CASTRIES, SAINT LUCIA; THURSDAY JULY 11, 2024 – Former Indian international spinning all-rounder Sunil Joshi, is scheduled to conduct a spin bowling clinic from Monday July 15 – Tuesday July 30, 2024, here in Saint Lucia.
The clinic is a continued collaboration involving the Saint Lucia Kings, the Punjab Kings, and the Saint Lucia Cricket High Performance Centre.
Saint Lucia Kings have in the past donated equipment including medicine balls, gear bags, and other pieces of equipment integral to the young cricketer achieving his optimum fitness level.
President of the Saint Lucia National Cricket Association Wayne Auguste, is proud of the upcoming clinic, saying “it will further enhance our thrust towards developing the skill sets of our cricketers with assistance from our partners.
“Spin bowling is an art which needs to be nurtured and developed in those young cricketers who depend on the guile of the turning ball, instead of blasting out batsmen as their pace bowling colleagues prefer.
The 54-year-old Joshi is a former Indian all-rounder and former national selector. He was part of the Indian men squad which finished as runners-up at the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy, and was appointed as chief selector of the Indian national Men’s team in 2020.
In January 2023, he was appointed the spin bowling coach of the Punjab Kings for the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League.
“I am sure that with all of that experience, Mr. Joshi will be able to help our bowlers understand their role, read conditions, identify an opposing batsman’s strengths and weaknesses, and understand the many vagaries of the international game,” Auguste pointed out. At the HPC, while talent is important, we will continue to focus on the holistic development of players inclusive of character, discipline, growth mindset, and their coachability.”
Meanwhile head coach at the High Performance Centre John Eugene was pleased with his recent stint in India with the Punjab Kings that he says “was very valuable”, and “it helped me greatly in progressing as a coach.”
Eugene spent a lot of time with the international coaches learning more about the many coaching aspects of batting, bowling, and fielding, and had “many conversations with these gentlemen about how to improve players.
Eugene pointed out that the time spent in India proved to be of immense value to the High Performance Centre and its charges as the intensity of the work being done have increased, “getting players in the right headspace and assisting players to take responsibility for their progress and advancement.”
Eugene added that it has helped him in better understanding player’s needs, and “how we relate to each other as player and coach” and allowing the players “greater input into the programme” with “greater openness between players and coaches and to execute drills.”
SOURCE: St. Lucia National Cricket Association
