Head Coach's Corner.

Today Head Coach, Dave Leighton, reflects on the weekend session in the nets at Old Trafford and assesses how the excitement is building for the Barbados Tour and the new season.

Well the boys were in Old Trafford again yesterday (27/02/11) for another challenging training/coaching session with an emphasis on short catching (learning to rotate the hips), good posture and balance. The bowlers worked on their actions, creating movement in the air or off the pitch and hitting targets and then bowling at batsmen to see if they performed better when under pressure. The batters worked on back foot play and then batters batting with a partner down the order with the emphasis on the batter protecting the lower order batter and keeping as much of the strike as possible. Some batters batted with a partner they are likely to bat with 'in the middle' regularly. The highlight was no homework for the boys.

 

All I heard yesterday was a buzz from parents about 'bag packing' and 'bike riding' but the highlight for me was reading a letter that Lewis had received from the local Council who had awarded him a grant for being talented at 'Ballet and Tap Dancing'. I can't wait to see a solo of that... Billy Elliot eat your heart out. On the football front Harrison's lot got beat, Man City only drew but that was better than Liverpool and the icing on the cake is that Rooney looks as though he is in trouble. I am delighted that all the Lancashire boys behave better!

 

Key thoughts for this week are:

 

• Practice catches regularly,
• Think about how you can score runs without taking risks,
• Bowl according to what the game situation requires.

 

Dave

 

England and Wales Cricket Board : c/o County Cricket Ground, Old Trafford, Manchester, M16 0PX

Dave Leighton : Club Programmes Manager

If in doubt - just ask!

How the funds were raised - part 2!

In the second article of this series we hear from all-rounder Lewis Wright of Enfield CC who tells us a bit about his sponsored bike ride from Blackpool to his hometown of Accrington.

This was a gruelling ride from the seaside - Blackpool to Accrington is 32 miles.  My Dad and I made the trip in just under 3 hours, and my sister, Pip, took a like longer but it was a top effort as none of us had been on a bike for years. We were a bit saddle sore afterwards but the effort was worth it and we were lucky as it was a great day for the bike ride - the sun was shining and a light breeze was really welcome as it kept us cool. We had a few drink stops on the way and kept going, Some bikes did not make it to the end due to mechanical failure, but we had great support from Bracewells Transport who brought spares in our very own support vehicle.

Can't wait to get out to Barbados!

Lewis 

Lewis raised over £200 and most of that was in £1 donations.

Links to Barbados Cricket

Barbados Cricket Association
Barbados Cricket League

Fund raising update 2!

Thanks to a £50 donation from Orrell Red Triangle Cricket Club, Jake Brown's club, the bag pack total from yesterday has risen to £524. Thanks to Sharon Brown for organising the event at ASDA!

We now have just over £8,000 in the Tour Fund and the deposit for the game at Kensington Oval has been paid!

Fund raising update!

Today's Bag Pack at ASDA in Blackburn was a great success given that several of the Squad were unable to attend due to half term holidays and other commitments. We raised £475 and adding this to the money raised in a weekend's bag packing at Ramsbottom last year means that the "Supermarket Sweep" has now contributed around £1800 to the Tour Pot - this will pay for food for the players, ground hire, umpires' fees etc whilst the Squad is in Barbados. Next Saturday (5th March) sees us at Morrisons in Bolton - a big store so every prospect of adding at least another £500 to the Pot as most of the players and families will be available.

Many thanks to Bharat and his staff at ASDA for making us feel so welcome!

The "clubtocounty" bike ride has also had a good start with almost £200 sponsorship pledged (and most of that already collected!) in a week. Barbados Dad is doing a trial run to Old Trafford tomorrow to plot the "A6 Route" and is really looking forward to the challenge! The Paypal account is now active so if you would like to donate using your Debit/Credit card please do so by clicking the Donate button in the right hand margin.



Asleep at the wheel!

West Indies Cricket Board

Good news!
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) http://www.windiescricket.com/ has re-tweeted a Tweet I sent them with a link to the Blog! Expect to see some more followers from the Caribbean! This week's stats for Page Views worldwide are shown below - welcome to the Webb family from New Zealand, old friends of the Brownlows!

United Kingdom 321

United States 13

India 3

Bangladesh 2

China 2

United Arab Emirates 1

Canada 1

Saint Lucia 1

New Zealand 1

Pakistan 1



Barbados Cricket Legends

Today we have a link to a website dedicated to some of the cricket heroes of Barbados - there's some very famous names on here!

http://www.cricketlegendsofbarbados.com/legends.html

Busy weekend ahead!

The build up to the Tour continues this weekend!

The Squad (and families!) will be together on Saturday 26th for a big Bag Pack at ASDA in Blackburn. This will raise more funds to go in the general "pot" to cover food and other expenses for the players whilst they are in Barbados.

Sunday 27th sees the players back at Old Trafford for the third pre-season net session - more tough fitness training is expected along with some work on cricket skills.

How the funds were raised - part 1!

Today, strike bowler Daniel Houghton from Burscough CC tells us a bit about his sponsored swim!

I did a sponsored swim of 64 lengths (1 Mile) of Nye Bevan Swimming pool. I had been training for about 6 weeks. I felt a bit nervous at the start, but as soon as I stepped in the pool I was away! I managed to reach about 40 lengths before I felt a little tired, however my determination to swim 64 lengths was mighty strong.  That’s when I really gave it my all! I felt so proud and happy when I had completed my sponsored swim; the hard work had paid off! I am really looking forward to our Pre-season tour to the West Indies and can’t wait for the day to come when me and the lads are on the plane and on our way to Barbados! The highlight of the tour will be playing on Kensington Oval. It will be amazing to play on the wicket and to see our names on the scoreboard. The humidity will be tough, and it will test our ability! Nevertheless I am really excited about playing cricket in another country and we will just have to wear plenty of sun cream. This will be an amazing experience which I will never forget and will stay in our memory forever!!

Look out for other fund raising tales, including Lewis Wright's sponsored bike ride from Blackpool to Accrington, Chris Brownlow's "Club to County" Bike Ride from Horwich to Old Trafford and Jake Brown's sponsored run from the Reebok Stadium to Wigan.

Rumours that James Seward did a sponsored silence are yet to be confirmed!

Sponsored bike ride!

Tour Captain, Chris Brownlow, has announced the date for his "Club to County" bike ride. The plan is for the 40 mile round trip from his home club of Horwich RMICC to Old Trafford and back to take place on Sunday 3rd April.

This is Chris's final push to raise funds for the Tour and he is looking for as many sponsors as possible at donations of £2 (but bigger donations welcome!).

If you'd like to sponsor Chris please donate on line using the button on the right hand side of the page or contact us on barbadosdadu13s@gmail.com 

Thanks for your support!

Above - Barbados Dad in training for the "Club to County" bike ride!

"We'll get our kicks on Route A6" - Horwich, Blackrod, Westhoughton, Over Hulton, Little Hulton, Walkden, Swinton, Irlam o'th Heights, Salford, Stretford!

Tour kit sponsor announced!

The Lancs u13s Squad now have a corporate sponsor for the Tour Kit, which will be supplied by Kukri Sports the official kit sponsor to Lancashire Cricket Club

The sponsor is Seward Precision Laser Ltd, based in Preston. On behalf of all the young Lancashire players and the Tour Management, a big "Thank You" to Graham and his team at Seward Precision for their generous support. More details and photos will follow as soon as available.

Dave Leighton, Head Coach, looks ahead to the Tour

What better incentive to perform to their best could the Lancs u13s boys have than knowing that they are going on a pre-season Tour to Barbados?

We started our Squad training on 30th January in preparation for what lies ahead.

So what does lie ahead you ask......well, the opportunity for the lads to improve their cricket must be highest on the agenda. Playing under 50-over match conditions in the Caribbean, they will have to acclimatise quickly as the pitches will be faster and bouncier, the outfields perhaps not so flat but certainly hard and quick, the weather will be hot and taking fluids on board regularly will be essential. Fitness will play a major part in individual and collective success. In addition, what an opportunity to enjoy a new culture, a new way of life for 2 weeks, meeting new people and making new friends. Educationally it may be difficult to measure until later life. Above all else it offers fantastic team building/bonding opportunities that are hard to replicate in an indoor envronment in England in April. These young players are also "blazing a trail" for cricket development in Lancashire as they are the first to venture overseas on an official Lancashire Cricket Board pre-season Tour. The Coaching staff are charged with evaluating the success of the Tour and reporting back to the LCB as this could be a model for similar development work in the future.

The whole Tour will be based on hard work and FUN, FUN, FUN and wouldn't it be great if one of the boys scored a 100 or took 5 wickets on the Kensington Oval!

Personally, I can't wait to beat the Dads at beach cricket!!

Dave Leighton

New ways to follow the Tour on this Blog!

I've added links to the bottom of the Blog so anyone can now subscribe to the Blog via RSS Feeds, or perhaps even more user-friendly, by e-mail! Subscribe now to get regular updates on the build up to the Tour and all the action from the Caribbean!

Scooby Doo posts first comment on the Blog!

Good ol' Scooby - never one not to have a view - has become the first subscriber to post a comment at

"Scooby says!"

Let's have some more as the excitement builds!

Getting closer!

Only about 7 weeks to go now!

So that family, friends and sponsors can get even closer to the action whilst the Squad is in Barbados, I've set up a Twitter account so follow the Tour @barbadosdadu13s on http://www.twitter.com/. Depending on network access and costs I'll try to tweet scores and other updates during matches.

There's also a Tour e-mail address at barbadosdadu13s@gmail.com. If anybody wants to ask questions of any of the players, coaches or management whilst we are away, drop me an e-mail and I'll get one of the team of roving reporters to get the answer!

Followers can also obtain Blog updates via an RSS feed or via an e-mail subscription!

Getting in the mood!

Today a link to a video with Bajan music! Can't wait to see Scooby doing the Calypso on the beach!

Tough session at Old Trafford!

Unfortunately I missed yesterday's nets at Old Trafford but by all accounts it was pretty tough! The lads will certainly be fit by the time they land in Barbados!

Today some thoughts on cricket, leadership and life from England Cricket Captain, Andrew Strauss:

Andrew Strauss - This Much I Know - The Observer 13th February 2011

Bit of cricket history from a Barbados legend!

Gary Sobers hits 6 sixes in an over at Glamorgan in 1968, the first time this feat had ever been achieved. Let's hope his grandson isn't playing for the U13s at Kensington Oval!

Second net session, Old Trafford - Sunday 13th February.

The Lancashire U13s "train-on" squad will be at County HQ again this weekend for the second pre-season net session of 2011. Inside information suggests that the lads can expect some more gruelling fitness work courtesy of Conditioning Coach, Alex Horne, and  a few subtle hints on the importance of diet and fitness from Head Coach, Dave Leighton, as the Barbados Tour and the English season rapidly approach! I also hear that those lads who've neglected their fitness may be in for a bit of a shock at one of the forthcoming net sessions!

The Tour Goes Global!!

These are the stats for the page views on the Blog as at now! The lads are being followed all over the world but keep spreading the word! I've sent links via Twitter to a couple of famous cricket "Tweeters" asking them to "Retweet" - it works like a chain letter. I'll be sending some more Tweets as we get nearer to departure. If you Tweet why not do the same!

United Kingdom 1,027

United States 23

Australia 13

India 7

Germany 3

Ireland 3

United Arab Emirates 2

Barbados 2

Spain 2

Russia 2

Bag packing venue

The venue for the bag packing on Saturday 26th February has been confirmed as ASDA in Blackburn - all helpers welcome! Unfortunately Christine Seward, the Bag Pack Supremo, is unavailable on the day so if you'd like to volunteer to marshall the troops this time round please let her know!

10th February 2011 - Sharon Brown has volunteered to be the organiser!

1000 hits!

The Blog has had its 1000th hit today! Pretty good for something that's only been up and running a couple of weeks! Keep spreading the word - we want as many people as possible following the Blog and keeping up to date with the build up to the Tour and the trip itself. Make sure all your friends, family and sponsors know they can follow the lads on here - there'll be daily posts from Barbados including match reports and photos!

Thanks for your support!

Barbados Dad

Sports Dinner a roaring success!

The fund raising Sports Dinner took place last night at the Village Hotel in Hyde and was a runaway success. The final figure will be announced when available but early indications are that the event raised well over £3000 for the Tour Fund, which will be used to cover the costs of feeding the players, paying ground and umpire fees etc. whilst the Squad is in Barbados.

STOP PRESS!
The latest projection is that the Dinner will have raised around £3700 if all monies pledged come in!

The event was attended by over 100 people, including representatives of Lancashire County Cricket Club, and was compered by comedian Charlie Hales who also ran the auction of an amazing array of sporting memorabilia. One of the highlights of this was £650 paid on the night for a pair of signed Wayne Rooney boots! Also at the event were guest speaker Warren Hegg, ex-Lancashire and England wicket keeper, and Viv Anderson, ex-England, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest player.

On behalf of all the players, Tour officials and parents, a massive thank you to Paul & Lisa Clough for organising the Dinner - a lot of hard work went into this event and it certainly paid off!

I hope to post some photos over the next few days.

Assistant Coach, Shaun Anders, gives us his thoughts on the Tour.

Today we get the thoughts of Assistant Coach Shaun Anders on what he expects from the Tour and particularly what challenges the young players may face whilst in the Caribbean:

Shaun, what can the lads expect on the Barbados Tour?

Well, it will certainly be a fantastic cricketing opportunity and life-enhancing experience! The group is made up of some very talented players, but they will face some real challenges on this trip - they'll be away from home comforts for a fortnight and whilst most will have family members along as supporters, they will have to gel as a group and build team spirit to cope with the tough conditions. I have few worries on this score as they proved all last year and especially at the Taunton Festival in August that they are learning to play under pressure - they're a great bunch of lads and work well together towards individual and shared goals. However, the Caribbean will bring a different set of challenges to the boys, and also to Dave Leighton and myself as coaches - the weather will be hot, so planning and preparation for every game will be essential in keeping the players focused on the job in hand, injury free, hydrated on and off the field - to name but a few!!!!

The opposition is, as yet, a completely unknown quantity and we must be prepared for anything - given that Barbados has produced players of the calibre of Sir Garfield Sobers, Everton Weekes, Wes Hall and Joel Garner, we must be wary of the possibility that the next Barbados cricketing legend is presently playing at U13s level! Who’s to say, though, that we don’t have the next England legend in our Tour party!!! The pitches are also likely to be harder than we are used to in this country which in turn brings pace of the wicket to the equation and taking into account the outfields, which will be hard and uneven, there will be challenges not only with bat and ball but in the field also. From a learning point of view the lads will be exposed to some really extreme conditions which I think will help them learn and understand more about the game individually and collectively.       

Our job as coaches will be to expect the unexpected and to prepare the players accordingly. Ultimately, though, this trip is about the squad experiencing a different culture whilst playing a game they love and have a real talent for. There will be no shortage of triumphs and probably a few disappointments but the main emphasis will be on the players gaining a quality cricket experience in a different climate and for them to learn more about themselves...

I can hardly wait!

Coming soon - Head Coach, Dave Leighton, gives us his thoughts on what lies ahead in the Caribbean.

Brochure cover revealed!

This is the cover for the Official Tour Brochure being compiled by Liv Davidson!