National side return to School to prepare for International Tour

Englands Physical Disability squad returned to Ellesmere College last weekend for a training camp in preparation for the first ever International series overseas. The tour in February will see the England side take on Pakistan in 3 40-over matches and 2 twenty20 matches at the ICC Global Cricket Academy in Dubai.

This was the third time the squad have visited Ellesmere College this year following successful training camps indoors in February and outside in April. The squad of 19 that includes 3 players from neighbouring county Cheshire and 2 from Shropshire took part in a variety of activities lead by coaches Chris Ellison and Will Kitchen. Players concentrated on planning for how they will be approaching each match in Dubai and helping to prepare for the hot conditions players wore big bags under the clothing to increase their body temperature.

Neil Bradshaw, England team manager, commented Once again, our stay at Ellesmere College has been a great success and that is down to the assistance we have had from all at the College. The catering has been first class and having the general use of the hall and classrooms has made creating a positive training atmosphere very simple for us.

This weekend highlights the outstanding cricket facilities that are available at Ellesmere College. The School will be hosting its annual Academies Day on Saturday 28th January with coaching demonstrations of pitch vision and video analysis that are used at the School. Derbyshire CCC batsman Dan Redfern will again be at the School to speak with visitors and College students about the demands of professional cricket and how he achieved his goal of playing county cricket. For more information or to reserve a place at Academy Day visit www.ellesmere.com.

Picture: Gloucestershire Daniel Holder preparing for the tour to Dubai in February.

14th December 2011  Back to News