Cricket fever hits Puchong: grandfather’s passion inspires young athletes

KUALA LUMPUR – It all started with a grandfather sharing his love for cricket with his grandchildren one afternoon at a nearby playground.

Jerome Fernandez is a retired headmaster at Sekolah Kebangsaan Sultan Yahya Petra 2 in Kuala Krai, Kelantan, where he taught in the 1990s.

Since he moved to Kuala Lumpur to be with his daughter Daphne in Puchong, he felt that it was the best opportunity to spend time with his grandson, 14-year-old Tristan, and pass on the knowledge and love he had for cricket.

Almost every afternoon, he would spend one to two hours teaching Tristan to bat and bowl on a small patch of land near a playground.

As the days went by, more and more of their neighbours came to watch their activities out of curiosity.

“The initial intention was just to train Tristan, but then the neighbours passed by the playground and saw what we were doing. Since then, they have expressed interest in sending their kids to join the training,” he said when met recently.

Fast forward to five years later, the 76-year-old former educator now has 18 children under his tutelage, ranging in age from seven to 16 years old.

Just recently, Tristan was selected to play for the KLCA President’s 11 in a friendly match against the Thailand National Under-16 team in June 2023 at STC Oval.

Cricket in the Park at Taman Putra Prima

Cricket in the Park was the name he came up with for his little league at Taman Putra Prima in Puchong, and Fernandez was no stranger to the sport as he was the one who introduced cricket to his school and coached the under-12, under-15, and under-18 teams.

He had produced two national cricketers from Kelantan, Mohamad Shukri Abdul Rahim and Mohd Saifful Hawari.

Shukri is currently the national trainer for the Malaysian Cricket Association (MCA), while Saifful is the assistant coach for the national under-16 team.

The Malaysian sports industry has been making headlines about the urgency to focus on grassroots development.

Sometimes, it may not necessarily be coming from a specific national sports association, as the role of developing talents from the grassroots can also be executed through a similar effort by Fernandez.

“I am not particular about how children train with me, but I think it is important that they play (at least) one game.

“I talked to the parents about how far they are willing to support their child’s progress in cricket. 

“Some children just wanted to make friends in cricket, while some wished to play for their school and others aimed to play for the state. 

“The parents need to make their intention clear to me so that I know what method to use during training,” he added.

Budding young cricketers

As the love for the sport grew, Fernandez and the parents of his young cricketers realised that they needed to provide a safe training ground for the team as well as for other children and the community utilising the playground for their daily physical activity.

“Because the field is very small, I do not have the right facilities. It is only a small patch of land.

“I cannot train the kids on that small patch of land because it would be inconvenient for the kids to be chasing for the ball when it bounced off into the neighbour’s house or across the road.

“It would also be dangerous for other kids who are playing in the playground, on the swing, for example,” he said.

Setting up cricket nets

With that in mind, Fernandez sought advice from the MCA on how to build a proper training ground on an unoccupied piece of land at the playground.

Hence, they decided to set up cricket nets with measurements provided by a contractor, 20.13m x 4.27m x 3.66m, on the piece of land that has been approved by the local council.

However, Fernandez shared that, based on the quotation from the contractor, they would need to raise about RM24,000 to build the cricket nets.

Efforts are currently being put in place to get the private sector to contribute to the community project.

Speaking to one of the young cricketers’ parents, Vikram Krishnan said he is happy with the idea of protecting the safety of his child and other children.

“The netting is for training purposes. The pitch is for them to play the game safely, and they can practice properly. Right now, they are just being careful. So, we pity the kids.

“The reason we also need the nets is because there have been complaints that other kids are scared to be at the playground when the team is training because the ball might hit them. 

“We must be fair to everyone. It is a public field, and we should consider other users’ safety as well,” he said.

Another parent, M. Vignes, echoed that he hopes the nets can be set up soon because his 11-year-old son has begun showing deep interest in the sport and hopes Nitesh can continue to practice safely.

“He got back from school and just dumped his bag and ran straight for practice because the coach was waiting. He has made good friends.

“He developed the interest by himself, and he joined the cricket team at school.

“I am not a cricket person, but I want him to be in sports because it will teach him the right attitude and discipline,” added Vignes. – The Vibes, June 17, 2023