CRICKET SCHOOL AT STRATFORD

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28150, 13 December 1956, Page 13

CRICKET SCHOOL AT STRATFORD

More than 750 cricketers, coaches and schoolteachers received valuable instruction in three crowded days when a cricket coaching school was held in Stratford last week; The enthusiasm of those who attended the school and the simplicity of the teaching were two of the most significant features. Undoubtedly, the school must have provided cricket in central Taranaki its biggest fillip for many years.

Mr I. B. Cromb, who ran the school, took pains to point out that it was less a coaching school than a demonstration of a method of coaching. Schoolboys Those who should benefit most were the schoolboys, primary and secondary, and there, with one or two exceptions, Mr Cromb discovered an almost complete lack of any real knowledge of the game. The fault, he considered, was that many of these youngsters had not had any good cricketers to watch or copy. Mr Cromb said he had noticed one or two major faults among nearly all who attended the school. In most cases the stance was very bad and the grip also bad. The Stratford Club, which organised the school, had the satisfaction of seeing hundreds flock to the call from all over the province. It gave the club and enthusiasts much cause for enthusiasm and Mr Cromb was asked to accept a token gift in appreciation of his valuable voluntary coaching. It is not Mr Cromb’s last visit to the province, as he has agreed to conduct another coaching school in north Taranaki next season. Realising the value of the scheme, the Taranaki Cricket Association invited Mr Cromb to hold a similar school, on a divisional basis, at New Plymouth. Subject to last-minute contingencies, Mr Cromb was happy to accept the invitation.