Response To Cricket Criticisms

PLEASE allow me to reply to a letter that appeared in your newspaper on Thursday last week.

Please include my name with the letter. I refer to Concerned Cricket Lover (Thursday 8 April 2004).I have never minded accepting justified criticism, but I cannot accept it when people cannot even be bothered to get their facts straight before putting pen to paper.Firstly, I agree that more can be done for up and coming young players at U/21, U/23 and “A team” level in order to help them progress into the National team.I am sure it is something the Namibian Cricket Board are aware of and trying to address.Unfortunately, that is where your letter runs out of any substance at all.Before every tournament or tour in which the National team is involved, a squad is selected by the National Selection Committee.This squad normally consists of between 14 and 18 players and all players who perform consistently in the club league are considered for inclusion.Unfortunately hardly any players outside the current squad have produced consistent performances over the last few seasons and thus the squad has remained fairly stable.As a “cricket lover” I find your lack of knowledge about the National team’s results recently quite startling:The team in fact beat Zimbabwe A in both a home and away series for the first time ever, as well as finishing third (on nett run rate) in the ICC Six Nations Challenge in Dubai in March.The only series the team lost was against Bangladesh (another Test playing country).I am also very curious about the six injured players who went to Dubai; not one player missed a match on tour due to injury – maybe you can enlighten us? As far as the MTC development programme is concerned:Danie Keulder and I made a proposal to the NCB in 2002 about the best way to utilize the funds from MTC.The Board agreed that the most sensible course of action would be to first develop coaches around the country who could then develop the young players.It is pointless running a development programme if you do not have qualified coaches in all the regions to identify the talent and develop it further.Unfortunately these programmes take time (just look at South Africa who have been running their development programmes for nearly 20 years!) and thus we will not immediately see the development programme producing players good enough to play for the senior National team.Again, because you did not bother to get your facts right, you will not know that in the Oshana region alone, the number of children playing cricket has gone from virtually zero to just over 5000 in less than two years.They have also gone from no league structure to 10 schools in the league and 12 new schools joining the programme this year.I call that evelopment.Another fact:Danie and I get paid exactly the same amount by the NCB as the development officer for the central region.I’m not sure I would call that enriching ourselves.Obviously it doesn’t suit your story to consider the fact that we have more than 10 years more coaching experience than any of the other development coaches or that we are better qualified than any of them.Finally, as far as I can tell you seem to be the one determined to drag politics into the whole issue.Once again I must ask you please to get your facts straight in future.Burton van Rooi has played in every single match for Namibia since the World Cup in February 2003, except the match against Canada in March 2004.All players in the squad are treated exactly the same and may therefore be left out if the selectors feel that they are out of form.If you would like to contact me personally to discuss any of the issues raised here, you are more than welcome to do so, but please try to check your information and facts in future before making such ridiculous statements.Deon Kotze Cricket Academy of NamibiaI refer to Concerned Cricket Lover (Thursday 8 April 2004).I have never minded accepting justified criticism, but I cannot accept it when people cannot even be bothered to get their facts straight before putting pen to paper.Firstly, I agree that more can be done for up and coming young players at U/21, U/23 and “A team” level in order to help them progress into the National team.I am sure it is something the Namibian Cricket Board are aware of and trying to address.Unfortunately, that is where your letter runs out of any substance at all.Before every tournament or tour in which the National team is involved, a squad is selected by the National Selection Committee.This squad normally consists of between 14 and 18 players and all players who perform consistently in the club league are considered for inclusion.Unfortunately hardly any players outside the current squad have produced consistent performances over the last few seasons and thus the squad has remained fairly stable.As a “cricket lover” I find your lack of knowledge about the National team’s results recently quite startling:The team in fact beat Zimbabwe A in both a home and away series for the first time ever, as well as finishing third (on nett run rate) in the ICC Six Nations Challenge in Dubai in March.The only series the team lost was against Bangladesh (another Test playing country).I am also very curious about the six injured players who went to Dubai; not one player missed a match on tour due to injury – maybe you can enlighten us? As far as the MTC development programme is concerned:Danie Keulder and I made a proposal to the NCB in 2002 about the best way to utilize the funds from MTC.The Board agreed that the most sensible course of action would be to first develop coaches around the country who could then develop the young players.It is pointless running a development programme if you do not have qualified coaches in all the regions to identify the talent and develop it further.Unfortunately these programmes take time (just look at South Africa who have been running their development programmes for nearly 20 years!) and thus we will not immediately see the development programme producing players good enough to play for the senior National team.Again, because you did not bother to get your facts right, you will not know that in the Oshana region alone, the number of children playing cricket has gone from virtually zero to just over 5000 in less than two years.They have also gone from no league structure to 10 schools in the league and 12 new schools joining the programme this year.I call that evelopment.Another fact:Danie and I get paid exactly the same amount by the NCB as the development officer for the central region.I’m not sure I would call that enriching ourselves.Obviously it doesn’t suit your story to consider the fact that we have more than 10 years more coaching experience than any of the other development coaches or that we are better qualified than any of them.Finally, as far as I can tell you seem to be the one determined to drag politics into the whole issue.Once again I must ask you please to get your facts straight in future.Burton van Rooi has played in every single match for Namibia since the World Cup in February 2003, except the match against Canada in March 2004.All players in the squad are treated exactly the same and may therefore be left out if the selectors feel that they are out of form.If you would like to contact me personally to discuss any of the issues raised here, you are more than welcome to do so, but please try to check your information and facts in future before making such ridiculous statements.Deon Kotze Cricket Academy of Namibia