Danube Lions, one of UAE’s top domestic cricket clubs, is set to have a new head coach for this season as part of a new partnership with the ICC Academy.
In a first-of-its-kind project, Danube Lions team members will undergo stiff fitness and training programmes that will help them develop after being approached by Dubai Sports City-based academy.
While no papers have been signed, Danube Lions owner Anis Sajan has confirmed to Sport360 he will go ahead with the partnership, which will run from October to May during the UAE’s domestic season.
Superb showing by the #Danube #Lions in the #Gold Division of the #RamadanTournament at the #HomeofEliteCricket! pic.twitter.com/5radeOujgK
— ICC Academy (@ICCAcademy) July 15, 2015
The new qualified head coach, yet to be appointed, will oversee all training sessions three days per week as well as attending all of Danube Lions’ matches, which also includes one 50-over fixture per month against a “high quality” team at ICC Academy. Players will also undergo a programme for strength and conditioning, nutrition and monthly fitness tests.
Having dominated the domestic circuit with silverware including the Al Hamad and Bukhatir trophies, Sajan is in no doubt his players will develop further.
“This will definitely benefit my players as the biggest weakness of cricket in the UAE is the fitness of each player and their fielding,” he said.
“People are only used to hitting sixes and boundaries but they don’t want to take the singles. But if you’re fit, you will make sure you get a single, or convert them in couples and not wait for the boundary.
“It’s a mutual agreement between me and the ICC Academy which we are definitely going to conclude.”
Sajan is confident whoever he hires as coach, will have a positive impact on his team.
“He will improve us by 200 per cent,” he said.
“A coach is a like a teacher and whether you’re batting, bowling or fielding, there’s always room for improvement. As a player, they maybe good, but if you’re not guided your talent can never be nourished.”
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Danube Lions and the ICC Academy are no strangers to each other.
Lions train regularly at the state-of-the-art facilities which also host their annual Danube Test and ODI series, which they won this year.
“We have been having a good relationship with the ICC Academy as we’ve been using their facilities for the last two years,” he added.
“We get a lot of support from them and Will Kitchen (ICC Academy general manager), deserves a lot of credit as he gave us the idea of a fitness plan.
“You can say my boys are eating and sleeping at the ICC Academy. It’s our home ground, all the tournaments that we have played there, we have won, so it’s special.
“We have been the No1 team in the last two years. We want to make sure we widen that gap between us and the other teams.
“My goal is to make sure we are like the Australian national team. Yes, they may have lost the Ashes but they are a hard team to beat when they are on top of their game and that’s what I want to see with Danube Lions.”
