Divert Oz teenage athletes back to cricket: Border
By ANISunday, January 16, 2011
MELBOURNE - Former Australian captain Allan Border has said that Cricket Australia (CA) must divert teenage athletes from Australian Football League (AFL) and other sports to rebuild the national team following the recent Ashes disaster.
Border acknowledged the battle for the hearts and minds of junior athletes was “tough” at a time when football codes market their sport to appeal to the teenage market.
“There are so many disciplines, we tend to spread ourselves a bit thin. It’s up to cricket to offer something that makes junior athletes prefer it over the other sports,” The Herald Sun quoted Border, as saying.
“There are ways to sell it. Some kids have the right temperament for the longer Sheffield Shield-style of cricket, others for the explosiveness of Twenty20.”
“We can cater for all sorts of players, but there’s other sports pitching for them - and kids want to be a part of everything,” he added.
Australia had lost the five-match series 3-1 to give England their first Test series win Down Under since the 1986-87 tour.
It was also the first time that Australia has lost three matches in a series by more than an innings in 135 years of Test cricket. (ANI)
