Published: Apr 08, 2015, 07:41 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 08, 2015, 07:41 PM (IST)
When the Netherlands reached home after the ICC World T20 2014, they found quite a few of their wheelie bags broken on arrival at the airport. A broken kit bag was nothing new for Netherlands Team Manager Ed Van Nierop, but he decided to find a solution to fix it. Nishad Pai Vaidya spoke to van Nierop about his new design of a cricket kit bag that is near unbreakable and is specially made for the sport.
“Focus on the solution, not the problem,” is something any successful person would tell you. In life, we face many tricky situations, but it isn’t always easy to come up with a solution. At times, you may be challenged for the problem may be in an area that isn’t quite your forte. But if you have the will to find a solution, there is always a way.
Ask Ed Van Nierop, the Netherlands manager. When Netherlands got back home after their memorable campaign in the ICC World T20 2014, they were in for a shock. Numerous squad members found their kit-bags broken on arrival. The traditional canvas cricket kit bags are not usually be strong enough to protect the equipment.
This wasn’t the first time van Nierop had faced this as a team manager. A year down the line, he has found a great solution to the problem. Working with the designers and manufacturers in Netherlands and China, van Nierop has come up with a design for a kit bag that is near-unbreakable and has enough room for a cricketer’s equipment. Called Wheeliecase, it was launched earlier this year and is already in use by the South Africa and the Pakistan cricket teams. During the recently concluded ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, the two teams carried their kits in the new case and van Nierop says players and management are quite happy with it. Even MS Dhoni expressed his interest in the new bags when he met van Nierop in Melbourne during the World Cup.
“When we finished playing the World T20, we returned home with bags broken. I was thinking about this idea for some time and then I started developing it. After a year, we have a product where we want it,” van Nierop says looking back at the journey. He has been the Netherlands’ manager since 2008, but is from a marketing background. That he says is what makes him innovative and looking around for ideas. “All team managers I have been in touch with over the years have to cope with the problem.” Thus, when the team faced the horror of broken kit-bags, he was thinking of a solution to fix it.
The Wheeliecase Set has three cases of varying size and fit inside each other — all of them rectangular with curved edges. The cases have four swivel wheels and can be easily ferried around. The whole set comes for just over USD 300. The big case accommodates the whole cricket kit with a special place for the bats. It has an extra set of wheels to easily move the case on the playing field and down steps.
The mid-size case has the contents of a normal suitcase. The smallest cabin size case is allowed on board when flying. The teams can also brand it by putting their team and sponsor logos on it and order the cases in any colour of their choice. Van Nierop opens the biggest bag, intended for the cricket kit and says, “This is actually more spacious than the traditional canvas bags. Also, there are straps inside to place the bats. Helmets and bats break in a canvas bag, but with these hard shelled cases, that doesn’t happen.”
He then shows the surface of the bags and explains why it is nearly unbreakable. Van Nierop has taken great care to design every accessory. “It is sharkskin, it is really sturdy, ultra lightweight and literally won’t break. All the accessories are modular. So if something breaks, which would rarely happen, with a few screws you are done exchanging. It has got all the latest locks, which the customs can open without ruining the bag. We used the latest double-bracing zips that prevent improper use. And, at airports I don’t need a trolley any longer. With the two smaller cases, you clip the handles together and move along, with the cricket case in your other hand.” he says.
So far, the players have given Van Nierop a very good response for this. The South Africans have been tweeting photos of the case during the World Cup and are very happy with it. Van Nierop now plans to take this creation to different parts of the cricketing world. He is also in talks with the Indian Premier League (IPL) teams. Airports and hotels are also said to be happy, as it does not occupy too much space.
“It looks magnificent for branding purposes, with the logos etc. It is easy to manoeuvre. It has got ball-bearing wheels. We didn’t add cheap stuff, but got proper quality stuff. It is nice to see it get noticed and take off,” Van Nierop concludes. To know more, you can log in to on wheliecase.com.
(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a Correspondent with CricketCountry and anchor for the site’s YouTube Channel. His Twitter handle is @nishad_45)
