bring forward any issues or questions that we might have in terms of developing cricket within the region. ”
“I am very impressed with the quality and the response of the South Asia region members during the workshop and see the region making great strides in the near future.” - Ms. Sarah de Rozario (ICC Compliance Manger)
“The purpose of this workshop was to interact and to work with member countries in completing the ACC and ICC requirements with regards ICC funding and budget template 2010. I am pleased with the outcome and I am sure that the member countries have also gained the required knowledge and confidence in fulfilling ICC and ACC requirements. I am thankful to CAT for making all the necessary arrangements in making the conducting this workshop possible.” - Mr. Bandula Warnapura (ACC Development manager)
Umpires Refresher Course 2009
If cricket is to prosper in Thailand then it needs to develop the local cricketing human capital. Thailand has been going through a period of heightened development. This means not only the development of players but also essential key figures such as umpires. In this department Cricket Australia and NSW Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association have graciously come forward to help Cricket Association of Thailand in its constant struggle to develop Cricket in this Football crazy nation. CAT will be hosting a two day umpire’s refresher course at the Jasmine Hotel in Bangkok from the 26th to the 27th of February 2009 which will be presented by Mr. John Evans and Mr. Darren Goodger.
Cricket Association of Thailand has been looking at developing the local umpires and scorers base in attempts of establishing a strong local pool base. Having recently held three development tournaments, the Under 15 Challenge Cup, Women’s Under 19 Championship and ACC Trophy Challenge has highlighted the lack of qualified local cricket umpires as rescources were being stretched to accommodate all three tournaments. CAT has wanted to address this problem for sometime now however had been unable to do so due to the lack of qualified human capital. With the help from Cricket Australia and NSW Cricket Umpires and Scorers Association CAT is able to conduct a two day umpire’s refresher course at in Bangkok. This course is meant to reinforce, refresh and clarify some of the more technical aspects of the umpiring discipline for those who have been actively involved within their respective local communities.
The course will be conducted by John Evans whom has been a member of the NSW Cricket Umpires & Scorers Association (NSWCUSA) since 1996 and has officiated in 182 first grade matches and 240 grade matches overall. He will be accompanied by Darren Goodger who is the Education & Development Manager for NSWCUSA and is currently working full time in cricket as an administrator and trainer of umpires at Cricket NSW. For more details about John Evans and Darren Goodger please scroll down.
The course will be attended by about 22 people largely from Bangkok, Chaing Mai and Phuket. This course should be of great value to cricket development in Thailand and CAT would like to thank Cricket Australia and Cricket NSW for their time and effort in helping push cricket development in Thailand.
John Evans
John has been a member of the NSW Cricket Umpires & Scorers Association (NSWCUSA) since 1996. An umpire in the Sydney Cricket Association competitions, John has officiated in 182 first grade matches and 240 grade matches overall. He has officiated in four Cricket Australia Cup matches in the national second XI competition, and two one day internationals, both between Australia Women and England Women in the 1999/2000 season. John is a NSWCUSA Accredited Trainer and was the Association's Merchandise Manager from 1998 to 2002. He enjoyed a decorated career as a player, captaining Australian Services on tours to New Zealand, England and South Africa. John also represented NSW Country and played first grade cricket in the strong Brisbane Grade competition.
Darren Goodger
Darren is the Education & Development Manager for NSWCUSA, now working full time in cricket as an administrator and trainer of umpires at Cricket NSW. He has been involved in presenting Umpire Accreditation Courses for Cricket Australia in Bangkok, Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur as well as delivering an Umpire Educator Course in Mumbai. Darren was a tutor for International Institute of Cricket Umpires & Scorers at the BTEC course in cricket umpiring in Kathmandu in 2008. He joined the NSWCUSA in 1993 and has been umpiring for 16 years.
U-19 Girls & U-17 Boys National Squad Training Camp
The U-19 girls and the U-17 boys national squads took part in a 10 day training camp starting 15th October. The camp saw both the squads followed a daily routine of 8 hours of training sections which consisted of batting, bowling, fielding and a lot of fitness and team work drills. Following the training sessions in the evening for 1 hour the teams got together for a meeting to overview personal performance goals and objectives which had been set for the day. During the course of the camp boysU-17 squad took part in of three 40 over games to help further enforce what had been worked on in the training sections and to gel and operate as a single cohesive unit.
Through the course of the camp all departments showed remarkable improvement. In terms of batting the top order consistently scored runs and build meaningful partnerships (i.e. first practice game 198/5 from the top order). In the bowling department none of the regular blowers more than 5 extras between them in a match while the new ball bowlers were consistently moving the ball both ways (i.e. third practice game opposition 98/10).
Everyone in the squad has shown improvement in terms of fitness, which helped the boys towards the latter stages of the games. As the boys’ fitness improves they will become mentally tougher. With performances like this during the camp it seems that Thailand have the potential to secure the upcoming 2008, ‘ACC U17 Challenge Trophy’.
 
CAT Basic Coaching Course, Khao Yai 2008
CAT recently conducted a Basic Cricket Coaching Course in Khao Yai from the 13th to the 14th of September, 2008. A total of 16 physical education teachers attended the course. The participants were given an introduction to the sport of cricket with the special attention paid to the coaching element. Considering that this was the first time that most of the participants had been exposed to cricket, the participants absorbed all the material decimated to them by CAT resource group rather well. The course was conducted by Mr. Mohideen A. Kader, Mr. Shan Kader and Mr. John Hottinger. CAT hopes to see all those that partook within the course to implement cricket as part of their physical education curriculum at their respective institutions. CAT is looking at building up the capacity of the Khao Yia region with more advanced cricketing courses at an appropriate time in the future.
The Asian Cricket Council Curators Course began on the 11th of August, 2008 in Bangkok. The Module 1 will run from the 11th of August to the 16th of August, 2008 and will be followed by the Advanced Course which will begin on the 18th and end on the 20th of August, 2008. Participants from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Kuwait, Malaysia and Thailand are attending the Module 1 and the Advanced Course participants will come from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Kuwait, Malaysia, Singapore and Saudi Arabia, Bhutan, Brunei, Maldives, Myanmar and Hong Kong. Mr. Peter Munro, Mr. Paul Avison and Mr. Phil Stoyanoff from the New Zealand Sports Turf Institute will present the course.
 
Asian Cricket Council Curators Advanced Course Asian Cricket Council Curators Course Module 1
CAT Basic Coaching Course, Phuket 2008
The CAT Basic Coaching Course conducted in Phuket has proved to be very successful. The Phuket Devlopment Officer Khun Supatra Jarumoon reported from Phuket that all the PE teachers who attended the course have introduced cricket in their respective schools. The total number of schools playing cricket in Phuket stands at twelve. The course was conducted from May 13 to 15, 2008 by CAT's resource person Shan Kader.
CAT Umpirers and Scorers Course 2008
CAT held its second Umpirers and Scorers Course from May 29th to June 1st 2008 in Bangkok at Royal Parkview Hotel and AIT. The course attracted participants from all around Thailand interested in umpiring and scoring gradually building local number of both umpires and scorers.
 
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