The South East Cricket Development Seminar held at Carlton Swiss Grand Hotel, Enugu, Enugu state ended on Saturday, 13th November 2021 after a 2-day rigorous brainstorming on the way to chart a new course for cricket in the South East.

 

The caliber of men that attended showed the resolve of the zone and determination to work together to move cricket forward. Present were:

 

Chika Okoro – southeast Zonal Representative and NCF Board Member. Prof. Jacob Onyechi – Nigeria Ex- International. Olisa Egwuatu – Former Technical Rep. NCF. Emeka Igwilo – General Manager, NCF. James Okwara – Abia State Cricket Association Chairman/ Ex – International. Chuma Anosike – Anambra State Cricket Association Chairman. Blessed Ogbueli – Ebonyi State Cricket Association Chairman. Ogbonnaya Okogeri – Enugu State Cricket Association Chairman. Tony Ajaelu – Imo State Cricket Association Chairman. Also present were coaches, secretaries, facilitators, administrators, players, and members of the 4th Estate.

The GM of NCF, Emeka Igwilo spoke on “Changing the Face of South East Cricket”. This topic discussed a critical review of the state of cricket in the South East. The seminar hinged on this topic to tackle other areas like capacity building initiatives, anchored by Olisa Egwuatu amongst other topics that bordered on facility development, female cricket, partnership, funding/sponsorship, and peace initiatives.

 

VETERAN’S MATCH.

The South East Veteran’s match played on Saturday 13th November 2021 was a 10 overs modified cricket match with rules limiting the number of balls a veteran batsman can play to 12 balls and bowlers to just 2 overs. Younger players played alongside the veterans to gain inspiration and confidence.

 

The match which was played at St. Patrick College Emene added colour and flair to the seminar. “Team A ” Captained by Chika Okoro won “Team B”, captained by Ogbonnaya Okogeri, by 5 wickets.

 

Chika Okoro became MVP with his overall 3.027 scores. Chuma Anosike became the best batter with his 19 runs off 14 balls. While Olisa Egwuatu became the bowler of the match with his economy of 3.50. The next veteran match will be in January 2022. The veterans and the resource persons were later issued certificates of participation.

NATIONAL YOUTH GAMES MEDALISTS HONOURED

The South East Cricket Forum also used the opportunity to recognize the feat of the boys and girls that represented the zone in the 2021 National Youth Games held at Ilorin, Kwara state where they won Silver and Bronze medals in the girl’s category and Gold and Silver medals in the boy’s category. The boys and girls were given certificates of commendation and a cash price by the South East Cricket Forum after being treated to a sumptuous buffet at the Carlton Swiss Grand Hotel, Enugu.

RESOLUTIONS

Resolutions made included the formation of a body that will shoulder the responsibilities of cricket development in the southeast. This will foster grassroots coaching and development of players. More update on this body will come later.