Wednesday, December 24th, 2014

County Opposition Lined Up For Second Trip To Abu Dhabi

County Opposition Lined Up For Second Trip To Abu Dhabi

Worcestershire are set to play Derbyshire and Middlesex as part of their second pre-season tour of Abu Dhabi in March.

The United Arab Emirates national side are being lined up as the other probable opposition for the county during the 10 day trip.

Worcestershire are set to play two T20, two 50 over and one two-day game of red ball cricket as part of their preparations for the 2015 season.

The itinerary and opposition in each particular format are expected to be confirmed by the middle of January.

The county played New Zealand, Derbyshire, Holland and Ireland during their previous visit to Abu Dhabi in March of this year.

Worcestershire chief executive David Leatherdale said: "It (the opposition) is certainly Derbyshire and Middlesex at the moment and probably the UAE (United Arab Emirates) national side.

"The plan at the moment is to play two T20 games, two 50 over games and a two day game of red ball cricket against UAE, Derbyshire or Middlesex.

"It is strong and attractive opposition, good quality cricket, good facilities, and that was one of the strengths we had of going in March this year when we played New Zealand, Derbyshire, Holland and Ireland.

"I certainly feel it helped after having the bad weather of January and February to be able to get out on grass.

"With the young lads, it was beneficial in terms of team building element. There were a lot of young guys who came through and players came back and hit the ground running.

"There were also a couple of lessons learnt in terms of the New Zealand game being an eye opener with the quality of the opposition.

"It showed the standards the lads needed to achieve."