ICC pleased by cricket's growth in RI

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Although this country does not have the historical ties to cricket of former British colonies like Malaysia and Singapore, it is not stopping local kids from trying their hand at the sport.

With stepped-up efforts in the past 10 years by the Indonesian Cricket Foundation (JFC), including hiring coaches to tour local schools, more youngsters in Jakarta and Bali have been introduced to the game.

On Saturday, 40 Indonesians will join 20 expatriate children in an inter-school competition at the British International School in Bintaro.

The development is pleasing to the International Cricket Council, which says about 10,000 local children have played cricket in the past five years.

"Indonesia has the fastest growth in cricket players in the world now," Tim Anderson, ICC regional development manager for East Asia-Pacific, said on Tuesday during a five-day visit here.

He added that young Indonesians aged from eight to 10 years played as well as their Australian peers, although local adult teams still lagged behind in their skills.

"So it is a matter of a chance whether the kids could continue playing cricket sustainably."

Jakarta and surrounding areas have five cricket grounds but Anderson said more were needed to support development.

The ICC is keen to see the continuing development of cricket here, with attendant professional management of cricket organizations.

"At present, volunteers handle the Indonesian Cricket Foundation. But with many kids playing cricket, the ICF should be managed professionally to continue the current good development," he said.

Such efforts to enhance human resources will take considerable funding, most likely from a corporate sponsor, although the ICC also provides assistance.

However, Anderson said the ICC's assistance was limited to helping hire coaches and drawing up a strategic development plan because Indonesia remained an affiliate member, the lowest rank membership in the ICC, below associate and full membership.

"I think Indonesia should seek associate membership to get more assistance from the ICC, but the membership needs specific requirements to be fulfilled."

Criteria include a reaching a particular number of cricket players and a good standard of play.

"If Indonesia could play well and qualify from the ICC World Cup qualifiers in Vanuatu this September, they can apply as associate member of the ICC," he said.

Associate membership would also allow Indonesia to collect on a US$44,000 annual dividend from the international cricket body.