Bears Men will be ramping up their preparation towards the start of the season with a two-week tour to South Africa, including a visit to the iconic Newlands Cricket Ground.
The Bears will enjoy a change of scenery following two successful pre-season tours to Abu Dhabi, in which they competed in and won the Abu Dhabi Counties Super Cup in 2024.
They head to Stellenbosch and Cape Town on 4 March, and will play six T20 fixtures and two red-ball two-day games across the 14 days.
They face Western Province in the first of three double-header T20 days on 7 March, beneath Table Mountain and Devil’s Peak at the iconic, picturesque Newlands Cricket Ground.
They’ll then face Loughborough UCCE and Durham UCCE (March 10) and Northamptonshire (March 13) at Maties Cricket Ground in Stellenbosch.
The two-day games will also take place at Maties Cricket Ground, with two Bears teams being fielded simultaneously against Essex and Western Province on adjacent pitches.
Aside from Jacob Bethell and Dan Mousley, who are both on varying England duties, a full complement of Bears will be in attendance as they look to build bowlers’ workloads and help batters hone their ball-striking on turf wickets before the season gets underway on 3 April.
Bears’ Men First Team Coach, Ian Westwood said: “We’re all excited to travel down to South Africa next month, with preparations really ramping up ahead of the season starting.
“It’s been a good winter, with lots of impactful work done here at Edgbaston, but nothing truly replicates playing matches and training outdoors, so we’re looking forward to seeing the squad in action.”
Preseason tours are a valuable opportunity to ensure the squad is tracking well heading into the first match, and are essential in bringing the full squad back together before the busy summer schedule gets going.
The Bears will also have several training sessions interspersed amongst the matchdays, as well as an opportunity to take a break from training and experience the South African culture, among a host of team-building activities.
They’ll return on 18 March, and then the countdown will truly begin, with the first ball being sent down at Edgbaston against Surrey CCC just 16 days later.
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The full travelling party will be confirmed in due course.
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