Developing the game

A unique initiative encouraging people to play cricket, drink milk and be aware of the environment is proving to be a hit in Indonesia.

The initiative has been initiated by Cricket Indonesia along with Tetra Pak Indonesia, EcoBali and PT Ultra Jaya Milk industry following an idea by John Stevenson, the captain of the Indonesian national team.

The TetraPak U/15 Junior Cricket Development Program was launched to spread the game of cricket amongst the local Indonesian population.

The objective of this program is to promote milk drinking habits and to introduce the sport of cricket among schoolchildren in Indonesia and at the same time educate kids on the importance of recycling and keeping the environment clean with the help of EcoBali.

The 2007 Program has been in the news lately for winning the ICC 2007 Global Award for Best Junior Development Initiative in the World, ICC EAP 2007 Regional Award for Best Junior Development Award in EAP Region and the ICC EAP 2007 Best Cricket Marketing & Promotion Award in EAP Region.

Member of the Cricket Indonesia Advisory Board and ex-Chairman Sachin Gopalan hailed these achievements and promised more programs this year.

"Starting March, we will launch a new program targeting some 20,000 children," said Gopalan.

The Board has a core team of qualified and certified coaches and trainers who have successfully run pilot programs as well as full scale development programs in over 10 locations over the last six years.

Cricket Indonesia is the national governing body for cricket in Indonesia and is an Affiliate member of the ICC. It was formed in the year 2000 as a non-profit national body to develop the game of cricket throughout Indonesia. Cricket Indonesia today consists of 20 Senior Level Club Teams, 53 Schools and also has 14 cricket grounds.