Cricket Diary: Little resigns post (2 August 1997)

Saturday 2 August 1997

Cricket Diary: Little resigns post

By Clive Ellis

RICHARD LITTLE, corporate affairs manager of the England and Wales Cricket Board, resigned yesterday by mutual agreement with the Board, to pursue other interests. He will be replaced eventually by a new head of communications as part of a drive to sharpen the game`s public relations, writes Christopher Martin- Jenkins.

This will be one of three new appointments planned in a revamping of the ECB staff. The other posts are director of England affairs and that of technical director to succeed Micky Stewart, who retires at the end of the year.

Little joined the Board from Texaco in 1994, initially in charge of media relations. He worked tirelessly on the often delicate task of persuading the counties, the main members of the Test and County Cricket Board, to reform. That paved the way for the ECB, headed by Lord MacLaurin. He will announce major changes to the game at Lord`s next Tuesday.

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GLAMORGAN have reacted to their allocation of 1,200 tickets for the NatWest Trophy semi-final at Chelmsford on Aug 12 by suggesting ties should be staged at neutral venues.

The Welsh county, entitled as the away team to one-third of the available tickets, have been told they will be given 1,200 for distribution to their own supporters. They have 490 `Premier Club` members, almost 1,000 vice-presidents and 11,000 ordinary members.

Mike Fatkin, the Glamorgan secretary, said: "Our argument is not with Essex. They have told us we can have 1,200 tickets and by in- ference are telling us that the ground capacity at Chelmsford is 3,600.

"If this is the case, it is time the authorities looked at the possibility of neutral venues for semi-finals in this competition."

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AN unemployed Sri Lankan cricketer, Wasantha Kumara, committed suicide after being scolded repeatedly by his mother for devoting too much time to the game, not enough to getting a job.

Kumara, 20, drank insecticide after leaving a request to be buried with his cricket bat and ball, hoping that he would be a better player in the next life.

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PLAYERS from two village sides in Surrey let their competitive instincts get the better of them as fighting broke out in a league match between Elstead and Frimchett.

The mayhem involved brothers Hamish and Alex Reid, who were in the field for Frimchett, and Elstead`s Neil Ferguson, who was the batsman at the non-striker`s end when tempers flared. The umpires and fellow players had to drag the protagonists apart as punches flew.

Graham Collyer, secretary of the l`Anson League, said: "We deplore any incidents such as this that harm the good name of the competition."

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TRANSVAAL players are taking young black cricketers under their wing in an innovative South African scheme called Cricket Heals.

There has been increasing evidence that players who have shown great promise in their own disadvantaged environment have underperformed when thrust into mainly white teams.

The Cricket Heals project was dreamt up by sports psychologist Andre Roux, who has identified post-traumatic stress disorder stem- ming from years of violence in the black townships during the apartheid era, inferiority complex and depression as the underlying factors in the troubled transition.

The Transvaal players who have agreed to act as mentors to the emerging black cricketers include Adam Bacher, nephew of United Board managing director Ali Bacher, and Hugh Page, the former Essex bowler.

Page says his protege,

12-year-old Welcome Plessie, has become like a son. "Welcome has opened my eyes to how much these kids need basic human warmth and support. For me the experience has brought a sense of humility and a spirit of healing."

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WHO`S wearing the trousers now? The England women`s team may break with tradition in order to get valuable practice before defending the World Cup on the hard Indian grounds later this year. They are considering trousers rather than culottes for the one-day internationals against South Africa later this month.

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Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/)