Aiming to build a strong cricket structure

It was a big occasion for Houghton. He has nurtured the CFX Academy in Harare with great effort and the sight of Sachin Tendulkar knocking the ball around at the Country Club was a dream come true for him, writes VIJAY LOKAPALLY .

DAVE HOUGHTON cannot live without cricket. He started as a player; became a coach; turned a commentator. And now is back on the cricket field as the in-charge of the CFX Academy in Harare.

He is at the ground at 5 in the morning. Much before the ground staff, for the Indians are to report at 8 for `nets'. It is a big occasion for Houghton. He has nurtured the place with great effort and the sight of Sachin Tendulkar knocking the ball around at the Country Club is a dream come true for Houghton.

The lads were so delighted to spend time with Tendulkar, who also took interest in interacting with the trainees. For Stuart Matsikenwere and Titende Taibu, it was a very special day, getting to learn from Tendulkar.

The CFX Academy is not exactly a marvel but it is a unique project which has come up with some fantastic desire to serve the game. A desire, which Houghton said, was indeed unique. As one heard the story of the CFX Academy, it turned out to be a great tale of love for the game driving a few like-minded people on the same path.

The roots of the Academy lie in a trip Houghton undertook to Australia in 1985. A three-week stay educated him immensely. The lessons at the Australian Institute of Sports and the Cricket Academy at Adelaide changed his approach to the game.

Nothing happened for ten years even as Houghton nurtured his dream to build an academy. He realised the need to build a centre for cricket and decided he would have to raise money on his own. So, Houghton walked. He walked from Bulawayo to Harare for 22 days and at the end of it raised 1 million Zimbabwean dollars. ``It was not a bad amount those days,'' he recalled. The awareness of cricket caught up through the media and that day the foundation for this academy was laid. There was no turning back.

Getting sponsors was the next big task but the good deeds that Houghton had performed on the field for Zimbabwe opened the gates for his dream to get shape. With Gwynne Jones, a teacher by profession, as his mate, he began his pursuit to prepare future stars for Zimbabwe.

Houghton studied the running of the other academies and drew up plans for his centre. It had to have its own ground, own accommodation. It had to be self-catering in all areas. Houghton signed up a 25-year lease deal with the Country Club and began work on his academy. It was June 1998.

The academy came up nicely, and as he narrated, with the help of former cricketers and friends of Zimbabwean cricket. Twelve million dollars were set aside as running cost of the academy for three years. ``We needed money to upgrade the equipment, buy new bowling machines and video equipment. We needed money to feed ten boys three times a day. It was tough,'' said Houghton.

Help came from various quarters. Houghton sought out his affluent friends and they offered help generously. One man decided to donate chickens, one man eggs. Fresh milk and fresh vegetables came from one cricket lover. Another offered fresh fruits for the week. ``Every piece of food in this academy is donated,'' informed Houghton.

The pavilion was built in a similar fashion. Someone donated bricks, and someone donated cement. The paint came from a third cricket lover. Friends in England helped Houghton with equipment. ``The dream took shape thanks mainly to good friends,'' said Houghton.

He is the only coach at the academy and enjoys every moment he spends with the kids. ``For them, it was such a joy to play against the Indian team. In the coming weeks, I'll get players like Sunny (Gavaskar) and Ravi (Shastri) to come and spend time with the boys,'' Houghton said rather excitedly.

The CFX Academy comes under the Zimbabwe Cricket Union umbrella and is very much part of its development programme. But Houghton is aiming at building a strong first-class structure and this academy is just the first step in that direction. ``We have to have a big base. We sign these boys for three years and make them play for the provincial teams. It helps increase the competition,'' disclosed Houghton. In one year, his effort helped build six teams for first class cricket.

It is a different academy, Houghton repeats. ``We don't practise limited overs cricket here. We have no coloured clothing and white ball cricket here. We teach to play proper cricket here,'' he said with pride.

The greatest invention of Houghton has been the `Timeless Test' that his wards indulge in. ``I call it the timeless test. A batsman keeps batting till he gets out. We practise about 50 overs a day and there are times when they bat for much longer. But I would like to see them bat for weeks,'' he explained.

And Houghton is involved in preparing disciplined sportsmen. Once a week he takes them out for a golfing experience. Then next week they slug it out on the tennis courts. ``I've engaged professionals to teach them golf and tennis,'' he said. Houghton has come a long way from the time he played his first Test for Zimbabwe. ``I was paid 800 dollars for the Test, 300 more than the rest because I happened to be the captain,'' he remembered with a smile. Today, some of the Zimbabwean cricketers receive one hundred thousand dollars for a Test.

Where does Houghton get the motivation from? ``I just love cricket. I love to be outdoors. I want Zimbabwe to win more than it loses. I don't like Zimbabwe being run down for just being one of the teams,'' said an emotional Houghton.The CFX Academy, set in the most serene surroundings, is engaged in an effort to lift the image of cricket. And Houghton is the driving force behind it. He is the director-groundsman-errand boy, all rolled into one.

On the day of the match against the Indians, he was engaged in fetching vegetables and fruits for his trainees. There was some more work for him. Picking rubbish along the boundary. He does it all with a smile, for the sake of cricket, because he just cannot live without cricket.

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