Borthday club celebrates in Barcelona (From Thurrock Gazette)

Anniversary tour for Stanford's cricketers

2:00pm Thursday 26th April 2012 in Sport

CRICKET: STANFORD Cricket Club’s 125th anniversary year tour to Spain turned out to be a big success for the birthday club.

A party of 33 players, coaches, wives and girlfriends travelled to Calella, near Barcelona, for the special event.

Both the club’s matches were played in unique venues.

The first was against Poble Sec CC on an artificial wicket within a sand-based stadium.

The second was against Barcelona International CC on a coconut matting surface within a grassed baseball ground in the Olympic complex.

The tourists found their inexperience of the local conditions counted against them. And despite a magnificent 82 not out by 1st XI captain Lee Knight against Barcelona, both matches ended in defeat for SLHCC.

However, on the plus side it did provide some useful pre-season match practice against decent ex-pat club players from England, Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan.

It also gave Stanford the chance to test its new coloured kit that will be used in the Shepherd Neame Essex League T20 competition this season.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable trip for the tourists with plenty of time to take in the sights.

Stanford’s sporting tourists also saw FC Barcelona play a La Liga match against Getafe at the Nou Camp.

Ahead of the new season, SLHCC will soon be publishing its special 125th anniversary fixture book.