Marsh looks to unearth talent for his teaching base

Rod Marsh is to hold two coaching periods for pupils at Abu Dhabi's British School on Sunday in the hope of unearthing talent.

ABU DHABI // Rod Marsh, the record-breaking former Australian wicket-keeper, is to hold two coaching periods for pupils at Abu Dhabi's British School on Sunday in the hope of unearthing talent to take to his soon-to-be-opened academy in Dubai Sports City. Marsh, who has a home in Adelaide, is contracted to working 100 days a year in Dubai and is currently on a tour of schools around the country looking for young "clients" for him and his coaching colleagues Mudassar Nazar and Dayle Hadlee to teach.

"We are hoping that we get the indoor academy handed over by the end of March but it is probably going to be September before all the facilities are available for use," said Marsh. "We are waiting for special soil to come from Australia to lay the outdoor pitches and when we've done that they will need six months or so to settle down. The stadium is close to completion, though." Marsh believes the secret to good coaching is delegation and admits he cannot do everything himself.

"I am happy with batting and wicketkeeping and fielding to a degree," he said. "But there are some areas where I am not as comfortable and I would always want other people to come in and give their opinion. "I am not a great throwing coach, for example, so we have recruited Mike Young who is the best throwing coach I have ever seen. He has worked for the Australian team and worked in England. "Fast bowling is also a touchy subject. I know enough about it to teach at the grass root level. I would never dream of saying that I know enough about fast bowling or spin bowling to look after Test players."

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