In February 2006, London County enjoyed their first Overseas Tour to Cape Town, South Africa. The party was made up of many first-class cricketers as well as several ‘talented and undiscovered cricketers’.
The Tour provided every person with an opportunity to grow as an individual and as a player, under the guidance of London County’s Director of Mentoring Dr Ken Jennings. Former Internationals and greats of South African Cricket Omar Henry, Gary Kirsten, Brian MacMillan and Vince van der Bijl joined the touring party in Cape Town and shared the value of their experience throughout the Tour.
The trip presented every player with time to prepare for the forthcoming English season with a combination of middle practice, net practice, fitness, matchplay and conversation with experienced people. Unlike many Tours, a focus was on ‘down-time’ to create the necessary space for reflection and personal development.
The aim of London County Overseas Tours in the future, is to offer Professional Cricketers a chance to benefit from time spent with our Professional Mentors in a special place.
Funding permitting, we are planning two Overseas Tours in 2007/08. The first will be a ‘post-season’ trip to West Indies with Antigua and Barbados hosting the majority of the Tour. Our Club Captain, Sir Vivian Richards, is making the arrangements in Antigua on our behalf.
The South African Tour will be in February 2008, and will be hosted by Gary Kirsten. By touring in the English ‘off-season’ we offer players a rare opportunity to play quality cricket in a ‘development’ environment and experiment with aspects of one’s game before the important pre-season period begins. The Tour provides all cricketers with the opportunity to prepare well for the upcoming English season as well as offering emerging players the chance to be in the company of experienced cricket people in an informal environment where meaningful learning can take place.
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