Hilma Nalupe
The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) global social responsibility programme, Cricket4Good, has made its way to Namibia. The programme is an ICC initiative aimed at introducing young people to the game of cricket while using the sport as a tool for positive social change.
Cricket4Good is currently being used to connect young players and schools with their favourite teams and players participating in the ICC U/19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, which is being hosted in Namibia. Through this initiative, learners are given the opportunity to meet World Cup players and watch them compete at the tournament.
The programme delivers cricket clinics designed to drive social change and improve children’s lives, with a focus on health, education, sanitation and empowerment. It primarily targets primary school learners and will run for the duration of the U/19 World Cup being held in Namibia and Zimbabwe concurrently.
So far, 16 schools in Windhoek will benefit from the programme through the Ashburton Kwata Cricket Programme, including both public and private schools. Participating schools will attend training sessions with a team of their choice, where learners receive specialised coaching directly from World Cup players.
The initiative is open to members of the public and all schools, subject to availability.
According to Jona Ambuga, development officer and Ashburton Kwata Cricket coordinator, similar initiatives will be rolled out whenever Namibia hosts an ICC event.
“The players participating in this World Cup are young, so when a child starts playing cricket, they can look forward to one day playing in the World Cup as well,” Ambuga said.
He added that the response from both learners and ICC players has been overwhelming.
“When it is time to end the sessions, neither the players nor the learners want to leave the training grounds, and the sessions often exceed the allocated time. The cricket clinics are especially beneficial to learners in terms of their cricket development,” Ambuga said. The Tanzania and West Indies teams have already conducted coaching clinics, offering intensive lessons in batting, fielding and bowling, along with drills typically performed by professional coaches.
Ambuga noted that one of the main goals of Cricket4Good is to inspire young players to continue playing cricket, with the hope that they may one day represent their country at a World Cup.