KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 — Malay Mail was recognised at the annual Malaysian Cricket Awards (MCA) which took place at Universiti Malaya last Friday.

The newspaper’s story ‘Taking Swing At Coaching Kids’, which was on published March 10, 2018, focussed on a one-off coaching programme between MCA and the Special Olympics Malaysia (SOM).

The community piece by journalist Jordan Barnes was honoured as ‘Best Feature Article’ during the ceremony.

Writer Jordan Barnes collects ‘Best Feature Article’ on behalf of Malay Mail at MCA’s awards night. — Malay Mail pic

The MCA-SOM tie-up saw the country’s national cricket players break from rigorous training schedules to help develop their mental side of the game ― patience and sense of duty ― by coaching a number of intellectually challenged students as part of an eight-week programme.

The schedule culminated with a tournament held at national ground Kinrara Oval last month. It featured participation from more than 30 students from 10 schools who were divided into four teams.

Originally the ambition was to enter a Malaysia cricket squad at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi 2019. Due to time constraints, a team could not be sent.

SOM interim managing committee chairman Nur Azida Daud said the introduction of cricket to the organisation’s agenda was a triumph nonetheless.

"We received overwhelming support from schools with lots of children who wished to join the cricket programme. It was very encouraging to see there is an interest in cricket among special needs students and their teachers,” Azida said.

"Sadly, we couldn’t enter a Special Olympics cricket team as we’ve only just formed a team for the first time. It takes one to two years to develop a strong squad for an international tournament.

"We take this opportunity as a new beginning where cricket is added together with 14 other sports SOM offers. We would look to entering regional tournaments and hopefully the next World Summer Games.”

Malay Mail went back to SMK Batu Muda in Sentul to talk to some of the young participants most of whom were learning the ropes of cricket for the first time in their lives.

Among the enthusiastic bunch were Siti Rohimah Mohd Nizam, 17, and Tulasi Kanan, 18, who received guidance from the Malaysia cricket’s women’s team.

"I really enjoyed cricket for the first time. Before this, I didn’t know what cricket was so it was a new experience for me,” said Siti.

Tulisa added: "The difficulty was hitting the ball because it moved really fast. The coaches slowed things down for us and showed us what to do.”

The boys were likewise looked after by the men’s national side.

Muhammad Irfan Nabil MD Zamani, 13, hopes to use the platform to one day realise his dream of becoming a Malaysian athlete.

"This is a game that really suited me. I’d never played it in primary school,” said Irfan.

"There’s real spirit in cricket because it’s a team game. I love that we learned about communication and cooperation with others.

"The coaches were really good teaching me how to pitch and throw the ball. When I did something wrong, they showed me the correct action.

"It was a new experience and I used the chance to make my father and mother proud.”

Muhammad Syafiq Yusof, 17, added: "Cricket was the best. It’s not a tiring game and it’s easy to enjoy.”