Essex boys bound for La Manga

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Essex will go to La Manga in March for a specialist fielding camp.

James Foster’s side will concentrate on their fielding in Spain between working on their batting and bowling at Chelmsford, thanks in part to a large marquee that was trialled last year.

The county were first introduced to the facilities at La Manga after a recent agreement to work with Cricket Espana, and Essex head coach Paul Grayson told The Cricketer: "We've never done this before, so it will be just be something a little bit different."

Essex will work on their fielding, which was "not up to the standard" according to head coach Paul Grayson, in La Manga during March

Grayson, whose charges came fifth in Division Two of the LV= County Championship and their Clydesdale Bank 40 group plus third in their Friends Life t20 pool, added: "Last season, our fielding was not up to the standard it had been in the past."

"We practised hard but one or two were not as good as they have been and that disappointed the coaching staff. We missed out on a few run-out opportunities; our ground fielding and our catching weren’t as good as we would have liked."

Meanwhile, the club’s long-standing ground-naming rights partnership with Ford has come to an end with Essex now adopting the name 'The Essex County Ground' for the 2013 season.

Essex deputy chairman John Faragher said: "We are pleased to announce that the UK market leader, Ford Motor Co, will continue as a vehicle provider to Essex County Cricket Club.

“We have established a strong business partnership with Ford over recent years and their continued support of Essex Cricket is very much appreciated. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Ford."

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