Lancashire to follow Essex to Spain

By Graham Hardcastle

Lancashire have followed Essex’s lead by announcing an imminent trip to Spain as they step up their preparations for the new county season. The Red Rose squad will travel to the Desert Springs resort in Almeria during the last week in January and the first week in February.

Aside from the likes of Simon Kerrigan and Kabir Ali who, among others, are playing cricket abroad, the squad will be split into two groups across the two weeks.

The camp has been sponsored by the club’s medical services director Dave Roberts, the former England physiotherapist who now owns a series of physiotherapy clinics across the county, including one at Old Trafford.

It is not something that necessarily replaces a pre-season tour, with Lancashire coach Peter Moores and cricket director Mike Watkinson still exploring options for any potential mid-March departure to somewhere such as the Middle East or Barbados.

“Spain will be a good opportunity for us,” explained Moores. “It’s a chance to go and do some conditioning work and have contact time with each other.

“We’re going to go in two small groups. I think it will work really well. It will be a chance to do some physical work and maybe some fielding.
 
“We can train outside, and it’s also a chance to speak with the players, spend a bit of time and look forward to the season - talk about the different sides we’ll be playing. We’ll generally just move it up another notch.
 
“When we come back, we’ll be into the last part of pre-season before you’re trying to get outside. We are going on January 27 for the first group and the second group go out on February 3.”

Meanwhile, Watkinson is seeking clarification from Simon Katich’s camp regarding any potential clash with the latter stages of the county season in late September and the start of the Champions League t20 competition, for which Katich’s Perth Scorchers have qualified.

Katich has skippered the Scorchers to tomorrow’s final of the Big Bash against Brisbane Heat, and thus the CLt20, which is due to start in mid-September.


Date: 18/01/2013 16:30:48 by Graham Hardcastle
In: Today | Lancashire |