Simon Prodger
11 October 2013
CCC held trials for the annual spin scholarship this past Sunday (6th October) in the indoor school at Edgbaston. The scholarship, established three years ago to unearth club cricket’s most talented spin bowlers between the ages of 18-21, provides two places at the Global Cricket School in Pune, India for a week of high class coaching in the subtle arts of slow bowling.
Under the expert eye and stewardship for John Emburey (Middlesex/Essex/England) and CCC head coach Min Patel (Kent and England), thirty candidates were put through their paces in a hectic three hour schedule. Overseeing the trials were CCC development manager Gulfraz Riaz and CCC secretary and head of cricket, Simon Prodger. Simon commented:
“Once again, as in previous years, we have seen some exciting young talent and a lot of potential in many of the candidates that trialled this year. The criteria for eligibility is strict - candidates have to be between 18 and 21, cannot be contracted to a first class county currently and must be playing club cricket in this country. An important part of this exercise is that we identify and celebrate what club cricket has to offer and nurture and promote that if possible through our representative cricket programme. We have had a decent track record over the past couple of years in helping players into the county system and this competition, with the ensuing placement at a world leading cricket academy in February next year, could provide real impetus to 2 young spinners in the development of their cricketing careers.”
The trialists came from across the country to earn one of the 2 prized spots on offer. Emburey and Patel, with a wealth of specialist slow bowling coaching to call upon, adjudicated that the winners of the 2013 trials were Imran Qayyum (Finchley CC) and Kristian Martin (Ealing CC).
“Both Imran and Kristian impressed the coaches with their consistency in line and length and the revs they put on the ball through strong core actions” said Simon. “John and Min were looking particularly for young spinners that had a fundamental understanding of their own game who could demonstrate not just the physical abilities of bowling spin well but also the mental acumen to work an opponent out. Both lads offered those qualities”.
“It’s fair to say that there were three or four other worthy young cricketers that merited consideration and we hope to see them back again next year, with the benefit of another year’s cricket under their belts. Hopefully, a little time with Min and John might have whetted their appetites to move their game forward and encourage them to work hard at the core skills of a complicated but highly valued art.”
CCC would like to express its sincere appreciation to Kingfisher Beer, All Out Cricket, Sachin Bajaj - owner of the Global Cricket School - Pune, SM Cricket, Cricket Deal Direct and Howzat Travel, for their on going commitment and support to the Spin Scholarship programme.
Under the expert eye and stewardship for John Emburey (Middlesex/Essex/England) and CCC head coach Min Patel (Kent and England), thirty candidates were put through their paces in a hectic three hour schedule. Overseeing the trials were CCC development manager Gulfraz Riaz and CCC secretary and head of cricket, Simon Prodger. Simon commented:
“Once again, as in previous years, we have seen some exciting young talent and a lot of potential in many of the candidates that trialled this year. The criteria for eligibility is strict - candidates have to be between 18 and 21, cannot be contracted to a first class county currently and must be playing club cricket in this country. An important part of this exercise is that we identify and celebrate what club cricket has to offer and nurture and promote that if possible through our representative cricket programme. We have had a decent track record over the past couple of years in helping players into the county system and this competition, with the ensuing placement at a world leading cricket academy in February next year, could provide real impetus to 2 young spinners in the development of their cricketing careers.”
The trialists came from across the country to earn one of the 2 prized spots on offer. Emburey and Patel, with a wealth of specialist slow bowling coaching to call upon, adjudicated that the winners of the 2013 trials were Imran Qayyum (Finchley CC) and Kristian Martin (Ealing CC).
“Both Imran and Kristian impressed the coaches with their consistency in line and length and the revs they put on the ball through strong core actions” said Simon. “John and Min were looking particularly for young spinners that had a fundamental understanding of their own game who could demonstrate not just the physical abilities of bowling spin well but also the mental acumen to work an opponent out. Both lads offered those qualities”.
“It’s fair to say that there were three or four other worthy young cricketers that merited consideration and we hope to see them back again next year, with the benefit of another year’s cricket under their belts. Hopefully, a little time with Min and John might have whetted their appetites to move their game forward and encourage them to work hard at the core skills of a complicated but highly valued art.”
CCC would like to express its sincere appreciation to Kingfisher Beer, All Out Cricket, Sachin Bajaj - owner of the Global Cricket School - Pune, SM Cricket, Cricket Deal Direct and Howzat Travel, for their on going commitment and support to the Spin Scholarship programme.