After almost two years of preparation I’m sure everyone will appreciate the excitement amongst the touring party as the date of departure looms. With the recent snow and dreadful weather all the guys can’t wait to get to India and play on some good competitive cricket in warm condition. We had our first net session on Thursday past and I think it's fair to say everyone looked in fairly good knick, and ready for the tour. However, winter practice here is a long way off what we can expect inIndia, so I’m delighted that we have been able to organisea nets session plus a 20/20 game under floodlights for the first day we arrive.
Alan Waite has put in a mountain of work to get us to this stage and while we sometimes tend to forget how much goes into organizing a tour of this magnitude, I’m 100% sure that by the time we leave India to return home, all the touring party will be under no illusions with regards the effort put in by ‘Waitey.’
Every time the Grasshoppers tour there is always a great buzz, sometimes from former tourists who know what it is all about, and of course from the touring party themselves as we set out on another exciting adventure. Having spoken to all the guys over the past few weeks I can see the excitement building and their enthusiasm is always infectious. This time we have six players under the age of 20 in the tour party, which is fantastic. This is exactly what the Grasshoppers is all about, giving young talented players the opportunity to tour to different parts of the world with older more experienced senior cricketers, and for them to learn and develop as cricketers, and as ambassadors of the sport. I also hope they will enjoy and learn so much from touring with the Grasshoppers, that they will become regular tourists with the club for a long time into the future.
Captaining the Grasshoppers is something that I will thoroughly enjoy doing. We first and foremost go out to enjoy ourselves and play good cricket, but we also play to win. We have organized eight excellent games and the aim is to try and win as many as possible, but in reality who knows if that is achievable or not? In any case, we will enjoy the experience, both on and off the field. Personally I am really looking forward to playing at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. This is the test match ground that England were due to play at just before the Mumbai terrorist attacks in November.
The part of touring that I enjoy most is getting to know guys that otherwise you just play against on a Saturday afternoon twice a year without ever really getting to know them that well. We also have a few "characters" that regularly tour with the Grasshoppers and one that stands high in this category is the amazing Michael Turkington. The ‘Turk’ is always up for a laugh, always good for a story (often not repeatable!), and someone who in my opinion, ticks all the boxes when summing up the Grasshoppers sporting ethic.
The experienced Ray McCavery is a newcomer to our ranks, but I’m told he’s quite a character! I had never met Ray until recently as he now plays his cricket for Saintfield, but I am told by others that not only was he a really good cricketer in his heyday with Downpatrick, but that he will be a superb tourist in India.
The talented Lee Nelson from Waringstown is a top young lad, always got a smile on his face, and I’m sure he will be a great tourist amongst the younger lads.
Then of course we have my vice captain Paul "Stingray" Stafford. Staffy wears many hats in local cricket and is a great character to have on tour. He’s chairman of the infamous "fines committee" which has led to some fantastically funny nights in recent tours, but he can also be a grumpy so and so on the field. That said, there’s no better guy off the pitch and I’m sure he will be offering his ‘opinions’ on everything to do with Indian cricket, their administration, and of course, their failings on his infamous blogs!
Although we are enjoying the buzz right now, in quieter moments I confess there is still some apprehension. When we saw those horrific scenes in Mumbai a few months ago we all thought that the tour was going to be cancelled and a new destination was going to have to be sought. However, there were a few guys on the committee who were still very "pro" India and spent a lot of time liaising with our contacts out in Mumbai and in the other regions of India to make sure we were making an informed decision and not an "off the cuff" kneejerk one. The safety of the party was paramount because we have a lot of young guys touring on this occasion, and we also have guys with wives and kids at home. The issue was debated long and hard before we finally decided to tour. In fairness, Mumbai does seem to have retuned to some form of normality over the past month or so, but the tour management committee will be laying some fairly strict guidelines to ensure everyone's safety throughout the tour.
As we are about to depart in a couple of weeks I’d like to thank a few people for their generosity and support. Terry Jackson at Kukri has very kindly donated a lot of superb cricket gear for the tour. Terry has always been keen to develop grassroots cricket and we are very grateful that he sees the role of the Grasshoppers in promoting and nurturing young players into future strong club and perhaps international Players in the future. If we need any role model to look at in this respect then who better than Kyle McCallan who toured with the Grasshoppers to Zimbabwe when he was still in his teens.
We are also very grateful to our travel agent and to our contacts in India for doing so much to make this tour happen.
Finally a big thank you to all the guys who have raised and donated money towards this tour. All your effort and donations have been very greatly received.
Best wishes,
Neil Russell
Grasshoppers CC
