Dubai: Cricket academy coaches in the UAE now teach youngsters to adapt to various formats through various methods.
Desert Cubs Sports Academy will soon launch a Thirty30 (T30) cricket tournament for youngsters between the age of 17 and 14.
This academy, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary has also launched one of the biggest participation junior tournaments with 500 children enrolled to participate in it.
Former Sri Lankan cricketer, Presley Polonnowita, who is the founder and head coach of the Desert Cubs Sports Academy, has been experimenting various methods to help budding cricketers adapt to various formats of the game.
Speaking to Gulf News, Polonnowita said: “We have been helping youngsters adapt to various formats as per today’s cricket demands. For the age group under-14 to under-12 we organised 40 over matches and are now introducing twenty20 cricket to them. T30 will be a tournament with slight modifications to T20 format like bowlers being allowed to bowl five overs instead of four overs. We are also introducing a tournament for under 8 and 10.”
This academy’s under 8, 10, 12, 14 and 17 age categories will be held over a period of two months.
“Our season runs from September to June, so we dedicate the first three months for skill training and preparation, and then we give our cricketers different formats to experience their skills. We had started this season with even 35 and 40 over formats. Even our Ladies Team was put to play with our Under 14 squads.”
Polonnowita wants cricketers to adapt to various formats getting their basics correct through the longer format.
“Shorter formats give players license to try out different shots, quick thinking, new way of field settings, improvisation and also building stamina to cope up with the quickness of the format. It is important to try out various methods at a younger stage and understand each format’s flavour and requirements,” added Polonnowita.
Desert Cubs Teams, Canadian Academy and Maxtalent Global Sports Cricket Academy will participate in the T30 Invitational Cup Championship to be played on turf surfaces on two grass grounds at Sharjah English School and Deira International School. Plans are on to expand this tournament with more teams.
