The Engro Cricket Coaching Project, part of the PCB Pathway Cricket Programme, is gearing up for its second year with the inclusion of six foreign coaches. The program, scheduled to commence next week, will feature renowned names such as South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs and Australia’s Geoff Lawson as part of the coaching panel.
A press release from the PCB stated, “Around 120 players from the U13 to U19 age group will receive training from foreign and local coaches from July 10th to August 10th in Lahore and Muridke. The PCB and Engro Corporation established a three-year agreement last year, with Engro Corporation sponsoring the foreign coaches involved in the program.”
The elite coaches selected for the project include Australia’s Geoff Lawson, New Zealand’s Scott McLaren (strength and conditioning coach), South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs, United Kingdom’s Gordon Parsons, Julien Fountain, and Zimbabwe’s Tatenda Taibu. Notably, Lawson, Gibbs, and Taibu have all enjoyed successful international cricket careers.
The coaching project will involve five coaches at a time, with Gibbs specifically working with U13 and U16 players before his departure on July 16th. He will then be replaced by Lawson, who will arrive on July 22nd to work with the U16 players before joining the U19 cricket clinic.
Gordon Parsons, who has previously served as a bowling and head coach in South Africa and the UK, will reprise his role as the bowling coach in the program. Former Pakistan Men’s fielding coach, Julien Fountain, will take charge as the fielding coach.
The U13 category will consist of 25 selected players, who will undergo training at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) from July 13th to 25th. Players born on or after September 1st, 2010, were eligible for selection.
In the U16 category, 37 players have been chosen to receive training at the Muridke Country Club (MCC) from July 10th to 25th. The selected players were born on or after September 1st, 2007.
For the U19 players, approximately 58 individuals will be split into two groups and trained by the elite coaches simultaneously at the NCA and MCC from July 26th to August 10th. The eligibility criteria for the U19 players is being born on or after September 1st, 2004.
The names of the selected players will be announced in due course, further enhancing the anticipation surrounding the Engro Cricket Coaching Project.
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