Challenged by their dismal run of form in the regional tournament for a second-consecutive year, members of Jamaica’s Under-17 squad and other youth cricketers across the island were recently offered much-needed encouragement by Jamaica Tallawahs Coach Paul Nixon at Sabina Park in Kingston.

The lecture was part of a two-pronged session in the first phase of the Digicel/Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Youth Programme dubbed the ‘Big Brother’ initiative.

Nixon and manager Andrew Richardson, along with members of the franchise, reminded the youngsters that the sport of cricket is more than just winning every game, encouraging the players to remain focused on learning instead.

“The very best batsmen in the world make an average of fifty runs each time they play, although everyone’s goal is to make a century, so that means that they basically fail every second time that they play.

“But failing is a very important part of cricket — and any sport for that matter — as when you lose, you get an opportunity to step back, look inside yourself and take the challenge to fix your mistakes and play a better game next time,” Nixon shared.

He continued: “Of course, there’s always going to be some level of emotion when you don’t win, but the key is to stay calm and controlled, look at the positives in your plays and focus on how to improve your game.

“Don’t try to blame team members or put them down either; be a good sportsman and encourage each other and just keep working at building each other up. Win or lose, you’re still a team and you can’t let anything get in the way of that.”

The discussion was followed by an intensive skills clinic on the pitch led by Tallawahs players Shane Thomas, Jonathan Foo, Jon-Russ Jaggesar, Kesrick Williams, and Garey Mathurin.

They took the players through a number of drills to assist in sharpening their techniques prior to a friendly contest against members of the Tallawahs outfit.

Guyanese batsman Foo chimed in with his own experience.

“Personally, I get very upset after losing a game; because, of course, no one likes to lose. However, after a rough match, I always try to cool off first, talk to the coach and do some reflecting on the game to see where I went wrong and, most importantly, build on the positives,” said Foo.

All-rounder Kesrick Williams echoed similar sentiments.

“When my team loses a match I take it to heart, so hard that I wouldn’t even want to see anybody sometimes, but I’ve learnt that in order to continuously become a better cricketer, I have to be willing to learn from my mistakes,” he said.

The Digicel/CPL Youth Programme also took place in five other Caribbean islands, with the second phase of the two-part programme scheduled for later this month.