Back Row – Fifth in From Left to Right, Middlesex County Cricket Club Managing Director of Cricket, Angus Fraser- Back Row – Ninth in From Left to Right: Richard Scott, Head Coach, Middlesex County Cricket Club with his training staff and 16 squad members.
Middlesex’s players are now back in England having completed a successful four-days of warm weather fitness and cricket training between 26th February & 1st March at Desert Springs Resort, Europe’s only international award-winning luxury family resort and championship desert golf course in the Almanzora region of Almeria in south-east Spain.
Sixteen squad players completed a number of training sessions per day for four days as they stepped up their physical preparations for the upcoming 2013 season.
Richard Scott, Head Coach for Middlesex County Cricket Club said:
"We chose Desert Springs to give a large proportion of our squad (16) the chance to physically train in a different environment and also to work outside for the first time this year on fielding skills.”
Middlesex County Cricket Club Catch Practice!
Howzat!
Richard continued:
“The players were accommodated within the luxury Colonial Apartments at the resort, sharing twin rooms, which were clean and up to date with each apartment housing a total of four.
Accommodation for the Middlesex County Cricket Club players, staff and coaches was provided in the Luxury Colonial Apartments available at Desert Springs.
Richard added:
“We had exclusive use of the gym and the full size international football pitch on a daily basis and utilised the 'trim trail' cross country tracks laid out around the golf course and mountain bikes, which were made available, for the whole squad, to provide variation.
Tee times were booked on the excellent Indiana golf course for the afternoon as part of our package.
Desert Springs provided menus, which were agreed in advance and the standard of the food was excellent.
Nourishment packs, which included water, snack bars, fruit etc. were also provided.
The service within Desert Springs is first class and everyone in all departments ensured our stay went to plan and was enjoyable."
- For details of Golf & Sports Training Camps, Corporate Golf Events and Meetings at Desert Springs call 01242 680 116 or visit the website, www.almanzora.com
- To find out more about the Middlesex County Cricket Club visit the website www.middlesexccc.com
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 has rapidly gained popularity 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.
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 easyJet, Monarch, Ryanair, Jet2, Jetair Fly and 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.
A spokesman for Desert Springs said that, depending on the size of the group and its requirements, the total cost of a four-day trip for warm weather training, including flights, would work out at between £350 and £400 per person.
The Desert Springs Resort & Golf Club
Facilities already completed and in use at Desert Springs include:
- a par 72 -18-hole USGA Indiana 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 the women’s elite squads of the Golf Union of Wales and for many of the English County Union’s elite squads; PGA European Tour and LET players.
- two hard 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;
- two mobile cricket cage nets with artificial wickets and a Professional Bola Bowling Machine with 28 ball feeder. There is also a slip catch cradle and there are both full length artificial and grass wickets laid out on the football field.
- 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 and a games room as well as a jacuzzi, sun lawns and a pool bar;
- a health and fitness club and spa.
Awards
In 2005 Desert Springs won the Daily Mail Best Almeria Award and the Bentley International Property Awards for the Best Spain Development and Best Architecture. In 2006, it was awarded the Spanish National Madera Verde Prize for Environmentally Sensitive Development. In 2007, the El Torrente Restaurant 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 it 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’s coastal waters are among the cleanest and warmest in Europe, attracting both fish and diving enthusiasts.
Reader enquiries:
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
e: tag@almanzora.co.uk
www.almanzora.com
