– Sri Lanka’s new cricket coach Gary Kirsten has delivered a strong message to school coaches telling them to be responsible for producing players and not bask in the number of wins.Kirsten made the declaration when he pitched into as many as 75 coaches at a session held on Monday under the direction of Sidat Wettimuny who heads the Cricket Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket while being a member of its Transitional Committee.

It is a well-known fact that school coaches are paid heavily to produce the highest number of wins especially at what is being touted as “big matches”.In a Press statement Sri Lanka Cricket said the coaching of coaches was done to “enhance coaching standards of school cricket”. The sessions took place at Sri Lanka Cricket’s High Performance Centre with the participation of 74 coaches representing schools playing in Division One and Two. During the session,Kirsten shared valuable insights into modern coaching methods and highlighted key areas that school coaches should focus on to nurture talented and promising young cricketers. Kirsten had also emphasised that coaches should improve their own skill levels in order to develop successful players. Ryan van Niekerk, the Sri Lanka bowling coach and Jordan Gregory, the fielding and spin bowling coach of the team joined Kirsten in  conducting the clinic.

Wettimuny, one of the most technically correct players of the past, officially launched the project and welcomed the coaches. Last week Wettimuny declared at a Press conference that the acquisition of a certificate alone does not guarantee the success of a coach in moulding the careers of players and instead being a student of the game is what matters. According to Sri Lanka Cricket, the school coaches were afforded the opportunity to interact with Kirsten at a question and answer session.“This program will continue periodically, with the objective of developing highly skilled and knowledgeable coaches within the Sri Lankan school cricket system”, Sri Lanka Cricket’s Press statement further added.