Well - his past will be an indicator of his future....
Here is an interview of him while he was the Brunei Cricket CEO:
http://news.brunei.fm/2010/02/14/he-...runei-cricket/
He works hard for Brunei cricket
The Brunei Times Feb 14th, 2010
The Brunei Darussalam Cricket Association's CEO Manzur Ahmed. Picture: BT/ Jason Thomas.
Active in Brunei cricket since the 1990s after he came from Bangladesh where
he was a national player, Brunei Darussalam Cricket Association’s (BDCA’s) CEO Manzur Ahmed
captained the Brunei national team from 1997 to 2006. He believes the Sultanate has great potential in the sport and recently talked to JASON THOMAS about BDCA’s vision, limitations and why he isn’t really concerned about Brunei lagging behind in the international arena Q: Good morning Sir. Can you provide me with a short background of the BDCA?
A: The BDCA has been around for a very long time but it was running on a small scale until 2004.
We became members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) around 1996 or 1997 I think, and it was around that time that we were officially registered with the Registrar of Societies.
In late 2004 we launched development programmes and set up strategic plans to seriously introduce cricket to locals.
In 2005 we got the Ong Sum Ping Cricket ground from the Department of Youth and Sports and since then cricket has kicked up.
Q: How have the ICC and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) helped the BDCA?
A: Both the ACC and ICC are very supportive since the time we approached them in 2005 for funding to develop infrastructure and development programmes in Brunei.
The ACC also helped us finance the setting up of the nets and an artificial wicket. The funding is mostly for the infrastructure and development though, not operational expenses.
Q: What is the BDCA doing to nurture the sport at school level?
A: I am quite encouraged by the response from schools, particularly the primary schools. This year we have already brought cricket to secondary and higher institutions such as Institut Teknologi Brunei and Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Science College (Maktab Sains).
Our next target is Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) and technical institutions like Sultan Saiful Rijal Technical College (MTSSR).
We are also trying to negotiate with the Sports School to introduce cricket there.
We have primary school pupils ranging from 10 to 13 years old playing now and we had Under-13 inter-school tournament for the last three years. Some teachers are helping us by organising cricket classes as we are lacking in number of coaches.
Q: Can you elaborate, please?
A: Right now there are only three active coaches and we need more. We have some other active coaches but they are not qualified, and we want to expand the number by getting more people involved in the technical aspect.
That is one thing the BDCA needs to work on. Most importantly we need a qualified full-time coach. In this regard, we have already applied to the Department of Youth and Sports and we are hoping for a positive response soon.
Q: What is being done to find another field and have potential sites been identified?
A: No potential site but anywhere is alright, as long as it is in the Bandar (capital) area.
The Department of Youth and Sports has been quite supportive, but maybe it is having problem finding a suitable site
Q: What are the repercussions of not having another field?
A: The ACC and ICC want us to confirm to certain things like a website and office which we already have. But the other thing is we need a minimum of two fields and if we have a good field we can really promote cricket.
We can have regular tournaments which will promote not only cricket but Brunei as well.
Also since we have 10 teams in the league now, they may not get the chance to play every week some players might only play once a month.
Q: Are there any other barriers preventing cricket’s development in Brunei?
A: There are no real barriers but Brunei has two distinct shortcomings; the weather and lack of facilities in schools.
Some of the adults train every Friday morning but once a week is not good enough. We need to train at least two or three times a week so that they can learn faster.
Also there is not enough public transport here so kids have to depend on their busy parents to send them to training sessions.
In December the Under-19 team’s practice for the 2009 U-19 Challenge Cup was disrupted by rain. If we had an indoor facility that problem would be solved.
Q: Can you tell me more about this idea, having an indoor facility for cricket?
A: My vision is to create an indoor facility in Brunei one day. That will be our new proposal for the Department of Youth and Sports. We don’t need a big space. A bit of air conditioning will help, but if we don’t have that it’s alright as long as there is ventilation.
That will help promote cricket as well and it will help in many ways. We can build up a cricket academy with the indoor facility. If we can build it at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas vicinity, that would be the best since all the facilities like a gym, track, meeting rooms and swimming pools are already there.
If we can join all those puzzles together it can be a one-stop training facility that even countries like Malaysia and Singapore don’t have.
Q: Long-term, what are the BDCA’s other plans?
A: My ultimate goal is to get more locals playing cricket. I know it is a new game so it will take some time.
Q: Are there any upcoming tournaments that the BDCA will be sending a team to?
A: The Under-16 team are going to Kuala Lumpur in July for the ACC Under-16 Challenge Trophy. The Under-16 team are currently undergoing centralised training every Monday, Thursday and Saturday.
In December, the senior team will be going for the ACC Challenge Trophy, though the event’s location has not been disclosed yet.
Q: Brunei finished last at last December’s 2009 U-19 Challenge Cup in Chiang Mai, Thailand. What can you tell me about Brunei’s standard compared to the other teams in Asia?
A: Our standard is not very high and I am not discouraged by that. Our current strategic goal is to infuse and popularise the game in Brunei first. Our target is to establish cricket in schools and have more coaches. Once that is established then we will go for lifting standard.
Both are going parallel though in certain aspect but our primary concern is infusing cricket in Brunei.
Q: What kind of tournaments do the BDCA organise?
A: We have different format of tournaments every year. This year we will start with the league on Feb 28 and will continue until October or November to be played on every Sunday. Two new teams, Brunei Blasters and 11 Brothers, will be joining the league this season to make a total of 10 teams.
The newly established teams are made up of extra players from other teams who do not get the chance to play regularly.
The T20 Trophy has now been held for the last two years. Last year we introduced the T12, which is an improvised form of T20.
I think maybe we are the first country in Asia to introduce the T12 because I haven’t heard of anywhere else in Asia holding it. We have been pioneers in introducing Level 0 coaching and umpiring courses and we are trying to do the same with the T12.
Q: What is Level 0?
A: In 2006 the BDCA introduced a kind of coaching and umpiring programme called Level 0. Previously the ACC and ICC had courses for Level 1, 2 and 3 but when we started sending participants in 2005, one interesting observation I noticed was that some of them did not have much exposure and it was hard to gain experience.
So I said why not train coaches at a lower level than Level 1? Why not do in your own country instead of wasting resources to travel to other countries to do Level 1 courses? Those who qualify, and after a certain amount of service to their association say six months or a year can move on to Level 1.
It is more financially viable. So we started Level 0 and introduced it to the ACC and now many countries are using this.
If you check the 2006 ACC booklet they recognise this fact.