Follow up from the Flicx Pitch in Jamaica

After our recent blog on how the Flicx pitch was introduced to Jamaica and a report on the inaugural game played between St Andrews Prep School and Liberty Prep School in a practice match on Saturday April 25th 2009, we were delighted to hear from Dean Johnson, who placed the order 4 years ago, who emailed us to say that the pitch is still proving very popular and is helping cricket to reach more young players…

Hi Richard,

Nice to hear from you and its good to see the article on the blog. At that time my son Neil was on the St Andrew Prep School (STAPs) team. He is now in 2nd form at high school and very much involved in cricket.

The STAPs team went on to reach the Semi Final of the Jamaica Cricket Associations Prep School Cricket Competition the following two years (2010 and 2011). Last year they reached the quarter final stage.

The Flicx Pitch allowed us to host a number of practice matches and cricket camps and has allowed a significant number of youngsters to develop their cricketing skills. Several of them have been able to transition smoothly into high school cricket.

The pitch has also been utilized in a number of cricket camps for youngsters which I have helped to arrange. We have a web site for the programme (which is called Doctor Bird Cricket – The Doctor Bird being our National Bird). I may have sent you the link before but I send it again in case. Please note the web site has not been updated recently however the programme is very much active. This summer will make the 5th year that we offer Summer Cricket camps. We offer the only Christmas holiday cricket camp. We hold a afternoon session each Saturday at STAPs.

A word my son Neil. Neil is one of the kids who has benefited greatly from the Flicx Pitch. He received an honour last August when he was selected to participate in a 2 week cricket camp put on by the West Indies Cricket Board in Antigua.

Best regards,

Dean Johnson

Flicx…. It’s great to see how the Flicx Pitch is being used to develop cricket all over the world. We would love to hear from you too, so if you have a story to tell on how your Flicx Pitch is developing cricket, then let us know – kate@flicx.com

Israel win Flicx match pitch through Cricket4Peace story

Heartwarming story generates huge interest

The International Cricket Council- Europe in partnership with Flicx UK today announced the Israel Cricket Association (ICA) as the winner of ‘How cricket has made a difference to your life?’ competition, for Shehadeh Salamin’s story of how Cricket4Peace changed his community and the lives of many in the troubled Palestinian region.

Shehadeh Salamin’s heartwarming story which really demonstrates the power of sport, generated huge interest and received over 2,500 page views,  please see his story as follows:

“My name Shehadeh Salamin 16, from al – Samoa. All my life, I dreamt of being a famous Palestinian footballer…until our village was introduced to cricket. The game rapidly became our flagship sport, with most kids preferring cricket over soccer!

Shesadeh Salamin on the right with his new friend from Israel

I soon found that the more I played, the better I became. But to progress to the next level, we needed more cricketers. Someone proposed holding joint activities with Israeli kids. I must admit, I had concerns. However, when we reached Beersheba, the Israeli coach, George, greeted us with kindness. His warm words broke the barrier of fear in me. I thought to myself “I like to play cricket, just like Israeli children. So it would be fun to play together.”

We played in mixed teams with the Israelis and I enjoyed it! We had amazing collaboration. The head coach said to me in Arabic: “Bravo, you are a great player”. I felt very proud and our next practice couldn’t come too soon. Cricket has given me a new lease of life. Now I am a more confident person with a real desire to continue improving my game. And my dreams have changed too.

Today I dream of a cricket club in Palestine and of becoming the first Palestinian cricketer to play in an international league. I’m sure that with those Israeli and Palestinian children who participated with me, we can also realize the dream of peace together. When holding a cricket bat, I feel I hold the whole world.”

The Israel Cricket Association through the Cross Border cricket project is using cricket to facilitate interaction and communication to break down barriers between ethnic groups. Stage 1 of the project involves bringing together Jewish and Bedouin children in the Negev area, with Stage 2 to include Palestinian youth from the West Bank, a project currently being coordinated with the Peres Center for Peace – Cricket4Peace.

Cricket Ireland were run into a very close second place with Dundalk CC, Eddie Bosano-Andrews story and they will receive a Flicx Crazy Catch Wildchild and Freestyle. Crazy Catch is the “Ultimate Rebound Net” and comes as a new handheld model for the new season. The other finalists included Estonia, Spirit of Cricket by Sharath Geetha; Germany, Cricket Club Bonn by Raymond Cooray; Israel, Cricket4Peace by Sharon Gudker and Spain, Lanzarote Cricket Association by Peter Starmer.

Speaking about the interest in the competition Flicx UK’s Managing Director Richard Beghin commented. “The Flicx team were amazed by the quality of stories which were put forward and the enthusiasm with which all the finalists promoted their entries within their cricketing networks. It really shows the vital role that sport plays in changing people’s lives for the better, which is the very reason why the Flicx Pitch was developed in post apartheid South Africa to help break down racial barriers”.

For further information, please contact:

Nick Pink– ICC Regional Development Manager- Europe

Office: +44 (0)20 7616 8637 : Mobile: +44 (0)7788 307022 : Email: nick.pink@icc-europe.org

Kate Costin – Brand Development Manager, Flicx UK

Office: +44 (0)1295 816765 : Mobile: +44 (0)7513 025712 : Email: kate@flicx.com

The introduction of an artificial cricket pitch to Jamaica: ‘A huge success’

A Dream Come True! 

St Andrews Prep School hosted Liberty Prep School in a practice match on Saturday April 25th 2009, an event which saw the introduction of the Flicx artificial cricket pitch into Jamaica for the first time… Here are some photo’s looking back at the day

The Flicx pitch arrives and is rolled out

 

Curator for the day and parent Teddy Richards (left) supervises the installation of the pitch.

Dean Johnson rolls the Flicx Pitch

Proud conceptualiser: Dean Johnson takes a turn at rolling the wicket, whilst St Andrew Prep’s coach Peter Daley seems delighted with the new cricket pitch

Home team St Andrews Prep take first strike and Opening Batsman Bradley Jacks prepares to face the first ball. He made 32.

Bradley Jacks

Batting at three: Neil Johnson essays a late cut. He went on to make 68. Neil becomes the first batsman to make 50 for St Andrew Prep and also the first player to score a half century on a Flicx artificial cricket pitch In Jamaica.

Neil Johnson celebrates his 50, the first on an artificial surface in Jamaica

Teddy Richards sweeps the wicket between innings.

Sweeping the surface between the innings

Match Report:

• New pitch played well, bounce was consistent with the odd one keeping a little low.
• St. Andrew Prep made 161 for 4 in 25 overs.
• Liberty Prep made 57 all out in 16 overs.
• Man of the Match: Bradley Jacks (32 runs and 6 wickets for 7 runs).
• Highest individual score: Neil Johnson (68 runs).
• Record partnership for the second wicket for St Andrews Prep of 114 between Bradley Jacks and Neil Johnson.
• Good fielding performance by St Andrew Prep with five catches held, three by Taje Blake, one by Nicholas Richards and one by Alex Smith.

New Stock In

By 9-00 am this morning, the team at Flicx UK had already unloaded a 20 ft container of Flicx Pitches dispatched from Soweto in South Africa.

Flicx Pitches get unloaded

This means we are now fully in stock for the new season with the next 2 months being our busiest sales period for the UK market. We already have pitches going to Germany, Cook Islands and sales in the UK and our approved retailers have been busy quoting for what will hopefully be a busier season of cricket this year after the 2012 washout.

As well as stock of 20 match pitches, we have also taken delivery of 5 coaching pitches, 10 skills pitches and 10 throwdown’s which are perfect for the home market allowing enthusiasts to training at home. For a quote for your club or school simply contact Gary on 01295 816765 or email gary@flicx.com