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Players heading for Sri Lanka
The majority of the Somerset squad currently carrying out their winter training at the Cooper Associates County Ground will be heading for warmer climes this month.
As Head Coach, Jason Kerr explains, the players will be spending two weeks in Sri Lanka early next month.
“The ideal scenario would be to be able to practice on grass during the winter, but from a cost and logistical point of view that simply isn’t something that we can achieve over here,” he said. “However, this opportunity has presented itself thanks to Lions Sports Travel and therefore a select group of players will be spending two weeks in Sri Lanka.
“This is a massive opportunity for us. The indoor school is a great facility and provides us with outstanding opportunities throughout the year, but all of our competitive cricket is played on grass whilst the majority of our winter practice takes place on plastic. We need to narrow that gap, and this will give us the opportunity to do exactly that. It’s vital that we replicate what we’ll be playing on in the summer as often as possible during the winter.
“It’s exciting to be able to provide the players with an opportunity to carry out intense training in an environment which will certainly aid them positively in the build up to the new season.”
Jason has been impressed by what he’s seen from the squad so far.
“The guys have been superb all winter,” he explained. “We’ve had a lot of people abroad at various times, but the nucleus of the group has been working incredibly hard and there’s been a real purpose to their training. Everyone has taken on board and understood what their individual needs are, and I can’t fault the application whether that be in the gym or in the indoor school.”
