THE Penang Cricket Association (PCA) is keen on unearthing talents, especially among primary school pupils, via its ‘Adiwira Kriket’ programme as well as the desire to restore the popularity of the game in Penang.
PCA president T. Yoganraj said this during an exclusive interview with the Buletin Mutiara team at SK Stowell in Bukit Mertajam recently.
“Previously, the Penang cricket team’s achievements were quite good but after 2014, the team went downhill as there was no holistic development (of the sports).
“This is because most of the cricketers were schoolteachers, who then left the association due to various reasons.
“At the same time, efforts to find new trainees were slowing down.
“Since I took over the PCA management in 2019, I tried to revive the sport. I am passionate about cricket,” Yoganraj said.
He added that his association is also focusing on developing the women’s cricket team.
He said the attempt to develop the women’s cricket team became a big challenge when the movement control order (MCO) was implemented in Malaysia three years back, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Usually, we will conduct the training session in schools since we do not have our training ground. Because of the MCO, we were not allowed to use the facilities in schools.
“Alternatively, we did only basic training such as throwing and catching the cricket balls at public parks that were permitted (to use) throughout the two years (MCO period),” he said.
Yoganraj said the state’s women cricketers have the potential to shine at the national level.
“This was proven when the women’s team emerged as the runners-up in the MCA T20 Super Series championship at Kuala Lumpur, although it was their inaugural competition.
“The championship was organised by the Malaysian Cricket Association (MCA).
“What made our team prouder was that the KL team that we faced at the final were all established players.
“Therefore, we can say that the women’s cricket team is quite remarkable. So, we want to discover more players at the primary schools,” he said.
Yoganraj said PCA has so far been to a total of 13 schools, but not all schools were interested in cricket. Hence, PCA had to hold coaching courses to nurture the talents.
When asked about the challenges that the PCA is facing to raise the standard of cricket in the state, he said apart from the training ground, manpower and finance are the main issues.
“However, PCA was lucky to get a former Indian national athlete as a coach, who is given a small allowance by us to train new talents.
“In terms of financial assistance, PCA currently only receives contributions from the office of the Padang Lalang assemblyman Chong Eng and Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim.
“Without their help, it would be difficult for the PCA to function. We do not take any payment from the athletes since our goal is to encourage more people to participate in cricket,” he said.
According to Yoganraj, nowadays, the number of teachers who teach cricket in schools is decreasing compared to other sports that have their own development programmes at the grassroots level.
“Some schools have athletes but do not have teachers to train them. In addition, most schools do not have full facilities to undergo intensive training.
“Therefore, we will bring selected students to undergo training at SK Stowell because this is the only school in Seberang Perai that has facilities for training.
“There is actually another school that has cricket training facilities, which is the Penang Free School on the island, but the problem is the men’s cricket team also trains there.
“So, we are working to add one more school as a cricket training centre and that is the SK Sri Permai near Bayan Lepas,” he said.
Despite the setbacks, Yoganraj said the PCA has never given up in its efforts to restore the popularity of cricket in the state. And simultaneously, he said that the association is now actively organising more competitions to introduce the sports.
“We are also undergoing lots of training at open spaces, like Padang Polo, whilst striving to win more competitions in the future.
“Actually, cricket has a bright future in Penang and Malaysia. This is because many competitions are held in Asia and worldwide, but our problem is that we lack professional players.
“So, this year PCA plans to send five of our players to India to gain experience and as an effort to produce professional players in the future.
“We have already discussed this with the cricket association in India, and we need to pay RM3,000 for each player to undergo training there for one month,” he added.
Yoganraj also shared that the PCA is currently trying to get a piece of land to use as its own training ground.
“We have brought up this issue to the state government but the size of the land we need is quite large, which is about 10 acres.
“So, the state will not be able to fulfil our wishes currently, since Penang has a land scarcity issue,” he said.
Yoganraj said the PCA has also established a club near Taman Tembikai, Bukit Mertajam as a step to further develop cricket.
“If there are parents who are interested in sending their children to undergo training, we have also established a cricket academy for students under 12 years old.
“The academy operates every Tuesday until Saturday, but parents will be charged a small fee for their children to undergo training here.
“We also welcome any cricket associations that would like to work together with the PCA. They can contact us at 012-406 2348,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Buletin Mutiara team also had the opportunity to interview the head coach of the women’s cricket team, Rakesh Kumar Jeeva, who has vast experience in cricket.
Rakesh, who hails from India, began his career in Malaysia as a part-time coach for the ‘Adiwira Kriket’ programme to train male cricket players in 2019.
Currently, under the same programme, he will be focusing on finding new talents for female cricket players at primary schools. They will then be trained to become state players.
Rakesh added that his students, who are mostly female players aged between 14 and 16, returned to consistent training immediately after the MCO ended.
“Our team also received guidance from three senior players from the national squad, especially during their preparation for the MCA T20 Super Series tournament last January,” he said.
He added that the ones who were trained were the players from the newly formed team, which comprises students from several schools in Bukit Mertajam.
“These schools are also part of the PCA’s focus for the development of women’s cricket in the state,” he added.
Rakesh Kumar also shared that more locals have shown their interest in cricket after post Covid-19.
“Before the pandemic hit, I saw a lot of foreigners participating in cricket, but now more and more local people are starting to participate in this sport, including at the school level.
“In Penang, PCA is being proactive in taking the efforts, especially to develop a women’s cricket team in a short time,” he said.
Meanwhile, Nur Tasnim Elisa Mohd Asmadi, one of the cricket players in the MCA T20 Super Series, said she did not expect her team to finish second in their first tournament.
“We did not expect to be able to reach the finals because at first, we were only aiming for the quarterfinals since our team just started training a few months before the competition began.
“Thank God, the favour was on our side even though we did not train for three years but we managed to enter the finals and become the first runner-up,” Nur Tasnim said.
According to Nur Tasnim Elisa, who has been playing cricket since the age of 12, apart from team spirit, the success was also contributed by the guidance given by three national athletes.
“They gave us a lot of tips to improve our playing style which enabled us to emerge as the first runner-up of the tournament,” she added.
Another player, Darling Nada Zahra Diyanah Ahmad Fadzil, 16, was excited that her team came second in the championship.
“I started playing cricket at 12 but had to stop playing it during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Then, in 2022, we formed a team to train before taking part in the MCA T20 Super Series.
“Although we trained for a short period, we are extremely happy for winning the runners-up title,” she added.
Darling, who is studying at BM High School, is also active in several other sports such as netball, handball, volleyball, and archery.
Story by Tanushalini Moroter
Pix by Noor Siti Nabilah Noorazis