The Ashes Urn (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Time was when an amateur cricketer wanting to play in Australia needed to be very rich or have a generous sponsor. These days, however, a trip to watch the Ashes or even to play club cricket overseas is within the budgets of many club players.
Yet agencies specifically devoted to finding clubs for players of all standards are thin on the ground. All too often, it is only the young Academy cricketers or those with first-class experience who are catered for.
Which is where Scorpion Cricket comes in. This agency is the brainchild of James Cole, who captains Northern’s first team in the Liverpool Competition’s Premier League. Having spent something like six Australian summers playing club cricket in Melbourne, Cole has now set up his agency with the specific aim of helping Liverpool Competition players who fancy a winter down under find a club which suits their abilities - whatever they may be - and meets their requirements.
Cole has detailed knowledge of club cricket in the antipodes and he now aims to put this knowledge to good use in the hope that the more unfortunate experiences encountered by some Merseyside cricketers in recent years can be avoided.
“I’ve got a lot of contacts in Australia and I know that clubs are always on the lookout for players to work hard on their game, even if they only wish to turn out for the third or fourth eleven and play a full part in club life,” he said.
“My aim is to ensure that Liverpool Competition players get the right package for them - and that includes cricket, social life and the right living environment. I know how important the all-round experience can be because I’ve seen it not work in recent years.”
“I hope to be able to match the player with the club, and from September onwards I’ll be working hard to bring the right overseas players across to England for the 2014 season
“I’ve been doing this sort of thing on a casual basis for a few years now and I’ve decided to turn it into a business. I greatly enjoyed my time in Australia but I’ll be staying in England this winter to do this work and also to do some coaching.”
Any players or clubs wishing to contact Cole can do so by email, james@scorpioncricket.co.uk or by telephone in England 07808858876
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