YOUNG cricketers at Solihull School have embarked on a two-week tour of Sri Lanka, which former England all-rounder Darren Maddy hopes will see them “fall in love” with the game.
Ex-Warwickshire CCC captain Mr Maddy is Head of Games at Solihull School and will be leading a group of 36 boys at under-13 and under-14 level through about 15 matches during the trip.
Staying in Columbo first, the Solihull party will then move to Kandy before returning to north Columbo, playing an average of three 20 to 50-over matches a day, across five days.
Mr Maddy said: “From a cultural point of view, Sri Lanka is a beautiful place and offers a very safe and secure environment. It will provide our boys – and the youngsters in Sri Lanka – with the opportunity to play against less familiar opposition and progress their game.
“I hope it will be a wonderful experience for all of our boys and will help them to fall in love with the game in a similar way to myself when I was their age.
“If one or two go on to become professional cricketers that would be outstanding, of course, but even if we can get these boys playing club cricket until the age of 40, then that will be a success.”
The Solihull School teams will be playing against a mixture of local school and club sides in Sri Lanka, with five members of staff overseeing the tour, which is a first for students at these age groups.
Mr Maddy said: “This tour is different from previous years as, traditionally, we used to take the seniors away at the end of the school term.
“However, I really wanted to go away to prepare for the forthcoming season, which unfortunately means that due to preparation for their exams this will exclude the older students.”
