Old Trafford nets on Sunday 1st May

What day is it? I've lost track of time but we're back home after a great cricketing trip. I'm sure all the Lancashire players will remember the experiences for the rest of their lives!

Dave Leighton has asked me to remind everyone that there is a pre-season nets session for the Lancs Squad on Sunday 1st May. This will also be a good opportunity to reunite items of "lost" kit with players! My son's bag was certainly lighter coming home than going out! Please bring anything you find that you don't recognise or with someone else's name in it!

The Tour has had a "Welcome Back" mention on LCB website

To finish off the Blog I have drafted a "Highlights" page. I've asked Dave for his reflections on the Tour, especially what he thinks the lads gained from it as cricketers and as people. It would be nice if each of them  - and anyone else who wishes to (I already have John Hood's) - could let me have their cricketing and non-cricketing highlights from the Tour. Let me have them on Sunday, by e-mail or by posting a Comment below.

Days 13 & 14 - heading home

Sorry for the late post but there was an end of Tour party last night at the Ocean 15 Bar in Dover Beach - the lads (and a few others who shall remain nameless, but somebody's mother thinks it's time she came home!) took part in karaoke (we have some good singers as well as good cricketers) and there was a grand finale as the locals lead a dance session to some calypso rhythms! A fantastic end to a wonderful Tour on and off the cricket field. Earlier in the day the Players and Coaches had visited the North end of the island where they enjoyed some "Segway" (small motorised scooter type things) 

Segway-ing in Barbados (NOT our Party)

and a trip to the underground Animal Flower Cave 

where some of the boys swam in the "dipping pool". Today is a bit of chill time - a last chance to visit the beach, do a bit of shopping etc - before packing up and heading home, exhausted!

Not too many photos from last night as I couldn't keep still long enough!

 The 3 Musketeers - Davidson, Seward and Brownlow belt out Wonderwall

"Big Man Rapper" - Dom Morris 

Day 12 - Wi Jammin'!

Why not listen to this Reggae classic whilst reading of today's Tour happenings?

Wow! What a day full of experiences.

First of all, to those who have thanked me for running the Blog I just offer the words I've heard most often in Barbados (apart from "You guys ready for taxi service?") - "You're welcome".

Secondly an anonymous quote: "Flying fish? What's going on? You're either a fish or a bird, make your mind up!"

In theory another day of rest but the whole Tour party has been out on a catarmaran cruise along the South coast of the island today with the fantastic guys at http://www.jammincats.com/  The Lancashire boys need no lessons in how to work as a team but the boat crew, all mad as a barrowload of monkeys as far as I could tell, would set a pretty good example! Part of it is being Bajan and enjoying the relaxed island lifestyle I'm sure but "Jolly" Roger and his crew made the experience memorable; nothing was too much trouble and everything was done with a smile and/or a song and/or a dance (as you will see!).

So we enjoyed swimming with turtles (a protected species in Barbados), which is undoubtedly one of life's great experiences, and snorkelling amongst the fish on 2 shipwrecks; a fantastic lunch, an "all inclusive" bar (and you didn't have to ask for a drink - they just kept coming!), reggae and other music, dancing, and some "Limein'" (Bajan for chill time). 

The afternoon ended with a tropical storm but it's now hot and humid again! The supposed appearance of Mel B (of The Spice Girls, not the Real Mel B from the Tour Party!) at Dover Beach has yet to materialise.

A mystery trip out for the boys tomorrow then back home on Easter Monday.

Some photos from today below - in most cases names have been withheld to protect the guilty!

 Bridgetown Harbour

 Swimming with turtles

 Under sail

 Sam "Jacko" Jackson relaxes with Grandma Liz. Grandad George was either swimming or at the bar!

 The Houghtons take over the ship

 Mollie Brownlow with Rasta hairstyle!

 Coach Leighton in "double teapot stance" last seen in the swimming pool at Taunton!

 Mel B (the real one) makes a new friend

 Perhaps the coolest crew member

 They even laid on some dancing girls!

 DJ Kai of The Jammin' Crew

 More dancing!

Rockin' Da Dockin' - the boat reaches home!

Day 11 - R&R

A real day at leisure today as the squad and most of the supporters group had some time out at The Boatyard in Bridgetown so not much to report - a few photos below. Unfortunately Saad Khan couldn't make the trip as he seems to have picked up Jake Brown's "lergy" but he was much better come late afternoon. The sun again caught a few people off guard and there's a bit of mild sunstroke around but everyone should be fit for what is expected to be a highlight of the trip - a catamaran sail up the West coast of the island tomorrow and the chance to swim with turtles!

This turtle looks a bit worried!

 Captain Castaway

 Harrison Phelan & Lewis Wright

 Ready for the off - Jake Smith, Dominic Morris, Jody Clough and Dan Houghton

 Dan Houghton tries to escape the flying fish that flew onto the beach!

 Water Babies! - Spencer Phelan & Kian Clough

Coaches on Couches! - Phil Wright, Jonathan Partington, Shaun Anders and Dave Leighton take a well earned rest.

Thank yous

Now that the cricketing part of the Tour is over there are many people to thank (and I apologise in advance if I have missed anyone). On behalf of the players, who have had the cricketing experience of a lifetime, thank you to, in no particular order:

• All family, friends, sponsors and supporters, including those who have made the trip to offer support, encouragement and the occasional sympathetic shoulder to lean on
• Anyone who organised any fund raising effort - bag packs, sponsored runs/swims/bike rides, fashion shows, sports dinners - hopefully all your efforts have been fully recognised in these pages
• Phil Wright, who first suggested the Tour and without whose unfailing optimism and amazing organisation the thing could never have happened, and not forgetting Marcia and Philippa Wright who have been the boys surrogate mothers whilst they have been in "camp" 
• Andy Hayhurst and all at Lancashire Cricket Board for their support 
• Paul & Lisa Clough for organising the flights
• The coaches - Dave Leighton, Shaun Anders and Jonathan Partington (JP)
• John Hood - scorer and Tour Manager
• Umer Khan in his capacity as Coach, water carrier, kit man and Camp Entertainer
• Lisa Clough who has been a godsend in providing laundry facilities at the Cloughs' apartment and has literally taken much of the load from Umer
• Marcus Phelan, Graham Seward and Andy Brown for standing in as umpires at the Four Square Oval
• JP for umpiring at the 20/20 game
• Graham Seward again for his very generous sponsorship of the Tour playing kit
• Liv and Sarah Davidson for the professionally produced Tour Brochure
• Don Gooding for being the Tour's link in Barbados
• Adrian Donovan of the Barbados Cricket Association
• The Grounds Staff in Barbados 
• The Tour's unofficial "medics", Sharon Brown, Sue Houghton and Sarah Davidson, who have dispensed caring advice, soothing balms and restorative potions to the players (and others!) feeling under the weather
• The staff at The Ship Inn for somehow continuing to smile despite several Lancashire Lasses belting out Songs From The Musicals!
• The staff at Dover Beach Hotel where the Tour Party set up camp. The staff were very complimentary about the players and their behaviour whilst staying at the Hotel
• All who have contributed to the Blog - it's been a labour of love and I hope I haven't offended too many people! Much of the text on Tour has been typed late at night after a Banks or two* (sub-editor's note - it has never been just one or two*) so apologies for any errors and omissions. I have constantly reviewed and amended the posts (and I thank Mrs B for being sub-editor) so what you read first time round may have been revised since! I was aware that many of the Tour followers back home were looking forward to receiving match reports at UK breakfast time and one of the problems with t'internet is that it's instant so what was typed and posted at midnight here may, on reflection the morning after, not always have conveyed what I meant to say. I hope I have fairly recognised the efforts of all the players, coaches, family and friends and have reflected the cricketing experience and the fun of this amazing trip. Thanks for reading! (By the way, sub-editor - I don't drink Fum Runches!)

Day 10 - Game 6, not to be!

After 3 successive days cricket in Caribbean conditions the Lancashire boys were pretty weary as they turned up at the impressive Banks Brewery Ground in Bridgetown for the final match of the Tour. If they were looking for a challenge they certainly found one today as they were pitched against the very strong "Best of Barbados" U13s side on a day that started hot and humid and just got hotter! We recognised a few of the opposition from earlier matches but there were some new faces amongst the talented home side. The Tour had begun to take its toll on the Lancs squad with Jake Brown struggling through illness and Will Davidson unable to bowl due to a shoulder injury (probably not cornflake and netball related). Jody Clough also strained a muscle during the warm up but still managed to field the full 35 overs of the opposition's innings.

Chris Brownlow lost the toss for the first time on Tour and Lancashire were asked to bowl on the flattest, hardest and quickest wicket we have seen so far. Brownlow opened with a maiden and the early bowling was tight. The home side's first wicket fell on 15 as Brownlow bowled a bouncer and the promising looking Boucher top edged the ball to James Seward behind the stumps. The next man in, however, was from the Greenidge family and clearly has some of those cricketing genes. His excellent stroke play took the score past 50 until he eventually fell for 46, stumped by Seward off the bowling of Harrison Phelan. The other opener (Chesham) was holding one end up and went onto make 56 and he allowed the next man in to play some free flowing strokes. The home team passed 100 in the 22nd over and there was then a bizarre incident as a ball that clearly "bowled" the batsman didn't claim a wicket as it actually passed through the stumps! Luck seemed to be deserting Lancs as Saad Khan then spilled a catch that, whilst not easy, he would normally eat for breakfast. The home team passed 150 but Lancs stuck to their task and took 3 more wickets, 1 bowled by Dan Houghton and the last 2 bowled by Lewis Wright, who had an excellent day in the field saving countless runs at mid on.

The home side's total of 161 for 5 in 35 overs was always going to be tough to match and it soon looked nigh on impossible as the openers faced a barrage of short pitched deliveries made all the more difficult by the game being played on a 20 yard wicket as opposed to the 21 yards used at this age in England. Khan had coped well with the short stuff but then fell LBW for 9 in the 6th over (11-1). Davidson was then felled by a ball that glanced off the side of his helmet but he soon recovered his feet. Dominic Morris was bowled for 3 (21-2) and Davidson was then brilliantly caught one handed at slip for 2 (29-3). The blow on the head may have addled his brain as his response to his Mum asking if there was anything he wanted after he'd had a shower (i.e. a drink, something to eat, a couple of Anadin etc) was a hairbrush! Brownlow and Phelan began a recovery and took the score to 50 but Phelan fell on 57, caught behind for 7. Brownlow was coping well with the varied bowling attack, which included 2 left arm spinners (one to watch - Kamari Boyce, who is only 10) but was running out of partners as Lewis Wright was bowled for 1 (64-5) and the sickly Jake Brown was caught for 3 (70-6). Brownlow then tried one big hit too many and was bowled for 27, the only Lancs player to reach double figures today, with the score still on 70. Seward was bowled around his pads for a duck and with no chance of victory it was left to the last few batsman to try, on the instructions of the Coaches, and bat out the overs. This task was achieved through some solid defence and whilst Jake Smith fell to a fine diving catch behind the wicket for 2, Jody Clough (not out 1) and Houghton (not out 6) batted solidly together for  the last few overs and took the score to 86 for 9.

So whilst it was disappointing not to win the last game of the Tour the Lancashire boys have played some excellent cricket in testing conditions, and have made many friends amongst the generous and welcoming people of Barbados. I for one would love to come back and I hope that some of the Bajan followers of the Blog will keep in touch! It's now a couple of days "R&R" for the boys and the supporters before we fly home on Easter Monday, tired but all the richer for the experience! 

More posts will follow so keep up to date with the "fun and games". Photos from today below:

 Captains' handshake - to be repeated at Lords in 10 years time?

 Anders, Partington & Leighton meet Ezra Moseley, ex West Indies Test cricketer, born in Christ Church, Barbados

 James Seward was named as the Lancashire "Player of the Series" by Adrian Donovan of the Barbados Cricket Association

Roland Butcher, born in Barbados and the first black cricketer to play for England, presents Dave Leighton with a commemorative shirt; Adrian Donovan stands to the right.

Day 9 - Gimme 5

The Lancashire Under 13s continued their excellent run of victories in Barbados with a convincing 126 run win over Alleyne School at the best facility on the Tour so far - the Four Square Oval. The wicket was hard and flat but still surprisingly slow as, once again, was the outfield. Despite the island being on "Flash Flood Alert" the weather was hot and sunny, and the atmosphere became increasingly humid as the day wore on. Of course, whilst the opposition so far has not been to the Lancs standard, one of the challenges for the players (and the coaches) is to cope with alien conditions and to learn how to prepare for games in heat and humidity - rest, hydration and diet have all been stressed and the fitness work during the Winter has clearly paid off as the lads look very sharp and focussed in the field.

Today's Captain was Will Davidson (Cap'n Will) and he unfortunately lost the toss but the opposition opted to bowl. A steady start saw Lancs reach 18 before Lewis Wright was out to a smart catch in the 6th over. Davidson joined Saad Khan at the wicket and the pair added 64 before Davidson fell to another good catch for 23 (82-2) - one thing we have found is that the home team players are generally pretty athletic and very good fielders. Sam Jackson was bowled without score and Lancs were 87-3 but Harrison Phelan steadied the ship and he and Khan took the score past 100 in the 23rd over with Khan posting his 50 soon after. They were cruising until a dreaded drinks break! Khan top edged the first ball after the restart and was caught by the bowler for an excellent 60 (127-4). Chris Brownlow didn't last long - bowled for 1 (130-5) and Phelan followed at 133 bowled for 19. Dan Houghton reached 4 before being stumped in a rather bizarre fashion as the ball spun around in the crease and he lost balance (147-7). James Seward (21no) and Jake Brown (15no) then finished the innings with some breezy batting to leave Lancs 172-7 off 35 overs.

This was the highest total of the Tour so far and it was soon clear that Alleyne were unlikely to get anywhere near. After 8 overs they were 7 for 2 and could hardly get the tight bowling of Houghton and Brownlow off the square. Houghton had the first wicket (0-1) off the 5th ball of the innings courtesy of a fine diving catch by Phelan and Brownlow (who finished with 4.4 overs, 4 maidens, 2 wickets for 0) had the next man stumped by Seward (7-2). Jake Smith took the 3rd wicket, bowling a Viv Richards lookalike (8-3) and the 4th wicket was Jake Brown's first for his County - another clean bowled (11-4). Apparently his Mum's celebrations were a revelation! Smith then had the 5th wicket at 18 thanks to a neat catch by Wright and the next man in was run out without scoring (18-6). Jackson then got in on the act and clean bowled the next batsman with his first delivery (27-7), had the next man LBW (34-8) and the next again clean bowled (38-9) to end his day with 3 wickets for 3 runs. It was left to Brownlow to finish the innings by bowling the last man (whose name was Sobers!) leaving Alleyne 46 all out. The dominance of the Lancs team allowed the Coaches to try a couple of experiments including Jake Brown taking over behind the stumps and Dominic Morris and Saad Khan bowling a few overs.

There was only one official umpire today so a big thank you to Graham Seward (possibly as extravagant as Billy Bowden with his signalling), Marcus Phelan and Andy Brown for standing in!

Tomorrow is the last game of the Tour and should be the toughest test yet as the lads take on a "Best of Barbados U13s" XI at the Banks Brewery ground!

Today's photo selection

 What time does the game start? "Why, Man - 11 o'clock, mebbe 12"

 Captain for the day, Will Davidson

View of the game from the TV gantry

 Top scorer - Saad Khan

 Umer Khan's Coaching Masterclass

The TV gantry at the Arthur Bethell end 

The "Umps" - Andy Brown on the left

Check out the Tour Gallery for more photos.

Day 8 - 4 x 4

Today's game, the fourth of the Tour, was at and against The Lodge School and there can't be many prettier locations to play cricket. The School pitch is next to a sugar plantation and is fringed by palm trees; but, wow, was it hot! Clear blue skies and little breeze meant that these were really challenging conditions for the young Lancashire players, especially after the euphoria (and the late night!) of the 20/20 match only 12 hours or so previously! And then, as they said they would before we left the UK, the Coaches mixed up the batting order etc to give the lads even more tests of character and cricketing ability. But they came to the party and whilst perhaps not at their best produced the goods and came away with a 108 run victory to make it 4 wins out of 4 on the Tour so far. The highlights were undoubtedly a 110 opening partnership between Dominic Morris (64) and Jake Brown (37) and 6 wickets, ALL CLEAN BOWLED, in 13 balls for Jake Smith.

How the day unfolded

Following his match-winning 20/20 innings, Chris Brownlow was relieved of his captaincy role and any batting duties for the day and Vice Captain, James Seward found his leadership skills put to the test. He promptly won the toss and elected to bat on what looked a fairly true wicket, but the outfield, which was short of a good mow (or a good few goats!), proved to be very slow and boundaries were at a premium. Brown and, especially, Morris took full advantage of the placid pitch as the home side struggled in the heat. The 50 partnership was clocked up in the 11th over and Morris reached his 50 in the 21st with the first 100 partnership of the Tour following in the next over. "Slam the Dom" (the local name for an aggressive version of dominoes) had opened his shoulders by this stage and moved on to 64 before being well caught at mid wicket. The Lancs innings then faltered as a mini collapse saw a poorly Lewis Wright trapped plumb LBW for 1 (117-2), Jake Smith, promoted up the order, caught for 1 (119-3) and Brown, who had steadily accumulated his 37, stumped (122-4). Seward and Jody Clough then batted steadily before a mix up saw Seward run out for a brisk 13. Harrison Phelan then fell LBW for 1 (155-6) and the innings closed at 168-6 with Clough not out 16 and Will Davidson not out 4.

This was always going to be a tough target in a 35 over match and the home side were 1-1 after 2 balls as Dan Houghton clean bowled one of the openers. Brownlow then had the next man LBW (18-2) and Houghton produced a fine turn and throw to claim the 3rd wicket through a run out (20-3). The School were by now well behind the run rate but the game had fallen into a mid-afternoon stupor until Smith came on and bowled the next four batters to leave the home side at 53-7. Sam Jackson then produced a beauty to bowl the next man (54-8) and Smith finished the job with 2 more deliveies that the batsman couldn't deal with. His final figures were 3.5 overs, 0 maidens, 11 runs, 6 wickets!

The team has already exceeded expectations on the pitch (and have been exemplary ambassadors off it) but can they maintain the momentum with 2 more games to go (tomorrow and Thursday)? In this heat and with "injuries" beginning to mount the next couple of days will see the lads pushed to the limit.

Wednesday's game is at the Four Square Oval, which is right next to the Four Square Rum Distillery.This may be of interest to a few ladies of my acquaintance! For those of you who would like an authentic taste of Barbados try the following recipe for Rum Punch (Fum Runch!)!

Ingredients:
"One of sour Two of sweet Three of strong, and Four of weak"		One part pure lime juice (1/4 cup) Two parts sugar (1/2 cup) Three parts Barbados rum (3/4 cup) Four parts water (1 cup)

Method:Dissolve sugar in water, add rum and lime juice. Blend well. Chill and serve with bitters or nutmeg. Makes 4 servings (or about 10 minutes worth!).

James Seward hands over the signed bat and Tour Brochure to The Lodge School Captain. Doesn't he look smart - and James made an effort as well!

The very picturesque Lodge School ground

No it hasn't been raining!  A sweat-soaked Dominic Morris after scoring 64 in sweltering heat

 Umer Khan shirks his water-carrying duties and sends on his entourage instead......

.......Becky, Mollie, Bethan and Isobel 

Jake Smith celebrates victory and his "sixfer" with his Lancs team-mates

Right, that's it - Karaoke has kicked off again so I'm going to try and get some sleep. Cough, John as Sarah Davidson would say, and she should know as she's in a "pishun ov forettry"