The 2018 pre-season Champions Tour of Barbados kicked off on Monday with the squad heading to the 3 Ws Oval for the first day of training. This ground, located just outside of Bridgetown, will be the training base for the first week in the Caribbean, which includes two warm up games against a Barbados Cricket Association Select XI (BCA).
A 19-man squad has travelled, with notable absentees in Simon Harmer (South Africa’s Sunfoil Series), Alastair Cook (England) and Ravi Bopara (Pakistan Super League) who all have commitments overseas before joining up with the squad in the UK.
Day One included some light training to climatise to the conditions, with a specific focus on fielding and catching drills. There was also a chance to get the bat and ball in hand once again, with Dan Lawrence also being involved after he was forced to cut short his England Lions tour only a couple of weeks ago due to a hand injury.
Ready for the new season? Essex return to The Cloudfm County Ground in a month and you can join them by becoming a Member in 2018! Packages are on sale now and available in person, by phone (01245 254010) or online.
