Pre-season tours announced
Somerset Men and Women will both be heading overseas in the near future as part of the Club’s pre-season training schedule.
We caught up with Head Coaches, Jason Kerr and Erin Osborne to find out where they will be going and when.
Erin Obsborne: “We’re looking to go to Sharjah mid-March. It’ll be a really fantastic opportunity for the group to tour together. I think that’s really important for the bonding and the culture side of things, but it’s also important to see all the work that we’ve been doing in the indoor centre come to life. It will also allow us to come up with some plans and try and execute what we’ve been working on this winter.”
Jason Kerr: “We’re going to head back to Abu Dhabi on March the 8th. We’re incredibly fortunate, and we know that there will be incredible facilities. 99% of the time, you’re guaranteed to have dry weather and that gives you the opportunity to be on grass.”
How important will these tours be?
JK: “It’s twofold. The way that the modern game is now, you have players all over the globe, playing in various tournaments in various environments. So, I think from a connectivity point of view, it’s incredibly valuable. You get the opportunity to get the whole squad back together with no distractions. It’s a real opportunity to set the goals for the summer and to get that connectivity. The guys who have been in Taunton this winter have worked incredibly hard and we’ve been very impressed but you can’t beat being on grass and being outside.”
EO: “It’s really important. As much as you want to replicate games in the indoor school, it’s not always possible we’ve changed training up this year to bring in more scenarios and competition, but there’s no better feeling than getting out there with your teammates and trying to execute those specific game plans. So, having the opportunity to do that is really important in letting us set up the season.”
JK: “I think it’s important to have this time away as a collective and as a team. Individually, a lot of guys have invested huge amounts of time on trying to evolve and take their game forward, and this will be their opportunity to put that into practice, to get a feel for it, and to build confidence in new skills. It’s a great time of year because you can see players evolving and growing as cricketers and as people.”
EO: “I think people can get tired of just training indoors and there’s a real sense of wanting to get outside and play games of cricket. We don’t want to develop really good trainers, we want to develop really good cricketers and this tour is a really important part of that.”
Will you be playing competitive games whilst away?
EO: “We’re only going to be doing a couple of training sessions over there and then the rest will be matches. We’re looking to play three games, two 50 overs and one T20. I think this will allow people to settle in and understand what their role is in the team. I think when you’re doing a lot of net practice, you can sort of just focus on the individual and not really understand the broader picture and where you fit in with the team. It also helps to develop those relationships. It’s about putting in place how we go about communicating with each other and helping each other on the field and also problem-solving, particularly when put under pressure.”
JK: “We’ve scheduled four days of practice and five days of cricket against other First Class Counties. We’ve got three T20 games tied up in a tournament and then we’ll play a two-day game before we head back to the UK.”
EO: “You never say you don’t want to win games of cricket and we always go out to play to win, but at this time of year I think it’s also about players finding their space and their spot in the team. The players will also be looking at how we want to go about communication and creating the brand of cricket that we want to play this year.”
How important is the off-field element of these tours?
JK: “Personally, I think it’s huge. As I’ve alluded to, it’s a captive audience for myself and the staff so we get a real opportunity to be really clear on how we want to operate as a team and what we want our cricket to look like. There’s a really special connection in the dressing room and it’s like taking your extended family away. Everyone is looking forward to spending some quality time together and just really focusing on the season ahead.”
EO: “As Jason said, it’s hugely important. Having the opportunity to get away with the group so that we can get to know each other a little bit more is key. Hopefully, it’ll be a relaxed and enjoyable environment as well. It can’t always just be cricket. I think you need to have time away from the game and I think this tour presents a really amazing opportunity to build those bonds.”
JK: “To use a tangible example, it will be important for someone like Josh Shaw. He has been incredible coming to the environment and he’s eager to showcase what he’s about when he gets the opportunities out there. Similarly, Fin Hill is in his second year on the staff, and he’s been an absolute role model through the winter. He’s demonstrated an incredible work ethic across all his skills and off-field activities, and we hope that he can transfer that now and have a really productive pre-season and start to put his name in the hat for selection.”
