JUNIORS TO STRENGTHEN THEIR BASICS


In a conscious move to improve playing standards amongst juniors it has been proposed by the ACC Development Committee that from now on the best young cricketers play two-day matches at ACC tournament level. “It is only in the longer version of the game that you get the chance to develop your basic skills and then apply that knowledge in other formats,” said Sultan Rana, ACC Development Manager.”

It has also been suggested that in order to make the age-group tournaments more competitive, the Elite and Plate groups be set up so that there are no performance imbalances between the member countries. If this measure is approved by the Executive Board, then Malaysia would host the Elite Group U-15 Tournament in May 2006 and Thailand the Plate Group U-15 Tournament in December 2006. Plate Group matches will continue to be 50-over games.

“I am confident this measure will better prepare the region’s young cricketers for the challenges they will face as they graduate to senior level,” said Mr. Rana.

Filed January 11 2006