On the 6th April my family and I set off for Heathrow Airport in the hope of having a successful and enjoyable Hampshire Development tour to India. We met the rest of the team and almost instantly I was fined and made to wear a colourful waistcoat for my top shirt button being undone, not a good start! Our plane was there on time and we took off for a 9 hour 30 minute journey overnight. When we looked out of the aeroplane windows we could already see what parts of India were going to be like, the airport was surrounded by slums. We got out of the airport and almost instantly the hot air was making us sweat. The drive to the Brabourne Stadium was around 1 hour 30 minutes. We arrived at around midday knowing we had to get used to the time difference of 4 hours 30 minutes ahead. We got settled in our hotel called the CCI, this was directly opposite opposite the Brabourne and was part of it. All we had to do was cross a road to get to it which wasn’t as easy as it sounds, Indian roads are very hard to cross but by the end of the 10 days we were used to it and were natural crossers. Our first training session was on the day we arrived in the afternoon, we did 1 hour of fielding and the team looked good. All of the 10 days we were looked after by the programme who set this up, they are called the world cricket academy (WCA). The temperature was unbelievable, I have been to South Africa quite a lot and the temperatures are nothing like what we experienced on our tour. The WCA were all fantastic guys, they were great coaches, they were helpful, and they looked after us. The Brabourne Stadium has held international matches so this was a very big venue. Most of the evening meals we had we ate in the family room which was inside the Brabourne stadium.

The next day I woke up having slept quite well for the first night of a tour (good start!). We had our breakfast and then got our bags packed for training.

Today our plan was to have two sets of training sessions. The sessions which we had were all new to us. They had set up batting and bowling drills, which we had never seen before, but before we used them we had fielding drills, which we had seen before. The training we had in the morning was really good and it really helped our techniques, whether we did the batting drills or bowling drills or both. In the afternoon we had nets and loads and loads of Indian bowlers turned up to bowl at us, they were all really good bowlers. I felt good in my first net session, which was a good sign.

The next day (our first game), I woke up feeling confident and a little bit nervous. We had breakfast and then got ready to go. We were not playing this game at the Brabourne Stadium we were playing at the Bombay Gymkhana which was about 5 minutes taxi drive (arrrggghhhhh), we got there, warmed up, stretched off and before we knew it we were off. We were playing against Bombay B’s which was still a challenge as every side we played were very good sides, the aim of the tour was to learn, not to win but if we won obviously we would be happy. We fielded first and they set a good total for us to chase and we could see that it was going to be very challenging. We then batted, but we did not reach their total, in this game I got 8, which I was disappointed with but I knew I had a lot more cricket to show myself and learn. Some of the Indian bowlers that had bowled to us the day before were much older than us and some of them were playing in the game. The Indian players were all very friendly and some of them spoke English, which was nice. When we got back to the hotel, we unpacked and then went swimming in the Brabourne pool. The Brabourne stadium had lots of facilities, including a restaurant, a gym, and a shop on the outside of the Brabourne stadium. We got given money each day to spend in the shop if we wanted to, whenever I went to the shop I tended to buy lots of water, this was quite vital to keep hydrated. It was very important that whenever we got a bottle of water we checked whether the bottle was still sealed because you cannot drink tap water in India, which means no lettuce, no ice etc. We got back and had tea and then went to our rooms and went to sleep. The next day we had our breakfast and then got ready for our game against Mumbai 2nd’s, this was at the Brabourne stadium, what an experience this was for the whole team, getting to play in this stadium. I woke up feeling rough, and annoyingly I had the Bombay Belly. I had my day off today. We bowled first in this game and even if it was my day off and I was the essential water boy I still got to participate in the action coming on for ten overs at the end, and not only that but bowling and taking my first wicket in India, yes! I was batting 10 in this game and even though I was low in the batting order and did not bat, I still felt I did my bit on my day off. We won this game, with a good all round team performance. In the evening, I relaxed for a bit then went for a drink with the team in the restaurant, and then went to the family room for dinner.

The next morning we ate our breakfast and we had another game at the Bombay Gymkhana against a mixed Bombay A’s and B’s. We batted first in this game and I batted number 5 and scored 44, James Vince one of the older players in the Hampshire Development Team scored a century and batted excellently, displaying shots all round the park. We then went out to field and they knocked off our total, I bowled in this game but I did not take any wickets. In the evening we visited a sport shop, we obviously went for the bats, in the end there were 9 bats left on the counter, it was really good because Mushy one of the WCA coaches managed to get discounts for the bats (what a legend), even though they were so cheap already. We had dinner in the family room and then went back to our rooms and went to sleep.
On Saturday morning we were allowed to sleep in, as it was our day off. We had photos at 11am in front of the Brabourne Stadium Pavilion. Then we were allowed to do what we liked as long as we were back by 10pm. I went to my mum and dad’s hotel and I had a relaxing day, which involved swimming and a siesta, then we went out to dinner with some of the players and their parents, this was really nice because Jake, Wilf, and I had not had a chance to see anything other than cricket pitches and players, and of course bats and balls. We got back at 10pm and then went to sleep.

The next day there was a chance to go on a tour of some of the sites of Mumbai, this was an optional trip, but I decided to go as it was a very big experience and one which I could never experience again. We experienced both rich and poor on our tour, seeing the outdoor laundry where they were paid 5 Rupees a day, which is around 5p. We also saw the Taj Mahal Hotel, which was an absolutely magnificent Hotel, we then shortly saw a Ferrari come out of it, and we were not expecting to see that. I think the tour was really good and I think I got a lot out of it.

On Monday we were excited as we were playing a T20 in the afternoon, we had breakfast and then we set off to the Bombay Gymkhana and trained for two hours, we did the batting and bowling drills and also had Indian bowlers bowling at us again. I also did a drill which involved standing at the end of the net and some of the pitch being covered with water and then soaking rubber bouncy type balls in water and then bouncing them at me. This was meant as a practise of playing short balls, obviously we had to wear full batting kit. I think I got hit once right in the rib cage but apart from that I played it well.

We then had lunch at the Bombay Gymkhana and started our cricket match at 1 o’clock. I played for the other team with 3 other players, our team fielded first and Hampshire got a reasonable total in there innings, I fielded for the last 6 or 7 overs and they gave me a bowl. I took a wicket and I didn’t get hit for many runs. My figures were 3 overs 7 runs 1 wicket.

Our team then batted and we knocked of the total, I was batting 5 and I did not bat. We then got back to our hotel and relaxed for a bit and then went back to the Bombay Gymkhana for dinner. We got back to our hotel rooms and went to sleep.

We woke up on Tuesday morning and went to breakfast knowing this was the last day of cricket and of the holiday. I wanted to make sure that I got a lot out of this game and to try and get involved as much as I could and to make sure that I gained as much knowledge of Indian Cricket as I could.

We batted first and I was batting 4, I got in and was batting with James Vince again. I really found that he helped me whilst I was batting and although Adam Rouse was playing on the other team in this game he was behind the stumps and he was talking to me and giving me advice along the way as well. James Vince again performed excellently and got 94 just missing out on what would have been a second ton. I got 62 not out in this game and walked off the pitch feeling very comfortable about playing on Indian wickets and facing the bowlers. We then had lunch between the two innings. I did not start on the field when we were fielding, I had a very nice shower and then ate lots of bananas and drunk lots of Gatorade, after I got my energy back, I was ready for what for now would be my last time on the field in India. I did not bowl but I put a lot of effort and energy into my fielding. We lost this game but we all put our complete effort in the field. We got back to the hotel and I packed my kit and clothes into my bag, then I went swimming and then had dinner. We all stayed up quite late playing cards and chatting to try and get used to English time.

On Wednesday morning we got our bags and met in front of the Brabourne Stadium at 8.15am. We drove to Mumbai Airport and on the way our bus broke down! We had to get pushed off the middle of the road onto to the side and big landrover type taxis came to pick us up, having to put all of the bags in to mostly one landrover, we only had one in ours. Luckily Mumbai Airport was only 15 or so minutes away, so it wasn’t too bad.

We got to the airport and we flew in the daytime, so it was hard to sleep. I did not sleep, I watched movies and played games and ate plane food. We arrived at Heathrow airport at about 7 o’clock English time. We collected out bags and said bye to everybody, and then my family and I got a bus to where our car was parked. We set off home and arrived back at about 10 o’clock. I was very tired as it was 2.30am in India. I went to bed and fell asleep straight away.

I absolutely loved our tour to India, I found it a great experience, and a great learning curve, and I found that I got on with everybody really well. The Brabourne stadium has had lots of players there including Andrew Strauss, they go out to India because they learn so much and they learn how to play spin. I feel that I have learnt a lot more about both playing spin and bowling spin. I have also experienced what the culture of India was like, and it came as a great shock to me. The difference of rich and poor also shocked me. India was a great opportunity for all of us and I think we all clenched it. I hope we go again!