Don Lockerbie
Prior to joining the US team in New Zealand, Don Lockerbie talks about the team’s preparation, the possibility of international matches in the USA in 2010, and the partnership with New Zealand cricket.
* Interview by Dr. Sham Samaroo
Team USA, in New Zealand for the World Cup, got off to a winning start in their first practice game.
Since arriving in New Zealand the team has been enjoying a full member experience. They are at the University of Canterbury and participating in lots of training sessions, working on both the mental and physical side of their game. Members of the New Zealand coaching staff are working in tandem with Shiv [Sew Shivnarine], and our coaching staff, in preparing them for the tournament. The players are being accorded the stature of budding professionals and treated like members of the New Zealand team.
What are the expectations for the USA at this tournament?
I have high hopes for this team. Obviously, it will be a long road but we are looking to improve on our ranking where at present I believe we are ranked #15 in the 16 team pool. Of course, a top 10 finish would be ideal.
We are scheduled to play a warm up game against India on January 11. I think that playing against India, even in a practice game, is every boy’s dream.
Skipper Shiva [Vashishat] raved about the benefits of the training sessions in Florida with coaches Dipak Patel and Hamish Barton prior to the team’s departure. What was different?
First of all there is tremendous improvement in the ground fielding. Second, the intensity of the training sessions – when I watched the team in Canada [last summer], too often only one or two players were involved in the action. Now all 11 eleven players seem to be getting into the act. The on-fielding decision-making, who goes after the ball; how to cut off the angle; who will be the relay person; who is responsible for backing up – the team is starting to play more as a unit. And the overall fitness level of the players has improved significantly as a result of the intensity of the trainings.
What do you foresee as the next step in the relationship with New Zealand cricket?
Our relationship with New Zealand Cricket is centered around the formation of a strategic partnership to cover a number of areas ranging from the sharing of coaching and development resources, to the staging of international matches involving New Zealand.
Are you saying that there will be international games played in the USA in 2010?
Staging international matches is part of our Destination USA vision. In discussions with New Zealand Cricket, we are in agreement in principle on the possibility of New Zealand playing five full-member teams in the USA starting in 2010. While in New Zealand, I will be meeting with Justin Vaughan [CEO of New Zealand Cricket] on January 12 to continue working on the details.
We are looking at a window of May through October – the winter season in New Zealand.
How, if any, does this affect USA Cricket’s relationship with the West Indies?
We have always enjoyed a very special relationship with West Indies cricket and I do not foresee that changing. It is a relationship that has enormous potential, for example, the potential for matches to take place in the USA around the ICC World Twenty20 which will be staged in the West Indies later this year.
But USA Cricket also has a responsibility in this relationship. We need to do our part to become a viable international partner that would be attractive to the West Indies and make matches between us mutually beneficial. We are not there yet. New Zealand Cricket has shown a great commitment to help us to get there. In the meantime, I see the possibility of playing matches against the member nations of the West Indies as part of our preparation to be able to compete with a full-strength West Indies team.
The senior team also has a busy schedule in the upcoming months.
Yes. In February the senior team will be traveling to Dubai, and later to Nepal, with the possibility of winning a spot in two upcoming World Cups! In Dubai they will participate in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier for a spot in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup to be staged in the West Indies later this year.
From Dubai they will then travel to Nepal [for the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 5] – and the start of the road to qualification for the 2015 World Cup.
The seniors understand that this is their moment. They have to take advantage of it and the story will write itself. As part of our strategic partnership with New Zealand Cricket, coaches from New Zealand will also be working with the senior team in Dubai.
This is perhaps the first time that the USA will have both the senior team and the U19 team participating simultaneously in International tournaments abroad. From sea to shining sea, USA Cricket has made unprecedented strides in the last 10 months that seem to coincide with your appointment.
It is an exciting time for USA cricket and I am just happy to be a part of it. There are so many people working from the grassroots level up to make this happen, and I am really encouraged by all the support they have given me.
Where does USA Cricket go from here?
We have peaked as an amateur sport and the aim is to professionalize the game from the grassroots level up – school cricket, youth cricket, club cricket. The challenge for us is to grow the game here. Currently, we are picking our team from a relatively small number. To be able to compete at the international level we have to draw from a larger pool of players given that there are some 200,000 people who play the game here.
There are some 15 million cricket fans in the United States and together with the fans in Canada North America has possibly the largest website audience in international cricket. The aim of USA Cricket is to show that the United States has the potential to become a significant player. Our relationship with New Zealand Cricket will help us to realize this potential. This strategic partnership aims to cover a wide variety of areas from sharing coaching to conducting seminars; training camps; and training for umpiring, together with other joint commercial ventures. One of the areas that are fast growing in the USA is the number of venues that are getting ready to host international matches. It does take funding to make it happen and at present we are a very small fish in a very big pond. But as we start the New Year, the future looks bright for USA Cricket.
