It is the fourth time that the young Bears have spent some pre-season time in Sri Lanka
Warwickshire’s academy boys will head for Sri Lanka this week for a trip which will offer them a “brilliant education” in terms of cricket and beyond.
It is the third time that the young Bears have spent some pre-season time in Sri Lanka, heading back there in 2019 following a camp in Barbados in 2018. During the 11-day trip, based just north of the capital Colombo, they will fulfil a full itinerary which includes playing three 50-over matches.
Over three years we have probably just got into double figures in the number of seamers we have faced but the spinners are numerous.
Paul Greetham
All the male members of the academy will travel, landing in Sri Lanka on Friday along with elite cricket development manager Paul Greetham and coaches Kadeer Ali and Richard Jones.
“We have taken the lads to Sri Lanka twice before because it gives them such a brilliant education,” said Greetham. “We just immerse them in training and matches for ten days.
“Some of them have been before so know what to expect but there is still an unfamiliarity to it. They are exposed out there because of the conditions. The lads are not spoilt. The red carpet isn’t laid out for them and they just crack on and work hard and it gives them a bit of an insight into overseas condition but also a taste of what it’s like to be a full-time cricketer.”
The Bears academy will play three 50-over games, against Lancashire Cricket Academy (a private Colombo-based enterprise nothing to do with the Red Rose county) on February 17, Kaduwela CC on February 21 and Heshan Flex CC on February 23.
“We always get some really strong opposition and the net bowlers we are given are always outstanding,” Greetham said. “The surfaces generally take turn. Over three years we have probably just got into double figures in the number of seamers we have faced but the spinners are numerous. It all amounts to a fantastic learning curve for the lads.”
