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Herald Reporter
Australian cricket legends John Buchanan and Paul Wilson will hold high-performance camps for underprivileged children in Zimbabwe in August this year.
The coaching clinics – to be held in Harare next month from August 15-22 and in Bulawayo from August 27-29 – is being organised by Grassroots Cricket, a charity organisation harnessing the power of cricket to help transform young lives in Zimbabwe by providing coaching, mentorship, life skills and essential support.
Buchanan, a former Australia national team coach, said he was excited to be visiting Zimbabwe and to be imparting knowledge into youngsters.
“I cannot wait to get back to Zimbabwe. It is a wonderful country with great people, some of whom have become good friends,” he said.
Buchanan, who is regarded as one of the most successful international sports coaches, having guided the Australian Men’s Cricket Team to great success from 1999 to 2007, added that he wants to see the sport growing in Zimbabwe.
“My aim is to enhance and add to the great work being done on the ground by the special people involved in Grassroots Cricket, and the opportunity to see more and more kids get involved in cricket,” he said.
The successful coach is also aiming to continue building on the solid relationship with his sponsors and supporters while encouraging others to join them on the journey.
“It seems that more people are being introduced to the game which is a good start. The fact that young players are coming into their national teams and performing well is a great sign that player development is getting a positive result,” he said.
Meanwhile, Wilson, an Australian cricket umpire and former national cricketer, said he is looking forward to making a difference in the lives of children, students, coaches, parents and cricket administrators he will meet in Zimbabwe.
“I am really looking forward to coming back to Zimbabwe. I was there on two visits with the Australian team – one in 2003 through the World Cup. A second was during 2006 and I then visited another time with the New Zealand cricket team around 2012 . I met some wonderful people during those trips.
“In recent times, I have been involved with the IPL and one (of my) very good friend is Tatenda Taibu. I also got involved with the Legends League in India where I met a wonderful young man Mpofu… Each person and each visit is a reminder of the beauty and potential of the country, and why this visit is an opportunity to rekindle my associations with the country,” he said.
Wilson noted that the coaching clinic will help students to learn new skills, which will enable them to be more successful in cricket.
“Being more successful will lead to more enjoyment. More enjoyment leads to more success and so the cycle continues,” he said.
Grassroots Cricket founder Tawanda Karasa said the coaching clinics will provide high-end skills transfer and international standards of coaching to student athletes. At the same time, Zimbabwean students will be exposed to Australian cricket culture, opportunities for scholarships and links to Australian cricket clubs.
“I want to thank our partners, including Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, who are helping us to develop cricket in Zimbabwe and making the sport available to underprivileged students. I hope that these partnerships will be accelerate the development of cricket in Zimbabwe,” he said.
Online Reporter