Top Northland coach lends a hand to old Belfast club

Ewen Thompson is a man on a
mission.
 The former Central Districts
first-class player, who signed on
as the new Northland
Cricket high
performance coach for
the upcoming season, left
for Northern Ireland
yesterday  to help out his
old Civil Service Cricket
Club in Belfast.
``I'm just going over
for a short-term playing
contract, for three or
four weeks.
``Basically, two teams
in the top division get
relegated each year and
I'm going over to make sure they
avoid that,'' he says.
Thompson played his last
Northern Hemisphere cricket
season for Civil Service in 2008,
where they finished first-equal.
``They are a strong club side
and should do all right again _
I'm looking forward to going over
... There are a few Kiwi guys
over there and it will be good to
catch up.''
While the  cricket finals will be
a major part of his trip,
it is not the only reason
the 30 year old is
heading to his old
Belfast haunts.
``I'm looking to set up
an overseas playing academy here in
Whangarei.
``I recently bought a
property at Kiripaka Rd
and the aim is to bring
back one coach who may
play for Northland, and
also around five guys
who want an overseas experience
and who'll play for clubs.''
Thompson would train the
players in the morning and then
they would do a bit of coaching
at various clubs and schools in
the region, he said.
The idea stems from former
New Zealand cricketer and friend
to Thompson, Brendan Bracewell.
Bracewell runs  successful
overseas academies in Tauranga
and Hawke's Bay.
``I want to head in a similar
direction but I have fresh ideas
about the way I will run it and
what I want to do.''

It is Thompson's own initiative,
completely separate to his position
with Northland Cricket, he says.
Players would pay for their
overseas experience and he was
sure Northland's beaches and
activities on offer, along with
cricket, would make it a
worthwhile trip.
Along with being contracted to
Northland Cricket to provide
coaching to high-performance
players at all levels, Thompson
will coach and play for the
Northland representative side in
the 2010-11 season.
 On his return in September, he
will begin training the Northland
team, along with skipper Brett
Hood, for their campaign, which
gets under way with a warm-up
game at Labour Weekend.
``There is massive opportunity
for spots in the team.
``I was looking at last year's
stats and no one really put their
hand up to own a spot again this
year - they're there for the
taking.''