Kemp appointed cricket director

Cricket Namibia yesterday announced Justin Kemp as its new director of cricket. Cricket Namibia chief executive Johan Muller said the organisation had created the new position to fit in with its global vision. “Our vision is to be globally competitive and a professional values-based sport of choice and inclusive in Namibia, and part of what we are announcing today fits in with that vision statement. We are very fortunate to announce that we have created a position for director of cricket,” he said. Muller said Kemp will oversee the strategic direction of cricket operations across Cricket Namibia, including the national teams, high performance programmes, talent identification structures, and coach development pathways. “A critical element for us in this announcement is to streamline our whole cricket pipeline under one brand, one strategy, and collectively work towards reaching better on-field performances – continuously qualifying for world cup events and global qualifiers in the women’s situation, but also especially the u19 women’s and men’s programme. To consistently qualify for u19 world cups is a critical focus element for us,” he said. Kemp, a former destructive all-rounder who represented South Africa in close to 100 international matches, moved into coaching after his playing career and has held senior coaching positions within the global T20 franchise landscape. He has also been a member of the FNB Eagles, the senior national men’s team, under current head coach Craig Williams and former coach Pierre de Bruyn. “It’s a huge honour for me to be part of Cricket Namibia and hopefully take this country forward to greater heights. What we’ve achieved over the last four or five years is quite impressive considering what we have. “I think a lot of credit must go to Johan and his team and what they’ve created, especially here at this FNB Namibia Cricket Ground,” he said. “When I think of this job, ambition comes to mind. I’m trying to take Namibia forward. Where that takes us we’ll have to wait and see, but the aim is certainly to try and become a real force in world cricket. “I’m not sure it’s going to be an easy road, it will be a bumpy ride, but if we all stick to it, I’m very confident we can get to a special place for this country,” he said. Kemp said it was crucial to grow the player base for cricket to grow in Namibia. “The main thing is that we are trying to invest a lot in young players. We are trying to grow the base of players as much as we can with regards to the ladies and the men. “I think that is so important for Namibian cricket. I know we come from a very small base of players, but we have to try find a way to get more players, playing club cricket, and more players challenging for national positions. “That natural competition is what makes teams really good, and we’ve struggled with that a bit if you look at our depth over the last few years. “So we are trying to find players all over Namibia, both boys and girls, and that is very important for me – to make sure when the young players come to the national teams they are ready to play for Namibia,” he said. Kemp said Namibia’s proximity and being in Africa also helped in his choice. “It’s only two hours away from home, it’s a lot better than living overseas, and it’s Africa, and I’m definitely African,” he said. “I think there’s a huge opportunity here. With the ground we’ve got, and the rest of the facilities, and if you look at where we came from, I really want to be a part of that. And I think that game against South Africa last year was a taste of what can happen here. “That was also one of the main reasons why I want to be part of this going forward.” The post Kemp appointed cricket director appeared first on The Namibian .