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28 Mar 2011 10:44:46
Pakistani spin king Saqlain Mushtaq had cricketers from the University of Bedfordshire’s team in Luton under his spell.
Saqlain, regarded as one of the top spin bowlers in the world until his premature retirement, came to the Vauxhall Recreation Club to coach 30 prospective players from the University’s Luton campus at pre-season indoor nets.
He had previously taken another coaching session back in December and this event again featured tips on batting, bowling and fielding techniques, plus wicketkeeping, in a two-hour net session followed by a lecture and the opportunity to ask questions.
Saqlain said: “I love coaching; I’m one of the founders of the recently established Cricket Plus Academy in Luton, where along with the Cricket Plus team, I will pass on my skills and knowledge to the next generation. I feel it’s my responsibility to offer my wisdom to others.
“The players all have so much passion for cricket here and they play from the heart. They were asking questions and showing a real love of the game.”
Leicester-based Saqlain has coached the academy sides of both England, touring with the England Lions to South Africa, and Australia in recent times and after spending last season in a part-time coaching capacity at Middlesex, he will be at Somerset for the 2011 season along with his coaching commitments for Cricket Plus.
He is still close friends with England’s spin bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed and their families live in the same street back in Lahore.
Saqlain said: “The players have a lot of potential here at Bedfordshire and I’ve seen some improvement in them since I came in December. There was lots of technical ability shown and there are a lot of Asian-influenced batsmen and bowlers. As well as the technical side, we also talked about the physical part of cricket.”
It was thanks to financial support from the Students’ Union and the University itself that Cricket Plus arranged the visit. Cricket Plus is run by current team coach and former captain Faisal Khan with the legendary Saqlain who tour around the country visiting other universities, schools and colleges along with providing specialist coaching programmes to cricketers from all age groups.
Ciaran O’Brien, the Student Activities Manager for the Students’ Union, said: “The event was a great success with many of our students attending. Saqlain had a lot to teach the team, and this will help give them confidence in their league season.
“It is testament to how well UBSU is developing sport that the University is attracting stars such as Saqlain who are willing to come and help coach our teams.”
Latest news» 2011» March» No spin from Saqlain, just pure coaching
