After an entertaining evening enjoying some Gaborone culture, the team were up very early to board the minibus for the long six hour journey north to Francistown. Following a brief stop for an obligatory CWB team Botswana photo at the Tropic of Capricorn sign we were welcomed to Francistown by BCA cricket development officer Clem.
A planning meeting on arrival set the outline agenda for the week in and around Francistown. The second week in theory promises a mixture of coach education and school visits. The team very much wanting to build on the large numbers coached in the south were eager to maximise their time in the north. A few phone calls later from Clem and a few more schools were added to the weeks itinerary.
In typical CWB fashion the team did not want to sit around all afternoon and a visit to the nearby SOS children’s village was hastily arranged and off we set on the bus. After a brief delay due to the villages Palm Sunday service, a CWB bespoke session was on.
We were initially met by only a handful of smiling faces. However Ross and Liam used the old faithful CWB classic rocket ball trip to boost the numbers. Within minutes there were children running from all corners of the field to chase tennis balls and the numbers swelled to eighty seven.
A couple of coaching stations were set up and despite a large range of ages a successful session was held. Sam and Mark took the opportunity to use some of the older children especially the girls to adapt a game of heads, shoulders, knees and toes and substitute the words. Abstain, be faithful, condomise and testing in rhythm filled the Franicstown late afternoon air and the message was clearly getting through.
We finished the session with a highly competitive game of rapid fire which quickly escalated into a 35 a side classic ending 191 to 189 for team zebras over team impala.
With A B C messages ringing out around the children’s village and with the opportunity to return later in the week for another session , the CWB team left with a spring in their step . An early night for the team was decided upon to ensure the team are raring to go for week two. 