Browne is not green

Desmond Browne is widely known as the respected headmaster of The Lodge School.

But how well is he known as a cricket administrator?

It might have taken some by surprise that he was appointed manager of the Barbados youth team for the forthcoming regional championships, but after a chat with the one-time policeman, no one can doubt that he is eminently qualified for the job.

During the last two years, he has had the huge responsibility of being chairman of all of the Barbados Cricket Association's youth competitions-CIBC Under-19, Cable & Wireless BET Under-15 and Banks Sir Everton Weekes Under-13.

You can add that workload to the role of managing the Combined Schools South Division 1 team.

'I don't necessarily try to promote a public profile,' he responded when asked about his background in cricket administration.

'People hardly knew that I was manager of the team, although I was with them all the time.'

He has also been actively involved with Lodge which has enjoyed the distinction of performing consistently at all levels for many years.

'I think I have had something to do with that. I think I have had enough involvement in cricket over the past 10 years to say that I should manage the team,' he said.

With some modesty, he revealed he'd been asked to manage the national youth team before, but was unable to fulfil the role because of other duties.

What, however, could have prompted this educator of more than 30 years' experience to try his hand at cricket administration?

'I love the sport. It is a sport that I have played since I have been walking,' he confessed.

'I believe that kind of love for the game should be transmitted into doing another role now that I'm not playing the game actively.'

As a player, he also made a name for himself, mainly in the Barbados Cricket League (BCL) for St. Augustine for whom he used to capture more than 50 wickets every season.

As a fast bowler, Browne also represented Police, YMCA and Lodge in the Intermediate division and was fortunate to have played in the Bahamas and Canada.

'Only age and poor eyesight have stopped me from playing the game,' the 56-year-old quipped.

'I think I had a reputation. I made some good marks on the BCL landscape. I also got a few runs.'

He fully understands that his upcoming assignment will not be an easy one.

'It's really a big challenge,' he admitted. 'To travel with a Barbados national team must be a serious undertaking and one that would require the maximum of my skills and knowledge of working with youngsters.

'I don't want to appear as though they would be strictly managed, but at the same time I want to let them understand that it is an undertaking for them as well - one of a serious nature.'

It's uncommon for a school principal to manage a national sports team but Browne believes such a background could serve two purposes.

Intimate

'That position can intimidate some boys,' said Browne, headmaster of the St. John-based school for the last eight years.

'At the same time, it should be for them a chance to work with someone who could give them the right kind of guidance and help to maintain the right kind of approach to the game.'

Learning, he says, is not only about academics.

'You can learn a whole lot about how to play sport, how to compete with others, how to give of one's best, how to manage oneself and how to discipline oneself,' he said.

'In that area, I can give some pointers about how to approach things that are at a level of emotional thinking self-control and things like that.

'As a headmaster some knowledge of the psychology of the teenager would be vital,' he added.

While Browne admits that most of the cricket aspects will be the responsibility of new coach Roddy Estwick, he believes there will be some over-lapping.

'I don't think I am a novice about the game itself. There might be something I can say,' he said.

'There is a need for the technical and managerial (aspects) to blend.

'If there is not enough of the two, you will have bad performance from the individual players,' Browne noted.