It is with pleasure that we announce that Lancashire County Cricket Club (LCCC) has entered into a partnership with Desert Springs Resort which will see the Club’s squad visit for warm weather pre-season training camps in preparation for the start of the season.
Desert Springs Resort is Europe’s only international award-winning luxury family resort and championship desert golf course with its very own dedicated Cricket Ground and Academy, located in Almeria, Andalucía, south-east Spain.
The Manchester-based Lancashire players visited Desert Springs Resort for two separate four-day camps in February 2018.
The Lancashire players and coaches were accommodated in some of the privately-owned Villas, Apartments and Townhouses at Desert Springs with the resort’s executive chefs on hand to cater for the special dietary requirements of individual players dining in the resorts restaurants.
Lancashire’s Director of Cricket, Paul Allott, said, “Desert Springs provides great facilities to enhance our warm weather training ahead of the county season in England.
Our first visit to Desert Springs in 2013 was an eye opener to the possibilities of winter practice in Spain and we have become regular visitors since, with two trips per year now becoming the norm.
Being able to train outdoors between January and March gives all our players a positive advantage going into the season.”
The Desert Springs Cricket Ground with an eighteen (18) wicket square, constructed to ECB standards and specifications, complimented by a Marquee pavilion, sightscreens, scoreboard and associated facilities, is open all year round and provides an outstanding facility to practice and play cricket.
The Desert Springs Cricket Academy comprises an international size world-class quality grass pitch complimented with a full length artificial grass wicket, twenty-four (24) grass wickets and run ups with nets and requisite training equipment.
Both the Cricket Ground and Academy are conveniently located within the resort, within walking distance from team accommodations.
Desert Springs Sales & Marketing Manager, Simon Coaker remarked, “We have been welcoming the Lancashire CCC squad to Desert Springs for a number of years now and it’s great that we can both extend and develop our relationship with the Club which will see them continue to return and benefit from our facilities in preparation for the domestic cricket season.
Part of our agreement extends the opportunity for Lancashire CCC Elite Underage Squads and Women’s teams to visit Desert Springs for specific training camps and we are looking forward to developing that opportunity for both the benefit of those players and Lancashire Cricket as a whole.”
- For details of Cricket & Sports Training Camps, Corporate Golf Events and Meetings at Desert Springs call 01242 680 116 or visit the website, desertspringsresort.es
- To find out more about the Desert Springs Cricket Academy CLICK HERE:
Additional background Information
Warm weather winter training camps at Desert Springs
Desert Springs, Europe’s only international award-winning luxury family resort and championship desert golf course, is already known as a resort specialising in family holidays, however it is also known as a centre for warm-weather training for cricketers, athletes, and footballers, as well as golfers and is proving to be one of the most popular destinations for sports warm weather winter training camps.
In addition to Lancashire CCC, visiting Cricket groups have included; the ECB Test and ODI Squad, the ECB Women’s Senior Academy, the ECB Young Lions, the ECB Pace Programme, Sussex CCC, Yorkshire CCC, Somerset CCC and Middlesex CCC to name but a few.
All sports camps to Desert Springs are bespoke. If desired, the programme can include time away from the resort for some local sightseeing in what many regard as ‘the real Spain.’
During their stay attendees have opportunities to swim, play tennis and use the gymnasium, trim trail, jogging tracks, paddle tennis and beach volley ball courts.
Desert Springs is easy to reach from the UK, thanks to three international airports. They are: Almeria Airport, around 40 minutes away by road; Murcia Airport, 80 minutes by car, and Alicante Airport which is a drive of less than two hours. Airlines currently flying to the region from the UK include British Airways, EasyJet, Ryanair, Jet2, and Fly Thomas Cook.
Accommodation is provided in the apartments and villas available for holidays and short breaks at Desert Springs. Meals are served in the resort’s Croc Restaurant, part of the family-friendly Crocodile Club that is geared up for a wide variety of leisure activities and the award winning El Torrente Restaurant at the Club House.
The Desert Springs Resort & Golf Club
Facilities already completed and in use at Desert Springs Resort include:
- The Indiana course, a par 72 -18-hole USGA specification golf course, designed by former Great Britain and Ireland Golf Team Captain Peter McEvoy who was inspired by the desert courses of Arizona and California;
- a golf academy whose PGA qualified teaching professionals cater for several international teams, for many of the English County Union’s elite squads; PGA European Tour, PGA Europro Tour and LET players.
- two tennis courts, two paddle courts, beach volley ball and two football pitches – one is a full-size grass pitch; the other is designed for five-a-side games;
- a cricket ground with an eighteen (18) wicket square, constructed to ECB standards and specifications open all year round. Complimented by a Marquee pavilion, sightscreens, scoreboard, sprint strips, and associated facilities, it provides an outstanding facility to practice and play cricket.
- a Cricket Academy with facilities that comprise; twenty-four (24) grass wickets and run up with nets, one artificial wicket with nets, a full length artificial grass wicket, a Professional Bola Bowling Machine with 28 ball feeder, requisite training equipment and a specific hard standing area, which provides outside space for facilities such as a free weights gym, stretching mats and a medical area.
- a Spanish colonial style Golf Club House with a lounge, bar, restaurant, locker rooms, TV and reading rooms, and a Ralph Lauren Golf Boutique;
- The Crocodile Club which provides family fun at the heart of the resort with pools, equipped sand play areas, a kid’s battery powered John Deere Gator circuit as well as a Jacuzzi, sun lawns and a pool bar;
- a health and fitness club and spa.
Awards
Desert Springs Resort was awarded Best Golf Resort for Groups in Europe by the 2016 European Group Travel Awards (EGTA). The Indiana Course at Desert Springs Resort has also been recognised as the 6th Best Golf Course in Spain, based on the reviews of players who rated the course on the Leading Courses website. Out of the 345 courses present on this ranking the Indiana Course at Desert Springs occupies 6th place with a score of 8,8/10, and awards Desert Springs Golf Club with the “Outstanding” badge. This distinction is only given to the best 10 courses in the country.
Desert Springs Resort has been awarded the Daily Mail Best Almeria Award and the Bentley International Property Awards for the Best Spain Development and Best Architecture, as well as the Spanish National Madera Verde Prize for Environmentally Sensitive Development, the SICTED award for the distinction of “Commitment to Tourism Quality” and Andalucía’s Premier Tourism prize for 2017, the coveted and prestigious ‘Excellence in Management’ Award.
El Torrente Restaurant has received the New Millennium International Gastronomy Award for the Tourist, Hotel and Catering Industry. This award was created by the Trade Leaders Club with the aim of distinguishing companies from all countries, for the outstanding quality of their products or services.
The climate of the Almanzora coastal region
Desert Springs takes its name from the region’s desert microclimate, which is unique in Europe. It has the warmest winter weather on the continent with an annual average of more than nine hours of daily sunshine and maximum daily temperatures of between 16°C (60°F) and 30°C (86°F) throughout the year. Annual rainfall is less than 200 mm. The Almanzora coastal waters are among the cleanest and warmest in Europe, attracting both fish and diving enthusiasts.
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NOTE: High Resolution Images available upon request.
Simon Coaker
The Almanzora Group Ltd
The Manor, Boddington, Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire GL51 0TJ
Tel: +44 (0) 1242 680116
Mob: +34 678 235 716
e: scc@almanzora.com
www.desertspringsresort.es
Lancashire CCC 2018 Pre-Season Winter Training Camp at Desert Springs Cricket Academy
Lancashire CCC Nets Session at the grass wickets at the Desert Springs Cricket Academy
The Desert Springs Cricket Ground at Desert Springs Resort
The Apartments at Desert Springs Resort which typically accommodate visiting County Cricket Coaches, Management and Players
