Last Friday, May 15, students at Yew Chung International School of Beijing (YCIS) had the chance to participate in a coaching masterclass from former England cricket captain Mike Gatting OBE. On arrival at the school, Gatting was welcomed by YCIS’ Year 5 and 6 students in the school’s auditorium after which he gave an entertaining talk about how playing cricket and other sports at school helped him learn valuable life lessons such as making friends, working hard, and learning from mistakes. As a sport, cricket is synonymous with good sportsmanship and the former England captain stressed the point of being a good loser as well as a good winner.
After his talk, a coaching session was held with Year 6 students in the school gymnasium in which Gatting went through some batting, bowling, diving, and catching drills before an exciting and close game of cricket was played between two Year 6 teams with Gatting himself bowling to the students. With Gatting explaining all aspects and skills of the game to students as he coached them through the session, it was a special day for students.
Gatting was one of the world’s greatest cricketers from England during the 1980s and 1990s. A powerful middle-order batsman, excellent fielder, and useful medium-pace bowler, he began his career with Middlesex in 1975 and remained with them until his retirement in 1998. He went on to represent his country 79 times in test cricket between 1977 and 1995, captaining his country 23 times. He scored a total of 36,549 runs across 551 first-class matches, making 493 catches and taking 158 wickets. His crowning glory was to lead England to victory in the Ashes series in Australia in 1986-87. He currently serves as President of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and as Managing Director at the English Cricket Board (ECB).
Photos: Courtesy of YCIS
