Day 12 Close of Play

And so the umpire has nudged the bails off and another CWB Botswana Project comes to a close – 28 new coaches successfully through their ICC Introductory or Level 1 assessment at the Francistown CC ground earlier today, after spending every morning with us and coming along to at least one of the afternoon school sessions, making a total of 80 new coaches for this trip.
Skills demonstrated throughout the week, coaching techniques and tools passed on, ABC&Ts messages masterfully emphasised, with everyone from Top Banana, Playball and the student teachers kitted out with their bright yellow CWB ‘COACH’ t-shirts raring to go into Francistown and surrounding area schools to pass on all their new-found cricketing and HIV/AIDS awareness knowledge.
The CWB coaches must take a huge amount of credit for this week’s success story because Ken, Mark, Carl, Simon, Tim and David have worked their dusty socks off directing, encouraging, cajoling, laughing and demonstrating aspects of batting, bowling, catching, ground-fielding and wicket-keeping in ‘fun’ ways rarely seen back home – a really BIG thank you guys for all your help and support.
Certificates presented, CWB coaches refuelled via Pie City and/or Milkylane Ice Cream Parlour at Galo Mall, it was off to Tagala School for our last session of the trip and. With numbers well over 100 (but not as high as the last couple of days!) several ‘new coaches’ took the lead role organising and controlling 5 separate games of Rapid Fire, to the delight of all the children. Closing Ceremony over, KB having successfully completed not only his Level 1 but his last (for now at least!) lollipop run, it was back on the bus to ‘host’ Clem and his family, and Bernadette from Playball, at Woodlands. Braai fired up, salad prepared, table laid and we look forward to a well earned ‘quiet beer’ and relaxing evening by the open fire.
Without Clement’s planning of the week, made especially difficult around the Easter holiday period, this part of the trip would not have been nearly as productive, so if anyone deserves a great deal of support, praise and encouragement, together with an ‘army’ of new, enthusiastic and energetic coaches, it is him. Here in the north of Botswana it’s this fella that puts in the hard yards – forget the fact he can’t count beyond 45 (number of kids per day – yeah right Clem!) and his sense of time and distance is shocking (it’s about 15 minutes to the school – yeah right again Clem!). Thank you Clement, a true ambassador not only for the BCA but for cricket.
Just had the call that supper is served so I’d best round off. Early bus departure for Gaborone tomorrow, souvenir shopping and a couple more venues to visit, more on that in the next blog!!