Warwickshire headed to the Middle East yesterday looking to build on their hard-working winter preparations.
Mark Robinson’s side flew to Dubai before heading south to Abu Dhabi this morning, where they’ll base themselves for the following 12 days.
21 players have made the trip alongside the management and coaching staff of Gavin Larsen, Robinson, Ian Westwood, Stuart Barnes, Tony Frost, Chris Cole, Kate Green, Rebecca MacLaren and Paul Greetham.
Pace recruits Richard Gleeson and George Garton have travelled with their new teammates, whilst Hassan Ali and Dan Mousley remain in the PSL. Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes will both continue to prepare for a busy winter at Edgbaston.
The tour, a blend of matches and fitness, will see Club Captain Alex Davies take charge of the squad for the first time in his new role.
The Bears have a entered a three-day T20 festival on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday facing Team Abu Dhabi and Yorkshire before a Finals Day at the end of the week. All fixtures will take place at the Zayed Cricket Academy complex and be shown on YouTube.
With the first week a white ball focus, the team will shift to red in the second part. Warwickshire will face Yorkshire in a two-day friendly with details to be confirmed at a later date.
Speaking when the tour was booked, First Team Coach Mark Robinson said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for us and I’m delighted we’ve been able to sort all the arrangements.
“While we have fantastic facilities at Edgbaston, having the reassurance of excellent weather conditions just a few weeks before the season is beneficial.
“We visited Cape Town last year and we saw first-hand at the start of the season the importance of getting overs into the bowler’s legs and time in the middle for the batters.
“I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Abu Dhabi and I know we’ll have excellent facilities available as well as top opposition. I’m looking forward to testing ourselves after a long winter.”
Squad: Ed Barnard, Chris Benjamin, Jacob Bethell, Michael Booth, Danny Briggs, Michael Burgess, Alex Davies (C), George Garton, Richard Gleeson, Sam Hain, Olly Hannon-Dalby, Amir Khan, Jake Lintott, Craig Miles, Liam Norwell, Will Rhodes, Chris Rushworth, Hamza Shaikh, Che Simmons, Kai Smith, Rob Yates.
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