Tour to India 2025
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GOOD NEWS – new proposal
I contacted the people I know at South Oxfordshire Amateurs and within 24 hours I was in touch with their travel organisers, Living with the Lions. They have been extremely engaged, efficient and basically within 7 days have put together a proposal that looks better, more attractive and to top it all, less than the original. https://itinerary.livingwiththelions.co.uk/Itinerary/Landing/3133F6DB-5C41-48A5-8E97-AF0FB59B6D7E The flights are with BA from Heathrow direct, roughly the same time as the original Air India proposal. The proposed relaxez-vous hotel Abad Whispering Palms, at the end of the trip is way better than the original. To avoid any mishap on the way back from Kerala, they suggest we fly to Mumbai the day before the flight back and have a very comfortable night in a good hotel near the airport – Lemon Tree https://www.lemontreehotels.com/lemon-tree-premier/mumbai/mumbai-international-airport This seems to be a very sensible plan. There are also minor improvements as well, eg we don’t have to provide the cricket balls for the games, and there is a tour shirt and bag included. There is one thing to point out. The internal flight is not with BA so the baggage allowance down to Kerala is different – 1 X 20K – which means that the 2 X 23K from BA is reduced to that. So it involves an extra £60 per 20K bag I’m afraid unless you can manage with a 20K plus 10k cabin bag. Obviously non-players won’t need this and we may be able to do a bit of sharing to alleviate. I’m thinking of keepers and helmet-wearers. The only major thing that has changed is the dates – not by very much – which I hope at this early stage will not be a problem for any of you. We will go out on Saturday 11th January and get back Sunday 26th. There is the minor advantage that travelling to and from Heathrow should be easier on those days. The deposit is £300, then 50% due by 11 July, balance beginning of November. The deposits have now been paid for the 18, but if anyone else is interested, it is still possible to add on some more. The only possible variation is if the flights have become more expensive in the interim. |
TOUR UPDATE
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It is now eight years since we last left England to play cricket on foreign fields. Previous trips have left those who took part with fond and happy memories of Cricket played in glorious settings against a wide range of fellow cricketers drawn from all over the World.
And so the Club is proposing put together another such outing, to take place in that most fervent hotbed of the game - India.
Above is a LINK TO A PROSPECTUS put together by Inspiresport.com. The core of the proposal is at page 6.
There would be five games spread over 14 nights, three in Mumbai and two in Kerala. Also a net session, given that we will not have played for several months by January. We might get to play on the Maidan, the iconic venue in the heart of Mumbai where so many of India’s greatest stars started their career.
It is integral to the quote that we are playing appropriately age-matched teams.
The timing is partly because a spell in the sunshine in January/February is always welcome but also England will be on tour then, playing ODI and T20 games. This means that that there is the possibility that we could thread in a visit to one of the games if the time and venue were right.
Even if this does not work out, there is so much cricket going on that a visit to a lesser game in Cochin or Mumbai might be possible.
The basis of B&B is because eating out in India is not expensive but there would always be the option, for those who preferred, to eat in the Hotel.
Inspire say that once the flight schedules are published, we need to confirm numbers by the end of February. The exact dates are not yet set and will be refined to fit in with the best flights that are available. At this stage I imagine members do not have a lot in the diary for 2025.
Realistically, we need 14/15 players to fulfil the five games planned. One difference between India and Sri Lanka is that there is not the same humidity in India that was so sapping in Sri Lanka.
Mumbai and Cochin are both on the coast and benefit from sea breezes.
It is never clear what the future will be for the Club, but this is possibly a last chance to experience cricket in a totally different and exhilarating way in a country that always offers a vast panorama of colour and challenge.
Please direct any questions to
PAUL BERMAN either at :
[email protected]
or 07842 233672
And so the Club is proposing put together another such outing, to take place in that most fervent hotbed of the game - India.
Above is a LINK TO A PROSPECTUS put together by Inspiresport.com. The core of the proposal is at page 6.
There would be five games spread over 14 nights, three in Mumbai and two in Kerala. Also a net session, given that we will not have played for several months by January. We might get to play on the Maidan, the iconic venue in the heart of Mumbai where so many of India’s greatest stars started their career.
It is integral to the quote that we are playing appropriately age-matched teams.
The timing is partly because a spell in the sunshine in January/February is always welcome but also England will be on tour then, playing ODI and T20 games. This means that that there is the possibility that we could thread in a visit to one of the games if the time and venue were right.
Even if this does not work out, there is so much cricket going on that a visit to a lesser game in Cochin or Mumbai might be possible.
The basis of B&B is because eating out in India is not expensive but there would always be the option, for those who preferred, to eat in the Hotel.
Inspire say that once the flight schedules are published, we need to confirm numbers by the end of February. The exact dates are not yet set and will be refined to fit in with the best flights that are available. At this stage I imagine members do not have a lot in the diary for 2025.
Realistically, we need 14/15 players to fulfil the five games planned. One difference between India and Sri Lanka is that there is not the same humidity in India that was so sapping in Sri Lanka.
Mumbai and Cochin are both on the coast and benefit from sea breezes.
It is never clear what the future will be for the Club, but this is possibly a last chance to experience cricket in a totally different and exhilarating way in a country that always offers a vast panorama of colour and challenge.
Please direct any questions to
PAUL BERMAN either at :
[email protected]
or 07842 233672