Here at Tours 4 Sport we work with international teams and tour agents organising their inbound sports tours to the UK and Europe. We regularly work with teams from South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, USA, Canada, Europe.In July 2010, we organised a UK cricket tour for the Desert Cubs Cricket Academy from Dubai. Here is sports tour manager Sean's tour report from the recent 12 day UK cricket tour.
Day 1
The Desert Cubs Academy, headed up by coaches Presley Polonowitta, Sidath Tennakoon, and Aaron Verdasinghe, touched down at London Heathrow on Friday July 23rd for a 12 day UK tour that would see them play 10 fixtures in total at Under 13 and Under 15 level, experience top class facilities at Loughborough University, visit Lord's, see international test cricket at Trent Bridge, and experience the best that London has to offer. The group were met by their friendly coach driver, Yorkshire Dave and me (Sean), their tour rep and headed up to Loughborough.
Day 2
The first full day of the tour was used to get rid of the jet lag and a training session was booked in at the National Cricket Performance Centre at Loughborough University. This was a great experience for the squad, to be able to train at one of the most advanced cricket training venues in the world, with use of the Merlyn machine. Ray Baker, former professional cricketer, met the group on arrival and gave them a tour of the facilities, showing them a DVD covering the ECB activities and training that takes place at the venue.
Following the NCPC visit, the group enjoyed a recreational swim at the impressive Olympic pool at the University. We use this facility regularly for our other training camps.
Day 3
The first fixture of the tour was at Burton Cricket Club in Staffordshire, where the Under 15's, who play mostly on artificial wickets back home adapted well to the grass track and won their first tour match. The host were very welcoming and provided a good test for a clearly talented set of players.
Day 4
DCCA travelled a short 20 minutes from Loughborough to the lovely village of Sileby, for Under 13 and Under 15 fixtures against Sileby Town Cricket Club.
Despite some early rain, the matches got underway on time. DCCA Under 15's won their match in style. The Sileby boys scored a total of 77 runs for 8 wickets in 20 overs, however an unbeaten partnership of 28 runs from Vishal and 26 runs from Evan helped DCCA cross the finish line in just 13.2 overs for 1 wicket loss.
On the same day DCCA had their first Under 13 cricket match against Sileby, with Kevin's unbeaten 51 helping DCCA score a total of 85 runs for 9 wickets in 20 overs. Sileby won with 94 runs for 7 wickets in 20 overs.
The Desert Cubs showed great team spirit in both matches and Sileby were the perfect hosts. It was great to hear that this match report was published in the UAE’s main newspaper, the Gulf News.
After the match, the group headed straight off to Edgbaston to see the T20 Quarter final between Warwickshire and Hampshire. Tickets were courtesy of their sponsors Friends Provident and the group enjoyed their experience with a very exciting finish to the match.
Day 5
On Tuesday, we travelled to Nottingham where matches were organised at Wollaton Cricket Club. DCCA Under 15’s recorded a fine win against the hosts. Despite a few spots of rain, the match started on time and DCCA had a good wicket to play on, notching up a total of 116 runs (Varun 35, Arjun 31, Aman 30).
Wollaton were never given a chance of overhauling the DCCA total with some solid bowling, backed up by good fielding and some great catches. Wollaton finished with a low total of 41 runs.
The Under 13 boys were unlucky as they lost by a small margin with skipper Aditya contributing well to the runs.
Day 6
Having played three days of fixtures back to back, the squad had a welcome day off where we had organised a day trip to Lord’s, the home of cricket, arguably the highlight of the tour. They enjoyed a two hour coaching session at the MCC Indoor School in the morning, another fantastic experience made even more special by the attentive and passionate coaching by Mark and Hallam Moseley, a former first class cricketer who played for Barbados and Somerset.
Mike Gatting also made an appearance in the car park, much to the delight of the coaches, a chance meeting even though we'd love to say we planned it!
After freshening up, we enjoyed a full guided tour of the historic ground, including visits to the MCC museum, tour of the ground and the famous Pavilion, and the Media Centre. The tour also included a visit to learn about Real Tennis, the original indoor racquet sport which is still played at Lord’s.
There was still time to wander around the local area, St John’s Wood, before heading back up to the Midlands.
Day 7
Today we had included match tickets for the 1st day of the N Power Test between England and Pakistan at Trent Bridge. This was a great experience for the group who got the chance to see some international cricket, and as expected, being Indian and Sri Lankans were fully behind England! The lads saw England amass over 300 runs which proved to be the decisive day of the test.
Having spent a few hours at the match we then made our way down to Milton Keynes for another fixture. The Under 15’s played against a mixed side on a beautiful summer evening but unfortunately ended up losing, largely due to some impressive bowling from a young Australian player.
Day 8
The next tour fixtures were hosted by Radcliffe Cricket Club in Nottingham, again great hosts and in a great setting. The Under 13’s drew their match with the Under 15’s losing a tight game but overall an enjoyable day. A long drive to London followed where the group would stay for 4 nights.
Day 9
It was an early start on Saturday, with an Under 15 fixture at Elstead Cricket Club in Surrey scheduled for 10am. This proved to be a super game with a victory for the Under 15’s sealed in the last over. The rest of the day was spent at leisure shopping and relaxing after an action packed few days, much to the delight of Dave who could have a few hours off!
Day 10
The final day of fixtures saw the Under 13’s line up against Bexley CC in the morning, losing a close game. DCCA then made their way across to Bromley CC to see the Under 15’s end the tour with a victory in fine style, notching up 205 runs in 25 overs, with the hosts all out for 85. Top scorers were Arjun 46, Kirk 31 not out, Vishal 28, and Varun 26.
Day 11
The last two days in London were a chance to enjoy the sights and reflect on what had been a great tour. Monday was a chance for most of the group to see London and the famous sights for the first time, and also learn a lot! In the morning, John, a blue badge guide joined us on the coach and we made our way around central London, taking in Parliament Square, Whitehall, Trafalgar Square, The City, St Pauls, London Bridge, Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. John’s knowledge of London was superb and everyone learned a lot.
In the afternoon, tickets has been pre booked for the London Eye and Madame Tussauds, more chances for photo opportunities and some great views!
Day 12
The final day of the tour was spent doing some last minute shopping before a late flight back home to Dubai. The head coaches made a nice gesture and provided Dave and I with Desert Cubs Academy training shirts as a thanks for our help during the tour. At the airport, the group said their goodbyes to the very popular coach driver Dave, who had been with them throughout. DCCA take back some unforgettable memories and we hope that they fare well on their return to competitive cricket in Dubai.
We love organising this kind of trip, it's a good chance to show groups from abroad how much there is to see and do in the UK, such an historic venue for the major team sports. Contact us on info@tours4.com so we can help your group have a trip as memorable as DCCA's.
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