Published: Mar 22, 2011, 10:46 AM (IST)
Edited: Apr 17, 2014, 02:54 PM (IST)
Sunil Gavaskar demonstrating the art of defense © Getty Images
By Golandaaz
We review a new and innovative cricket-related educational service, The Bat Through Finishing School.
Run by experienced professional ex-cricketers from across cricket playing nations, it’s a finishing school focusing on providing a budding cricketer – and the Indian middle-order stuck in a rut – the finishing touches that will prepare him for the big leagues. A brainchild of former English cricketer Chris Tavare, the teaching faculty consists of some of the most stubborn top and middle-order batsmen, including Bruce Edgar, Mohinder Amarnath, Mike Atherton, Sunil Gavaskar and Kepler Wessels.
Affiliated to the International Cricket Council (ICC), the school courses are open to all member countries.
In opening the school in Dubai, Tavare said that it is his mission in life to educate budding young cricketers the value of putting a value on his wicket. Teams are finding it increasingly hard, he explained, to accomplish something as simple as batting through 50 overs. The educational services his school provides will go a long way in restoring ODI durability skills.
Talking about price points in the Indian market, Gavaskar, who is both the member of the full time faculty and sales and marketing manager, announced that there will be a 50% discount on tuition and boarding for the Indian cricket team.
The first 15 registrations from the Indian team will also receive one of the following books, absolutely free. These are books that found no takers on Amazon and other emerging outlets when first published:
# The Batting Powerplay for Dummies – By AB DeVilliers
# Bowling Spin: An Introduction – By Robin Peterson (Foreword by Rajesh Chauhan)
# Just Dew It – Believable Excuses for Captains – By Greame Swann and Andrew Strauss (Includes an Open Letter to Mahendra Singh Dhoni)
# Two and a Half Men – How to win with a weak bowling attack – By Charlie Sheen
# Foreplay Explained – How unpenetrative men can still bowl their maidens over in bed – By Ewen Chatfield
# Advanced Fast Bowling: How to bowl yorkers at will – By Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram
# Elements of Style: How to give effective post match interviews – By Ricky Ponting
(Golandaaz is a blogger @ Opinions on Cricket and likes to see the humorous side of the game. He often sketches cricketers in black and white. You can follow Golandaaz his blog on twitter @oponcr and facebook Opinions on Cricket)
