Cambodia's Moun Chanthorn pitches against Myanmar during their Asian Baseball Cup match in Bangkok on May 27. Moun Chanthorn struck out 8 batters and gave up 3 runs in a full 9-inning game. CBF

THE Cambodian Baseball Federation (CBF) will assemble its members Saturday for a national team draft day, during which players and coaches will be divided into two teams who are set to play each other 30 times from Monday until September 24.

Currently, 28 players and 4 coaches have been selected for the national team, with 11 more players also in consideration, after training together since July 25.

The teams will be named the Royals and the Braves, and will play all their games at Baribo field in Kampong Chhnang province, home of the CBF and birthplace of Cambodian baseball.

Team practice before Cup

One of the purposes of the national league is to allow potential national team players to practise team game situations in preparation for the South & West Asia Baseball Cup 2009 to be held in Dubai September 28 to October 2. The Cup was originally to be played in Pakistan, but had to be turned over to Dubai due to security concerns. Teams from Afghanistan, India, Iran Iraq, Myanmar, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will compete with Cambodia for the trophy. CBF President Joe Cook told the Post by email that the national team is looking to upset Myanmar in a rematch of the May 27 Asian Cup game in Bangkok, which Cambodia lost 3-1. Cook states that if his team can beat Myanmar, they will rank 60th in the world standings.

Cook also asserted that this year's focus in training would be on improving their offensive hitting, thanking coaches from the US and the China for their recent visits to Kingdom to help educate and develop the national team.