Cricket Fiji aims for more development

CRICKET Fiji has set its sights on the development of the sport from grassroots level as it conducts skills competitions in various schools in the country.

CF has been holding skills development programs during the week in Suva and Tailevu areas.

Cricket Fiji chairman Alex Konrote said they had shifted their focus on the development of the sport in primary and secondary schools.

“We have decided that we will focus a lot more on development on grassroots level and going all out into the schools, we are fortunate that the Ministry of Education has allowed us to use these terms with the primary schools,” said Konrote.

The program comprises skills learning and a competition after the learning program for students.

“We have gone further back to the basics so we have skills competition and we have divided all the cricket skills into stations of about eight and each station tests a certain skill.

“This is all the groundwork from batting to running between two wickets, bowling and different types of catches basically everything that makes you an allrounder in cricket,” he said.

Konrote said he was impressed with the amount of interest shown by the students during the outreach programs.

“We have found how gifted these kids are sports wise so we know that with the talent that Fiji has in sports at all levels that any of these kids can go into any sport and become an elite athlete.

“We are pretty excited this is the first time it has ever been held in Fiji and seeing the enthusiasm for the kids, not just the kids but the parents and the teachers is very encouraging to see,” said Konrote.

“We had been emphasizing to our team that in order to bring them into cricket, our main aim is to teach them as well as make the learning fun and these kids have been really enjoying their time here,” he added.

The team will be taking the program down to the western schools before they move to the Lau groups in a few week’s time.