Shedders leads Arabians to victory
NGN catches up with local cricket coach, Andrew Shedlock to find out about his coaching stint in the Masters league in the UAE.
DURBAN North resident, Andrew Shedlock, better known as Shedders, recently returned from Dubai where he coached the Gemini Arabians to their inaugural Masters Champions League (MCL) title. The MCL is a Twenty20 cricket league held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and contested by former international cricketers.
Shedlock, who is the head of cricket at Northwood School, said he was honoured to be involved in the set-up and credited his players for their sterling efforts. The Arabians were made up of cricketing legends like Virender Sehwag, Kumar Sangakkara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Muttiah Muralitharan to name a few.
“It was an amazing experience and something I’d love to do again. I have had a coaching stint on the subcontinent with the ICL, which preceded the IPL. All the glory goes to the players and the owner of the team. I just facilitated practices,” said a modest Shedlock.
“If they asked me to go back, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Virender (Sehwag) was meant to be the team director, but he asked me to coach and there was no specific approach to the games, I was blessed with a fantastic team.”
Chasing a below-par score of 130, the Lions were dealt a telling blow by former Pakistan fast bowler, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan’s hat-trick, which triggered Lions’ collapse for 114 to give the Arabians a resounding win.
A former coaching staff member of the Dolphins, the 52-year-old said he was mentored by current Sri Lankan coach, Graham Ford.
“I was part of the Dolphins team of the 90s which won two Standard Bank trophies, which was a great time for cricket in the province. I owe a lot to Graham, who taught me so much about the game. My experience in the UAE was also a huge learning curve.
“Players from the subcontinent have a very simple philosophy, which is to play freely. Too often in South Africa, we tend to focus on technical aspects which sometimes hinder the player. We are a bit too over-cautious, while the other players are positive and play with a sense of freedom,” he said.
