India Tour 2016
Manoj
Apologies for not writing sooner but my feet have not touched the ground since I returned from India. Herewith my thoughts:-
As a family, we had a wonderfully enjoyable week. I had high expectations and they were exceeded. We have so many wonderful memories that will stay with us forever. To be able to combine cricket with a chance to experience the real India was very special. The highlight for me was seeing just how 9 lads of varying ages, who had not met each other prior to the tour, got on so well, gave everything on the pitch and just had a great time socially. It was a pleasure to spend time with them all.
What did I learn........this could be a long piece! Cricket wise, it was just amazing to see how the game is in the very fabric of Indian life, everywhere you go the game is being played. The scenes we witnessed in Mumbai after the Saturday games had finished was quite unbelievable. Too see the kids in the nets before school and after school in Rajkot just shows how much this means to them. I guess it should not have been a surprise that the boys we played could all do the basics so well, six straight and full deliveries whether pace or spin, brilliant fielding and correct batting. It made me think just how many really good cricketers in India never get a chance because they either do not have the financial means to join an academy or they are not well enough connected.
Culturally, I was just overwhelmed by the friendliness of the Indian people. I think that we were a bit of a novelty in Rajkot which sparked quite a bit of curiosity but so warm and welcoming. I felt completely at ease to wonder the streets and knew that there was always a tuc tuc close by to get back should I get lost. I loved the whole chaos that somehow works, people, cars, mopeds, tuc tuc's and cows all mingling at a major road intersection and somehow making in through. Goats being herded down the dual carriageway to Rajkot closely followed by an elephant! Not quite the M1!
We saw the true India, from the palaces to the slums. The gap between the have's and the have not's is massive and disturbing (having said that it could be said of most countries and societies in the world). What chances any child has to succeed if born into a slum existence does not bear thought. We saw that the caste system is still alive, probably, in my view, the most inelegant facet of Indian society.
I will recommend this tour to anyone who would care to listen to me. It is physically and mentally tough for the boys but what an experience. I would love to do it again in 2 or 3 years time when my boys are older, and bring along other cricketing friends from Switzerland and the UK.
My only recommendation for improving would be to think about food and eating earlier. There were days when the boys were out on their feet and dying of starvation. I would also make 2 evenings no events after the match so the boys can just go back to the hotel and chill out in the pool and generally just relax.
Thank you again for sharing Rajkot with us and giving us an experience, both culturally and cricketing wise, then we would never get anywhere else. I know that it is not easy to organise and run a tour and keep everyone happy. You did this and we are very appreciative.
Regards
Chris
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Manoj,
Thank you for the amazing experience in India. My confidence in cricket grew throughout the tour as my bowling became more consistent and my batting technique improved. I really enjoyed playing a part of this team against local teams and learning about Indian culture. Thank you for this opportunity and thank you also for your expert tuition.
Ethan Owen
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It's Cameron.
I'd first like to say thank you as the tour was such an amazing experience both in terms of cricket and life. The experience of playing cricket in a different country in very alien conditions to me will stay with me for the rest of my life, and I'm positive that the experience will help further my game back home. Playing for 6 days in a row was also something new to me, and although it was tiring I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The group of lads on the tour were such a pleasure to spend time with, and they all kept the right mentality as the tour progressed. The way that everybody accepted everybody and got on with each other was great and it really helped us gel as a team and feel like we were playing for a club, not just 11 strangers on the field. The parents were as well lovely people and their children have great role models to look up to. I cannot describe how my view on life has changed thanks to the cultural experienced we gained whilst on the tour. Going from beautiful landscapes and food to seeing vast amounts of poverty hit me hard, but I think as a result of it I've returned home a better person.
Once again thanks so much for the tour, talking to me and giving me advice whenever you could, you were a great help.
PS I still haven't had a cigarette since I've been home!
Thanks again Manoj
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Hi Manoj
I am also sending something for the Cricket Switzerland website so that people here know about the tour. I will send you the link when it is ready. I will also send you a summary of the tour.
It was a remarkable ten days that will remain with us. We have so many wonderful memories, experienced so much. It really could not have been better and our thanks go to you, your family and everyone who helped show us around Rajkot and Gondal. We will definitely be recommending the tour to other families in Switzerland.
Best wishes,
Patrick and Silvia
Manoj Parmar, who runs a cricket academy in Thame, Oxfordshire, organised a cricket tour for young players to India in mid-February. This year three Swiss lads were part of the tour.
Manoj Parmar has been running similar tours to his home country for a number of years.
The team arrives and luggage is precariously made secure
Manoj, an experienced ECB Level III coach, who has coached among others the current Indian Test player Cheteshwar Pujara, is an MCC member and ex-First Class Cricketer from Saurashtra in India. The ten-day tour included youth players from England and Wales, three Swiss youths, where Manoj also regularly coaches, and two ex-Basel boys who recently returned to the UK, while two of the touring party were from Falkland, Scotland where Manoj was a professional in the 1980s & 1990s.
This once in a lifetime opportunity to go on an overseas cricket tour so far afield, to India, provided these players with a unique opportunity to improve their cricket skills, technique, fitness, tactics and mental approach to the game.
Beautifully prepared grounds and tough opposition
It enabled them to play and practice cricket in different conditions, as well as immerse themselves in the culture of Gujarat where the team was based in the city of Rajkot.
The tour consisted of six matches (most at the International cricket ground in Rajkot), with training and practice sessions in between. The opposition included challenging opponents such as the student team of the VVP Engineering College as well as the county U16 team.
There was also an occasion for the players to coach cricket to a group of 40 local schoolchildren.
Most of the 6 matches were played at the Rajkot international ground
There is no doubt that all the players will have returned home technically better and mentally tougher cricketers. This was a tour that will remain with them for a lifetime.
At the same time, the tour gave all of the touring party some insight into Indian way of life in this area: the huge variation of vegetarian dishes, the hustle, bustle and incessant noise of the often unnerving traffic and of course the exhilarating experience of the ever-present tuc-tucs as they weave their way through the busy streets, the far slower rhythms and traditions of farm life, the skills and acrobatics of performing dancers, magicians and tightrope artists, the confrontation with the hugely disparate lives of those
The Academy players took time to help coach enthusiastic local youngsters
that those that have in abundance and those that are faced with the daily fight for survival in the slums, the boundless enthusiasm of young and old for the sport cricket (but also hockey!) that is everywhere apparent, not least in the parks of Mumbai, and so much more. The 15-strong touring party all returned exhausted. Six matches on the trot is a tough call, but they were there to play cricket and learn, and that is what they did. New ties were formed, and it was immediately evident how well the team gelled. By the end they had become a team, and the fervent wish expressed by so many was to return again next year.
The touring team included Gingins Thomas Allen & Simon Pearce, Zurich Crickets' Nic Henderson, & former Basel Dragons players Will & Ed Clayton
MP Cricket Academy
India Tour 2016: Report
I certainly enjoyed
the tour very much, it was something I had never experienced before. It was
full of new and exciting encounters such as going to a farm in India. That’s
not exactly something I would do by myself but nevertheless I enjoyed it
greatly. For my part I found that I learned a great deal from those ten days,
not only about cricket but also about Indian culture and life in India. It was
very different to what I had expected but in a good way. I learned a lot about
my game as a cricketer and how I can improve it. I believe that from now on my
batting will never be the same again. Playing on Indian pitches was so
different and challenging that all I have faced so far seems like child’s play
now. As far as my wicket keeping is concerned I think the tips I got during the
tour and the advice as to how I could improve my physical state will be of
great importance in my battle to gain and cement my position as number one
wicket keeper in the Swiss National U19 Team, so for that I am very grateful to
you Manoj. I appreciate every single piece of advice I got and I will do my
best to put them to good use.
If I had to change
something about the tour I think, from a players perspective, a rest day would
be quite nice as six games on the trot is very tough even for the fittest among
the team. I will definitely recommend the tour to other players in Zurich
because it is such a useful and interesting experience that I think everyone
who gets the chance will appreciate it.
Again thank you very
much for this opportunity
Kindest regards
Nicolas
Manoj, my answers are below. I cannot put into words how much I enjoyed our week in your home country. It was brilliant, from start to finish, and you should take great credit for organizing it, and giving 9 lads a wonderful experience. Their words really did come from the heart. We would love the boys to go again, but would not send them on their own until they are older.
Hope to see you soon
Jane x
Dear Manoj,
The tour to India was a great experience which I thoroughly enjoyed. Adapting to new conditions compared to what we would face in Switzerland or in England was incredibly challenging as well as being faced with a bowling attack of generally 2 seamers and 6 spinners. Although we lost every game, at no point did morale drop and we managed to find small victories within defeats such as bowling one team out. From this tour I have learnt a lot not only about cricket but also Indian culture. We were able to witness first hand the extent to which cricket is a religion in India and also the sizeable differences in wealth within one society which is unified by the sport of cricket.. In terms of cricket, I have learnt that I need to make my wicket impossible to come by for the opposition. I didn't capitalise enough on the opportunities to make runs because I consistently gifted my wicket to the opposition. However, the tour was made great by the people who were on it and I will know unfortunately benchmark the atmosphere on every tour I go on with this one.
Thanks again for the wonderful experience an opportunity,
Thomas
Dear Manoj
It was a great tour and really good to combine the cricket with seeing something of the local area. The "away" matches were v good and the evenings also. Best evenings were Sunday (farm) and Saturday. I think it was great to pack it in, including Mumbai on last day.
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Dear Manoj
I’m sorry not to have written before. Simon had the most wonderful time with you in India and thank you for taking such good care of him and all the boys. You clearly looked after everyone so well and gave them all such a good time. Thank you for that; if Simon comes again, I know the rest of the family would love to come too!
With all our very best wishes, Sarah and Brian
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Dear Manoj
Thank you every much for inviting me on your India tour. I had the most amazing time and had experiences that I will never forget. I enjoyed all the games and all the food we ate and got on really well with all the lads.
I feel that I have learnt a great deal from this tour on and off the pitch. I feel that the way I approach my batting especially has changed a lot. My mind set has changed and I felt the difference in an indoor tournament I have just played in. My fielding technicque has changed and i now feel a new man in the field by taking things i picked up by watching the indian kids field. I have seen for my self now what India is like and loved it. I have a new-found respect for what some of the people there have to endure but the one thing you can't miss is the way they unite around cricket.
I would recomend this tour to anyone without hesitation, because of the type of cricket you face, all the challanges of the climate and pitches you play in, it will change you as a person and it was one of the most enjoyable tours that I have ever been on, but the most obvious thing is that you will improve as a cricketer in all aspects of the game.
I would not change anything really but if I had to change something it would be having one relaxing evening mid tour where we could go to the pool and hot tub/stream room, then we would feel more refreshed and ready to go for the second part of the tour. But the tour was amazing and I will be doing it again for sure (hopefully next year)!!!
Thanks Simon
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Dear Manoj,
I hope you are well and enjoying the good weather!
I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and would like to thank you once again for affording me the opportunity to join the touring party.
I would highly recommend the trip to any budding young cricketers looking to improve their game and have some once in a life time experiences as I had such a fantastic time.
I learned so much about Indian culture and about your background in life as well as the best way to improve myself as a cricketer.
The part of the trip I will remember most is probably the night at Yash's Palace as we had some amazing insights into Indian culture, saw a spectacular old palace transformed into a wedding venue not to forget. The most potent thing however that night is probably sitting around having the meal (I certainly remembered the day after those chillies!). That night was when we really felt like a team all bonding and laughing and sharing stories, it was truly brilliant!
Thanks once again Manoj, I'm sure we'll meet again soon!
All the best,
Calum :)