Thumbs up for school cricket

THE International Cricket Council (ICC) East Asia and Pacific (EAP) has recognised the historic growth of cricket in PNG and has announced the BSP School Kriket as the winner of the 2010 Pepsi ICC EAP development programme annual awards “best junior development initiative”.
The unprecedented success of the BSP School Kriket programme was late last year   recognised by the ICC as the largest junior participation programme in the world.
It is a little surprise to see the programme win the best junior cricket participation initiative at the recent ICCEAP development programme awards.
There are 386 school-aged children from 52 schools from 10 provinces in NCD, Central, Northern, Milne Bay, Madang, New Ireland, West New Britain, Morobe, Eastern and Western Highlands ended the 12-week programme last year.
Participants came from 123 schools and selected villages, community and charity-based clinic locations in PNG and the Cricket PNG accredited 306 teachers and other community volunteers as BSP School Kriket coaches.
The community cricket development officer Brock Schaefer of Cricket PNG, said BSP School Kriket had revolutionised school sports in Papua New Guinea.
The programme is in its fifth phase, which is a 12-week programme that provides cricket education to students, teachers and parents.
“Our BSP School Kriket staff, who are often former and current PNG national cricketers, focus on teaching the basic skills and rules of cricket as well as the values of teamwork and sportsmanship with which cricket has always been known,” he said.
“The response of students, teachers, principals and the wider community to the programme has been overwhelmingly positive.
With BSP’s continued support this year we look forward to bringing another 50,000 students through the programme and are excited to be expanding to an additional five provinces,” he added.