As the winter draws in the cricket hasn’t stopped in Loughborough, as England’s men’s, women’s, Lions and Young Lions sides prepare for their winters away.
With conditions in Sri Lanka, West Indies, UAE and Bangladesh markedly different from autumn in the East Midlands the National Performance Centre has been playing host to a super-heated tent in which the players have been netting to acclimatise and get outdoor cricket back in their legs.
The first to benefit from the tent was the England Women’s team – ahead of the ICC Women’s World T20 in the West Indies – and England’s men’s Test players followed, as well as individuals from the Lions and Young Lions squads.
The England Lions players will get further chances to experience the tent before they head off to the UAE in November with hot weather and dry pitches awaiting them.
It’s a similar situation for Rory Burns, James Anderson, Stuart Broad and co, who spent time in the tent last week before joining up with their England men’s colleagues for the red-ball leg of the Sri Lanka tour.
It’s hoped that the tent will help each team prepare for the specific conditions they face and give each side a better chance of securing victory away from home.
England Women’s Head Coach Mark Robinson said: “It’s fantastic for our team to be able to prepare in conditions which are similar to those that we’ll find out in the West Indies.
“The temperature has been hitting the mid-thirties and that’s really important because it should hopefully enable us to hit the ground running when we arrive.
“We’ve been sharing the facilities with other England sides and you can understand the benefit that all three sides will get from the tent. It replicates outdoor cricket and that’s invaluable – the carry, the pace, the run-ups, the movement off the pitch, that’s all different when you play outside and hitting inside the sports hall can’t truly replicate that.
“The team at Loughborough have been incredibly supportive in helping us get what we need to take our practice to the next level and hopefully it will help us out at the World T20.”