Middlesex’s pre-season tour to Cape Town in South Africa will see the squad playing three competitive fixtures over the two-week duration, with the remainder of the tour spent training, practicing skills, netting and team bonding.
Arriving in Cape Town on the morning of Friday 4 March, the squad will have a day to acclimatise with their new surroundings, before heading into their first training session the following day at Western Province Cricket Club before having a 50-over think tank session in the afternoon.
The next four and a half days will be spent between Western Province and the Vineyard Oval for a series of nets, gym and fielding sessions, middle practice, and tactical discussions, before the side head into their first fixture on the afternoon of Wednesday 9 March, a Twenty20 encounter at Western Province Cricket Club.
The next day the squad will play their only 50-over match of the tour, at Newlands, against Newlands Cricket Club before they get to spend their first down-time of what will have been a busy tour schedule thus far.
Whilst for some, venturing up Table Mountain may not be considered down-time per se, that’s what the squad will be doing on Saturday 12 March, before a team bonding trip to Robben Island the following day to witness at first hand the site where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.
After a well-earned day off on the Sunday the lads will be straight back into training the day after, in preparation for a two-day red ball match at Stellenbosch Cricket Club over the Tuesday and Wednesday before flying home the following day.
The pre-season tour will see the squad practicing both red and white ball skills across the two weeks, with a focus on improving both fitness and endurance in a series of sessions led by the club’s Strength and Conditioning Coach, Andy Mitchell, in preparation for the long season ahead.
Tour Schedule:
