Northern Territory goes into bat for Indonesia
Northern Territory Cricket (NTC) will be instrumental in the continued growth of cricket in Indonesia after the International Cricket Council (ICC) and NTC today announced the formalisation of a cricket development partnership with the Indonesian Cricket
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As part of the ICC Development Program in the East Asia - Pacific (EAP) Region, NTC has been engaged to assist the ICF in a number of activities including the delivery of coach education courses, elite and junior development activities, and administration and strategic planning advice. Partnership activities will also complement those currently conducted by Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA) staff in Indonesia.
The initial agreement is for 12 months, but it is hoped a successful relationship can be developed in the long term.
NTC Chief Executive Officer, Neil Dalrymple, said the NTC's interest in the growth of cricket in Indonesia, is part of its overall contribution to the game's development in East Asia - Pacific and an opportunity to establish mutual benefiting relationships with neighbouring countries.
"In conjunction with the WACA, we hope this partnership will play a pivotal role in creating and shaping the future of cricket development in Indonesia, while also presenting unique development opportunities for NTC staff. Indonesia is a very close neighbour to the Northern Territory and this close proximity gives us a great opportunity to have a genuine input into the growth of the game there."
Indonesia has made exciting progress in cricket development recently with playing numbers growing from 300 in the year 2000 to almost 11,000 in 2004. NTCA will also assist the Indonesian national team as they prepare for the EAP Cricket Cup tournament in Vanuatu in late September.
ICC EAP Development Manager, Tim Anderson, said, "Indonesia has been a pro-active country within the region and cricket is at an exciting stage with many current activities and initiatives being conducted. This additional support will be invaluable in assisting the hard-working volunteer officials and players to achieve their aims of cricket progression."
"NTC is a high quality cricket organisation, and we are therefore delighted to have established a partnership whereby NTC can have a positive influence on the continued development of cricket in Indonesia. Australian and New Zealand cricket associations have much to offer cricket development in EAP and, as the sport expands, this assistance will become more valuable" he added.
Eight state (Australia) and provincial (NZ) cricket associations are now partnered with ICC member countries within EAP. These include: Auckland CA and Samoa; Canterbury Cricket and Tonga, Cricket NSW and Fiji and Vanuatu; Cricket Victoria and Japan and South Korea; Northern Districts CA and Cook Islands; NTC and Indonesia; Queensland Cricket and Papua New Guinea; WACA and Indonesia.