Inter-school cricket forms a crucial part of the sport ecosystem. Children take to the sport with more enthusiasm in their school days. While one can get the basic/ preliminary coaching around their home or at summer camps, conventionally it is the school where the children plays their first competitive match.
Goa has traditionally been following the pattern with inter-school cricket being conducted across the state at the taluka-level, district-level and culminating in the state-level final.
The Directorate of Sports & Youth Affairs, Government of Goa, conducts the annual inter-school Cricket tournament. Goa Cricket Association also organises such a competition. However, the tournaments lack basic promotion and gets hardly reflected in the media.
A popular inter-school Cricket tournament, which used to be conducted in Panaji till some years ago till it became defunct, still ranks among Goa’s best-organised schools Cricket events.
This tournament played at Panjim Gymkhana ground was considered an annual showcase of talents who would go on to play for the state. The media backed the event to the hilt. Cricket enthusiasts from across the state, made it a point to come and watch the future stars to be. The energy and passion was to be seen to be believed and till date no other inter-school tournament matches that class and grandeur.
There is a great need to revive such successful inter-school Cricket tournament and infuse it with mega visibility to encourage the children to play better and motivate the ecosystem. Moreover, the much needed inter-school events conducted in an energetic manner, will also boost other stakeholders to conceptualise similar events and reinvigorate the Goan schools Cricket circuit.
‘Game 4 Change’ is a medium to usher in a cricketing revolution that Goa desires, right from its mission of guiding the underprivileged children onto the path to cricketing nursery; to injecting energy into developing a compelling inter-school Cricket circuit for state-level glory with the youngsters being groomed through for their skills, temperament and most-importantly the right attitude.
Of late, inter-school girls Cricket is getting some traction and more schools will hopefully field their teams in such tournaments. It would be heart-warming to see new inter-school Cricket event for girls, on the lines of the popular inter-school boys’ tournament set to be revived this year.
