Andrew Russell sets sights on developing UAE cricket

Denzil Pinto 12:07 20/11/2014
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  • On the front foot: Andrew Russell.

    The last 12 months has seen the UAE national team qualify for both the 2014 World Twenty20 and next year’s World Cup as well as the country hosting its first ever ICC tournament in the Under-19 World Cup.

     – Andrew Russell appointed UAE development manager

    And to help main­tain that success in the future, South African Andrew Russell was recently appointed as the national development manager in a new role at the Emirates Cricket Board.

    Having been in the UAE since 2009 as an ICC global cricket academy coaching co-ordinator, Russell has seen the game grow.

    He spoke to Sport360° about his plans in integrating and developing players and his aim of getting more Emiratis involved in the game.

    Interview by Denzil Pinto

    What will your job entail and what are your day-to-day responsiblities?

    There’s a lot of cricket played in the UAE but the structure of the game like what is being played, how it’s being played and what pro­gression is being made is a little bit unclear.

    My main role is integrating the academies and the cricket councils together in produc­ing better cricketers and more cricketers which would help create more players for the UAE national team.

    And what plans have you set to developing more players?

    One of the roles is to do an audit of the game by visiting academies around the country and speaking to the coaches on how matches are played, how games are organised, what fac-ilities are available and which schools play cricket etc.

    Generally, cricket starts off from the roots and the Sport360° National School League is an unbelievable initiative to get youngsters exposed to competitive cricket in schools.

    We then want to start integrating an academy tournament, and then start a similar tournament for different emirates in a nat-ional competition which would hopefully lead onto selection for the UAE national team. It’s creating a structure that any player who wants to play cricket for the UAE will know what he wants to do to achieve that goal. It will be a process and it will take time.

    You’ve been in the UAE since 2009 and seen cricket grow. Do you feel being here for a long time gives you an advantage to starting this process?

    Yes. David East (Emirates Cricket Board chief) was looking for someone who knows the cricket and the set up already. I do have a wide base of knowledge from my cricketing experience here in the UAE and abroad and it will definitely help me in getting it up and running and start forming relationships to make things happen.

    What goals have you set yourself short-term and long-term?

    My short-term goal is to learn everything that happens in the UAE cricket scene. I want to learn how the adult and junior game works and start building relationships with coaches and together I want to share my vision of where we can go in the future. My long-term goal is to put together a programme which actually fits into the ECB’s plan in helping their strategy and goals.

    What ideas do you have that you want to implement into the UAE game?

    There’s so much I want to do but I want to increase the participation of Emiratis in the game. Whether that is through roadshows or even visiting schools, I want to set a pro­gramme to get them more involved in cricket, which will be a big key in getting government funding for cricket in the UAE. I also want to create an ideal structure plan for the UAE cricket and see where we are now and want we want to be in a few years time.

    Will you still be involved in some capacity with the ICC Academy, now that you have this job?

    With me being at the ICC Academy for such a long time, it would be silly for me to stop working for them. I still have an involvement with the ICC Academy by coaching students on a Saturday but my main role is with the ECB.

    How will your ICC Academy experience help you with this ECB role?

    I have an understanding of the young talent coming through and it does give me some advantage having been with the academy for five years to pick out what is working and what’s not working. My role is about helping create better cricketers and how I can advise acade­mies on how to do things better or differently.

    At the ICC Academy, we do things as well as we do on an international standard and I do have that base where I feel I could apply that to the local regional cricket that is being played across the country. Being involved with the children already, I know where they stand .

    With the UAE progressing well on the international stage, is there pressure to maintain that success in the future?

    It’s all about the performance on an interna­tional level. One of the key strategies advised from David East is from the leagues that are played, how will this help the national team.

    And I think this can happen by having an organised structure from junior level right through to senior level on an elite level which is the ultimate goal as this will not only develop better cricketers but make them more competitive on a greater international scale.

    What made you apply for this ECB role?

    I was doing a lot of development work and running a lot of the programmes for the ICC Academy and then this role turned up. It’s a bigger role at a national level and thought I would apply for it.

    What other sports you play?

    I’m a keen rugby player but also love playing golf, tennis, squash; anything that involves a ball I like playing.

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